Last night on Home Town, we saw something that’s never happened before! Keep reading, and we’ll fill you in.

On this episode, we met Jean and Charles Bolden! They’re newlyweds that have been living in Jean’s parents’ garage apartment, and were looking for a home of their own with a little more privacy. Jean mentioned wanting something that looked “quaint” and “cozy” on the outside, with open space on the inside.

Jean and Charles are both pretty artsy, while Jean works at our art museum and Charles works at a local factory. With a budget of $180,000, we think Ben and Erin can find them their dream house!

Photo provided by RTR Media

The Maddox House

Our first stop is the Maddox House! We definitely didn’t have to travel far from the Boldens’ current apartment, because this house was about 20 yards away!

It gets its name from Dwight and Hazel Maddox, who bought it in the 40s and lived there for 50 years. It’s 1,800 square feet, built in 1912 (hello, character!), and features 2 bedrooms and one bathroom.

The exterior was in great condition, and it definitely feels quaint and cozy already! The interior had original hardwood floors, and some pretty open common spaces!

It’s only listed at $90,000, so there should be plenty of room to make it feel like home for the Boldens.

Best Takeaway: This isn’t even about the house, but their cat, Minnie, made an appearance and we think it was a sign. Very cute.

The Drummond House

Our second home gets its name from Charles and Edna Drummond, who bought the house in 1939 and lived there for over 30 years. It’s only $5,000 more than the Maddox House ($95,000), is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and 1,500 square feet.

The first thing we noticed was the brick. And the screens.

To us, there wasn’t anything drastically bad about it, but it just didn’t scream Jean and Charles.

And they must have agreed with us, because they chose to not even go inside! (This is the first time this has ever happened on the show!)

We love people who know what they want.

The McLelland House

And now, the third option! This home is a bit more expensive at $125,000 but is bigger! It’s 2,100 square feet, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Built in the 1950s, it has a mid-century ranch vibe.

The first thing we noticed was the turf, yes turf, covering the porch. Okay?

The rest of the exterior is more modern than the Maddox house, but feels dated in a way. Not bad at all, though! Erin’s plans to bring it into 2019 would make a huge difference.

The interior was all 70s. I’m talking color themed rooms. Wallpaper. Yellow carpet. Paneling. Just the works!

Overall, we genuinely didn’t mind it. We kinda dig the 70s! Erin’s ideas to transform it into a modern ranch could be amazing!

Best Takeaway: The open space! There was plenty of room in this house to work with.

The After–The Bolden House

We would have been pleased if the Boldens picked either house, so we were thrilled about their choice! The Maddox house had so much historic charm that was just begging to be restored.

Photo by Erin Napier

This episode had SO many fun DIY’s and projects from a custom door, to Ben’s console, to window boxes made from shutters, to Erin and Mallorie’s handmade wreaths. Our favorite was 100% the front door.

They opened up the kitchen and dining room to make it feel so huge, and made the most beautiful master suite. Perfect for these creative newlyweds!

Overall, we absolutely loved it. Another perfect house down for Home Town!

Did you take a look at the bed in the master suite? It’s from Lott! Contact us to shop the bed and the matching pieces today!

Photo by Erin Napier

Keri Rowell

Keri Rowell is part of Downtown Laurel’s most historic business, Lott Furniture Co. A Laurel native and Historic District resident, Keri enjoys exploring all of the beautiful spaces and places in her Home Town, discovering the hidden tales buried deep within its history, and sharing them with the world.  When you visit Downtown Laurel, you might just spot her out exploring, dreaming up the next story to share with you.

“Southern living means….a porch!” -Bill and Julie Hogue

On last night’s episode, we got to meet the Hogue family. (Party of 12, might I add) They are fresh out of Arizona, and moved

here this past year, complete with 4 out of 10 children. The Hogues have become an absolute staple in our community– our Downtown especially.

Their food truck, The 5000, serves up artisan, Southewest-style street tacos, specialty fries, and the best dang grilled cheese on this side of the Mississippi River.

For this recap, we reached out to the Hogues for some extra tidbits on their Home Town experience! Throughout, enjoy some direct quotes from episode 2’s guest stars.

“We looked at five cities in four states. We knew for sure that we wanted to move to this side of the country, so we started exploring! An old house in a small town was a must. [Laurel] turned out to be the perfect fit for all we were looking for.”

Provided by RTR Media

Let’s Talk Budget

The Hogue’s first requests included an old, stately Southern home and a big front porch. And I think we can safely assume at this point that they also need a pretty great kitchen, with Bill being a chef and all.

