The Best Curb Appeal Transformations From 'Bargain Block'

Keith Bynum (left) and Evan Thomas (right) are HGTV’s renovation savants who, through their series Bargain Block, have managed to turn some of Detroit’s most distressed, forgotten and rundown houses into designer dream homes. They’ve even expanded their horizons, traveling south to New Orleans to work their magic on some of the city’s shotgun houses and the like. Here we highlight some of the duo’s most noteworthy exterior transformations — from both the Motor City and the Big Easy — and their imaginative ideas for boosting curb appeal.

Keith and Evan purchased this house in northwest Detroit for $15,000. The exterior was in fair shape, with prior repair work including roof and partial siding replacement. Surrounded by vacant lots, the location felt woodsy and remote, leading Keith to nickname it his "Country Estate." Diamond, a potential buyer, was in love with the neighborhood and expressed an interest in seeing the house once the renovation was complete — before the house went on the market. A lifelong Detroit native, she liked what she saw with the in-progress renovation but was less than thrilled with the country getaway theme. She was in search of something hip and novel — but perhaps with a grittier, more urban vibe.

In keeping with the client’s suggestions, Keith and Evan changed their thematic approach mid-project. “Diamond ... is the epitome of who I see buying our houses," said Keith. "She's young and she's a music producer. Playing off that, I kind of want to [draw inspiration from] a downtown record shop." So country cottage was out, city living was in — and the moniker "Urban Estate" was born. The finished exterior checks all the boxes for big-city cool. The porch and façade get a modern look, with columns wrapped in natural wood, unstained shingles for the gable, new porch railings, a powder blue front door, contrasting black trim and fresh landscaping.

This 1940s-era red-brick house came with white trim, shutters, twin roof dormers — and lots of peeling paint, damaged gutters and deteriorating roof. It had been on the market for more than three months with no takers. A quick tour inside reveals water damage, buckled floors, wood rot and mold. The house was listed at $29,000 — the higher end of Keith and Evan’s usual price range. But the basement egress at the rear of the home was a plus because it suggested a basement rental unit for added owner income could be a possibility.

With a new roof, a newly finished basement apartment and lots of interior structural repair, the outside of the Dormer House has been radically transformed. And it boasts a bold new color palette: The sharp midnight-blue exterior is offset and highlighted by white trim, a new door and vintage style copper gutters. The exterior color was also a solid choice since the interior design scheme relied heavily on black and white. "[This house] was a big, big challenge for us," said Evan. "We had to take some big artistic risks ... but no risk, no reward." In the end, the reward came in the form of a quick sale at the asking price of $99,000 — after only one day of showings.

A New Orleans "double" (i.e. duplex) with a traditional shotgun house layout (i.e. a narrow, single story home with doors at both ends), this house had been abandoned and vacant for four years. It had foundation issues, uneven floors and a honeybee colony living in the dead space inside the exterior walls. The home's exterior had peeling paint, a damaged porch and overgrown landscaping. Despite the home's issues, its purchase price was $111,000 — substantially more than Evan and Keith were accustomed to paying. Keith summed it up: "We’re not in Detroit anymore."

Keith and Evan revived the exterior of the cottage. The home's façade remains the same structurally, but natural wood accents, fresh white paint, new windows, upgraded ironwork and hanging porch-ferns combine to make for an eye-catching New Orleans showstopper. Inside, Keith and Evan maintained the duplex floorplan but added a camelback addition — a significant expansion that involves adding a second floor to the back of a home.

This house stood behind damaged chain-link fencing. Its exterior paint was peeling and the roof and fascia were damaged. The front columns (one of which was missing) were plastic reproductions.

Keith and Evan went with a sleek, black exterior for this ambitious New Orleans reno. Outside improvements include repaired roof, fascia and siding, new contrasting light blue doors, upgraded windows and fresh sod for the front yard. Keith and Evan also replaced the vinyl columns with wooden ones, added new porch railings and installed wider front stairs for easier access. As with their first New Orleans project (the Creole Cottage), they opted to include a camelback addition to expand square footage and create added possibilities for reconfiguring the interior. Upon completion, the updated house boasts an owner suite with three bedrooms and three baths, and a rental unit with one bedroom and one bath.

