Before and After: How HGTV Magazine Transformed a Couple's First House

The most exciting part of going from renting an apartment to owning a house: all the space! The most overwhelming part: all the space! That’s what Katie and Patrick Roetker discovered when they settled into their 1,510-square-foot house in Madison, WI, in the spring of 2018. “We loved how sunny and open it was, but once we moved our stuff in, it was like, OK, where’s the rest? ” says Katie. Although parents on both sides chipped in old furniture to help fill the rooms, says Patrick, “it felt like a jumble, and we didn’t know where to begin with redecorating, so we just left it.”

Cut to a year later, when HGTV Magazine solved their hodgepodge problem with a makeover that brought in furnishings, paint and wallpaper in colors and patterns that harmonize like a dream. “We never would have been brave enough to mix these things on our own,” says Katie. “Our home now has a look and a personality. It finally feels like it belongs to us, instead of just someplace we’re staying.”

Read on to see the makeover up close!

Colors and textures were missing from this bland living room before HGTV Magazine stepped in.

Now a terra-cotta-color wall (Coral Rock by Benjamin Moore) brings in warmth year-round. “The tone shifts over the course of the day, like a sunset,” says Katie. The oversize art from Four Hands Art Studio makes it even more glorious. For seating, the dated brown sectional that dominated the space got replaced with a chic blue wool-blend sofa by American Leather, a curvy armchair by Taylor King and two leather slingback chairs from Wisteria. Friends at the couple’s giant potluck dinners spill into here, so the large coffee table by Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture comes in handy. The rug is by Jaipur Living.