The Best Historic Home Renovations from HGTV Stars

There's a special kind of thrill in watching a seasoned pro restore a home's faded glory for a new generation of occupants. Brand-spanking-new conveniences are nice, but when you can retell a classic story in a thrilling way? That's peak renovation satisfaction. Take a spin through HGTV stars' very best historic before-and-afters.

Built in the Venetian Gothic style for a dry goods merchant, Detroit’s Ransom Gillis House is a landmark that had been unoccupied since the 1960s. When HGTV and Nicole Curtis stepped in to revive it, once-grand areas like this foyer were skeletal spaces in need of floor-to-ceiling reconstruction.

The well-weathered interior brick walls stand as a noble testament to the home’s long history — and just about everything else in the foyer and living area has been completely transformed. Nicole drew period-appropriate inspiration from a neighboring house of a similar age to outfit the space with details like a custom-turned stair post with a traditional finial, intricate woodwork on the stairs’ skirtboards and cathedral balusters at the top of each spindle. Her team stained and installed more than 5,000 square feet of new hardwood to mimic the home’s original flooring. To crown the once-again grand entry and fireplace, she tapped a local pottery studio (founded in the home’s carriage house in 1903) to create one-of-a-kind tile. Nicole Curtis recreated what she envisioned the living room looked like at the Ransom Gillis House.

With dated wallpaper and fixtures, this once-stunning Pittsburgh Tudor no longer felt like an architectural gem from 1919. Steve and Leanne Ford swept in to brighten and modernize the home and honor its origins. The goal was to make the original family room more light, bright and airy.

Gorgeous, no? Restored and freshly coated built-ins (thanks Steve!) stand beside the windows, and cream-on-white paint (thanks Leanne!) soaks up all that dazzling sunlight. Stripped of its once dull wallpaper, the white sheen on the walls now adds elegance to the space instead of dimming the look. The newly painted fireplace mantle creates a focal point worthy of the character of the house.

Likely one of the oldest homes in Laurel, Mississippi, this faded belle’s interiors suffered from ill-chosen light fixtures and paint treatments. Erin Napier envisioned a transformation that would better integrate features like this grand foyer and infuse the home with breezy Southern grace. Inside the Hogue home entrance, guests were greeted by clashing wall patterns before this stunning makeover on Home Town.

Though the existing wallpaper was left in place, the Napier's cleaned, freshened and brought it back to life. Leaning into the character of this historic home is what makes this renovation so special. With a new powder-blue paint on the trim and a custom book shelf built by Ben Napier, the details of this foyer shine through and give the room a chance to breathe.

It's no secret that Alison Victoria is a master at restoring historic homes to their former glory. Constructed in 1861, this Civil War-era home has seen a lot of cosmetic updates over the past century, but the layout consisting of several, small cramped rooms no longer works. Windy City Rehab takes the dated and awkward spaces to modern luxury home standards.

The 20-foot width of this historic Chicago property provides ample space to accommodate a 21st-century open floor plan, with the living room flowing into the newly remodeled chef's kitchen and family room, beyond.

The cool news is that a ship’s captain built this fantastic Pittsburgh home in the 19th century, and the not-so-cool news is that someone renovated the kitchen in the 1980s. Its current owners summoned Leanne and Steve Ford to work their Restored by the Fords sibling magic and steer back into stylish waters.

The classic kitchen they created feels both elemental and elegant: a simple pattern in penny tile defines the space, a crisp, quartz-topped island with an oil-rubbed bronze faucet is both functional and beautiful, and butcher-block countertops with a high-gloss finish suggest a shipwright’s woodwork. Best of all, hand-blown glass pendants add a bit of new personality with Old World technique. In a working space like this one where era-appropriate appliances would be awkward — let’s be honest, preparing meals on a Victorian stove sounds iffy at best — era-evocative fixtures make all the difference.

This Craftsman-style cottage in Laurel, Mississippi, was constructed around 1910, resold about a decade later, then owned and passed down through a family for nearly a century. Home Town’s Erin and Ben Napier saw its beautiful bones had potential to be adapted to suit a new family.

Here’s lovely proof that major updates to historic homes don’t have to entail doing away with interior walls (or spending a small fortune). By stripping and refinishing the white oak floor, brightening the walls, heightening the window treatment and adding celadon-green trim, Erin added contemporary energy without sacrificing intimate charm.

Can we call the '50s historic? For the sake of showing off this renovation, that is exactly what we are doing. This 1950s midcentury modern home needed quite the facelift before Married to Real Estate stepped in.

Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson really took this home to new heights. Soaring ceilings appear extra elevated in this 1950s living room, thanks to dark, exposed beams and lofty, narrow windows that exude midcentury style. The couple transformed this dated home into an enticing retreat filled with a myriad of cozy seating areas like this sectional-framed nook. A plush, geometric-print rug, angular wooden lounge chairs and burnt orange-and-yellow accent pillows complete the midcentury vibe.

This stately brick home was full of charming details like arched interior doorways and gorgeous exterior architecture. It was also full of shadows and stumbling blocks like this cramped, closed-off kitchen. Its new owners needed an updated space to suit their lively family.

Leanne and Steve Ford decided that in this case, reimagining the home’s layout was essential. Accent paint in contemporary teal highlights the original details that remain, and a paler blue-green carries into the built-in they created for the refrigerator, across the cabinets and through the island and stools. Sunlight now pours from the foyer through to the living and dining area, where a handmade table and a quartet of Bertoia chairs celebrate craftsmanship in an eclectic new spirit.

Muffled behind overgrown landscaping and left vacant, this home in historic downtown Laurel, Mississippi, had fallen on hard times in the century since its construction (in 1900!). Erin and Ben Napier were among the neighbors who’d longed to see it restored. Somewhere in there, architectural details like a rare-for-the-area covered balcony and decorative brackets were just waiting to wow again.

And there she is! The Napiers replaced the roof and revived the exterior with cedar shake and crisp white trim, then added sweet details like a custom porch swing and outdoor dining table. A handsome stone walkway leads visitors through well-manicured vegetation, and those handsome columns are the new MVPs of curb appeal. This once-dilapidated home has now claimed a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Nicole Curtis of Rehab Addict got to this abandoned, neglected North Minneapolis bungalow just in time. Though the original woodwork was in comparatively good shape, other portions of the home were crumbling — and the whole property was due to be demolished by the city. The previous owner started converting the attic into a bedroom but never finished the job.

Behold the power of drywall and a little TLC. Nicole finished what the previous owner started by finishing the walls and adding a coat of creamy white paint that complements the restored quarter-sawn oak’s rich color. Believe it or not, the previously woeful floors simply needed sanding and refinishing to glow against the trim. With little more than an old green radiator and a white brick wall, this space is now ready to welcome another century’s worth of guests in its charming shabby chic style.

When the Burton family tasked Dave and Jenny Marrs with restoring their family's century old barn, they knew it would be a challenge, but the old classic gambrel barn was definitely worth preserving. The original oak siding wasn't structurally sound, so the Fixer to Fabulous team took it down and repurposed it in a multitude of ways throughout the finished home.

This barn certainly learned new tricks! Since this space wasn't the family's main living area, Dave and Jenny were able to come up with big ideas to celebrate the barn's history. Unique features like a garage door and funky chandelier now make this barn feel fun and modern.

Constructed for humans, this dilapidated Victorian had converted to an informal squirrel hotel before Dave and Jenny Marrs arrived. Previous would-be rehabbers had created unsafe conditions, and previous painters had chosen a grim brown-on-beige color scheme.