Before and After: HGTV’s “No Demo Reno” Gives an Outdated Home Some Bright, Neutral Upgrades

Katie and Mike Garcia lived in their house for over 10 years and refrained from updating anything because they were unable to decide on a design. After spending some money on necessary foundational work, they finally decided it was time to give their home the major demolition-free update of their dreams. In the most recent episode of “No Demo Reno,” the couple enlisted Jenn Todryk to help them give their house a few clean and simple upgrades.

With an $85,000 budget and six-week timeline, Jenn kicked off the renovation in the kitchen. The room started as a spacious area with a good flow to it. The trouble was in the design and color scheme of the space. Katie disliked the red wall color and Mike wasn’t a fan of the tile flooring. The wooden cabinets were in great shape, so the Garcias’ only request was that Jenn paint them a different color. The black countertops and floral seating area only added to the outdated look of the space. 

Jenn’s team removed the original countertops and replaced them with a neutral white stone. They also removed Katie’s floral bench and replaced it with a simple white banquette (with built-in storage). Jenn painted the cabinets light gray and installed gray flooring. She decided to keep it simple on the walls by using white paint and opted to instead find splashes of color in other places, like the new blue tile backsplash.

“Blue, in my mind, goes to the neutral category,” Jenn explained. 

Like the kitchen, the bathroom featured a wall color that the Garcias despised. Katie explained that they were planning to paint over the yellow walls (and even threw up some sample colors that they never took down), but they couldn’t whittle down their options to one choice. They liked the layout and storage of the room and requested that Jenn turn their vanity into “something that looked fabulous.” They were also unsatisfied with the worn-out tiling. 

Jenn went for a “spa-like” look, starting with the newly white walls. To add a little pop of color to the room, Jenn used a deep burgundy-maroon color on the vanity cabinets. She replaced the vanity countertops with a white stone that had hints of gray and tan. They also removed the old built-in bathtub and replaced it with a chic freestanding tub. She also added in new white-gray flooring, which ran throughout the bathroom, and installed plain white tiling on the walls of the shower.

“I love these floors,” Jenn said. “I feel like it’s a great way to achieve a very expensive marble look on a more cost-effective budget.” 

The final space that needed updating in the Garcias’ home was the craft room, which had slowly turned into a dual hobby room over the years. Mike liked to DJ in his spare time and Katie enjoyed arts and crafts, so they wanted a room where they could both work on their passions. The room came with old carpeting and bland walls, which Jenn planned to fix, but it was mostly in need of organization.

Jenn’s main priority in the craft room renovation was storage. After adding new gray flooring and white wall paint, she had her team install white floor-to-ceiling custom built-ins around both Katie and Mike’s work spaces. She placed two brown-gray desks, which complemented the flooring (without matching too much), and added a blue rug for some color. 

“This is, like, what I had envisioned in my head for 10 years,” Katie said. “It’s so bright back here now, I have places to stick all of my little knick knacks.”

“No Demo Reno” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.