Tres Chic Transformation

Homeowner Denise McDonald is ready to leave the boring confines of suburbia and move into the fun city of Washington, D.C. She plans to sell her suburban 1960s three-bedroom townhouse and purchase a trendy, downtown condo. Her place sits on a tranquil, tree-lined cul-de-sac in a very desirable neighborhood, so it should move quickly. But the Designed to Sell team is on hand anyway to help boost her profit.

Real estate expert Terry Haas likes the European feel she gets from the outside of the house, but she feels that the pile of garbage cans behind the fence distracts from the view. Upon entering the home, Haas is overwhelmed by the Parisian theme. The living room is decorated with way too many pictures of the Eiffel Towers. Theme rooms can put off potential buyers. The guest bedroom gets low marks as well. It is packed with too much furniture, and the window is blocked by the oversize bed. The home has a beautiful deck off the kitchen, but the space is a mess and not being utilized to its full potential.

Designer Taniya Nayak aggrees with Haas' assessment and is armed with $2,000 and a plan of action.

Step 1: Lose the clutter and the theme in the living room, then spruce it up with some new paint.

Step 2: Clean up the back deck and make it a great selling feature.

Step 3: Tone down the tomato-red paint, and scale down the furniture in the bedroom.

Contractor John Allen and carpenter Matt Steele have their tool belts on and are ready to get to work.

The walls are plain vanilla; the only personality in the room comes from the overly abundant French theme.