So what are we working with?? $250,000

We’ve gotten lucky two episodes in a row for big budgets! (When we’re talking Laurel, of course.)

The Rockett House

Our first stop on real estate day is the Rockett House. Newburn and Emma Rockett lived in the home over 30 years, and Newburn worked at Laurel Machine and Foundry. One of our most historic companies in Laurel!

The Victorian style home was built in 1903, and has lots of really neat, historic details on the exterior like a sunroom and a very intricately patterned screen door.

It’s a 2,500 square foot home with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. (It also had an extra room that could stand as a fourth bedroom for one of the kids.)

Best part? It’s listed at $109,000. Way under budget.

As they tour the house, it seems like there’s just not much there. Not great condition, but not bad. The whole thing was very charming, but didn’t seem very “stately”, as per Julie’s request.

Although, the budget allows for some amazing Erin and Ben transformations and even some money left over, we’d like to wait and see.

Best features: The incredible french doors in the formal living room/foyer space and the antique fireplaces.

The Redd House

Great neighborhood alert!

As Erin said, the Redd house is definitely on the most sought after street in Laurel’s Historic District. (Therefore, we’re already giving this house major brownie points.)

The Redd House gets it’s name from Roscoe and Lucille Redd, owners of Redd Music & Cigarette Company, who lived there for over 40 years.

It’s a colonial home that boasts a build date of 1890. Wow! More brownie points for historic value.

It’s significantly larger than the Rockett House, being 3,300 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths.

Our asking price comes out to $169,000. Which is quite a lot more than the Rockett House! 

As we tour the home, we see some pretty interesting features scattered about. Outside, we see 2 concrete lions at the start of the sidewalk, upolstered walls, an iron raining inside, and most of all: beautiful fireplaces, grand staircase, and hardwood floors.

The character of the home is unmistakeable, and it has plenty of room for our family of 12. (Plus a great potential kitchen/family room area)

Although we come in a bit over budget, we have high hopes for the Redd House becoming the Hogue House.

Best Original Feature: The upholstered walls and wainscoting in the foyer.

Provided by RTR Media

The After

Before we go any further, we just have to say: this is one of our very favorite Home Town houses to date.

Erin and Ben did such a good job of incorporating personal touches to the family like including Bill’s grandmother’s clock and adding a chef’s kitchen, while protecting the original integrity of the home and highlighting the things that are reminiscent of Laurel.

We were just over the moon about the reclaimed “Laurel” wood in the dining table and the Laurel bricks laid in the kitchen floor. Not to mention the uncovering of the bead board and keeping the “mossy” lion on the porch!

Provided by RTR Media

And did you spot a couple of Lott Furniture Products? We can take credit for the fabric on their custom ottoman in the family room, and the charcoal arm chair in there as well.

Enough about our favorites though, for a second. We took the time to ask the Hogue’s what their favorite room was that Erin and Ben designed!

“Honestly, looking at the big picture, we would have to say the kitchen. We love that it opens into the family room to make one big giant space. We have a very big family and love to entertain friends. To have such a grand space where you aren’t tripping over one another is such a blessing.”

Provided by RTR Media

The “After” the After

Lott Furniture Co. was lucky enough to gain the Hogues as customers, as well as friends. All thanks to Home Town!

After the show, the Hogues stopped by our Design Studio to create some custom pieces for their brand new home.

“We had and have limitless amounts of faith in the Lott Furniture Co. Design Studio. In fact, we didn’t even see a few of the pieces. We just described what we wanted– that it needed to hold up to kids, grandkids, and the pool. It was so fun to just have things delivered without us having to put in the stress of figuring it all out on our own. We had a pretty tight budget after the renovations, so we included that as well and left the rest to the talented team at Lott’s. We were not disappointed!”

It was very special to us to get the opportunity to be involved with helping the Hogues find their perfect pieces to fit their style and needs, and most of all–to help bring them home.

A few more fun questions for the Hogues about their experience on Home Town:

Did you enjoy Home Town? What was so great about the experience?

What would you tell a potential homeowner thinking about being on the show?

What do you value most about being a Laurelite?

Keri Rowell

Keri Rowell is part of Downtown Laurel’s most historic business, Lott Furniture Co. A Laurel native and Historic District resident, Keri enjoys exploring all of the beautiful spaces and places in her Home Town, discovering the hidden tales buried deep within its history, and sharing them with the world.  When you visit Downtown Laurel, you might just spot her out exploring, dreaming up the next story to share with you.