Evan and Keith were able to pick up this Detroit brick foursquare for a song — just $10,000. But there’s a reason. Their real-estate associate, Shea Whitfield, brought the property to their attention after losing an office bet. Her penalty: She had to take the listing for the worst house on the agency’s sales roster.

According to Evan, the city of Detroit often buys packages of houses to give to brokers, and they’re usually very distressed properties. The traditional brick exterior on this one was in fairly good shape, and though the house did have some charming attributes, the roof was in bad shape, the chimney was deteriorated and the wood shutters were rotting. Inside, there was extensive water damage, and the plaster and drywall were crumbling throughout.

Keith came up with a "Casino Royale" theme for the renovation, turning the dilapidated home into a glitzy showplace. For the exterior, the jungle of overgrown landscaping was removed and the crumbling porch was replaced with a new and enlarged one — with new stairs, railings and banisters added. To further freshen up the look, the old shutters were replaced with new ones of solid panel construction and painted in Iron Mountain Gray by Behr. The roof was replaced, windows upgraded and the trim got freshened up with bright white paint. Total renovation costs for this project, inside and out, were around $90,000, for a total investment of $100,000. Evan and Keith listed the house for $150,000 for a potential $50,000 profit.

Evan and Keith took a risk on this New Orleans double — their second project in the Big Easy — before their first project had sold. Painted in pale blue, the house was suffering from neglect with deteriorating paint, unmatched doors and a missing staircase. Inside, the walls had previously been demoed. Keith and Evan were able to negotiate a purchase for this property at $84,000 — a relatively reasonable price for a house in this condition in the New Orleans market.

Keith’s idea for this New Orleans duplex was to build on a Mardi Gras theme by bringing in fun, celebratory elements. Inside the larger unit, he drew inspiration from the historic hotels of the French Quarter. Outside, the house received new wood siding, stairs and wood columns. The exterior palette is a subdued variation of the Mardi Gras colors: muted sage green with soft yellow trim. The ceiling of the porch is painted sky-colored “haunt blue” (or haint blue), a shade, regional legend has it, used to drive away evil spirits.

Keith and Evan purchased this 690-square-foot cottage, featured in Season 2 of Bargain Block, for just $4,000. The inside and outside were in rough shape — with exposed foundation, rotted siding, missing gutters, a dilapidated front porch and extensive drywall rot inside. In addition to the deteriorated exterior, the backyard was a mix of jungle and junkyard, and the interior was a filthy disaster. “The backyard required machetes,” joked Keith. “The interior required hazmat suits.” This was the worst house the two of them had yet taken on. Twenty dumpsters were required to clean out the house and yard.

The former neighborhood eyesore underwent a visual transformation. The tranquil soft-blue exterior paint pairs with white trim and a pale yellow front door complete with a crescent window. Keith and Evan replaced the old roof, front porch and stairs — and added fresh copper guttering and downspouts. “The process of getting to this point was not very Zen,” said Keith. “But I think the final result is.”

This 1180-square-foot home in Detroit originally came with an odd color scheme, an assortment of outdoor antennae and a patchwork of roof materials Evan likened to Dolly Parton’s "Coat of Many Colors."

Keith and Evan purchased the house for $25,000 and spent $60,000 on the renovation. "Warm tones of green and cream, rustic wood accents, exposed ceiling beams,” were some of the details Keith envisioned in his French Country renovation — and the theme comes through in the home’s new exterior. Natural wood shake shingles define the front façade, as does the green front door surrounded by vertical wood siding painted in a rich cream tone.

The exterior on this 1950s-era home was in reasonably good condition, albeit drab and unspectacular — the highly visible, fire-engine red door notwithstanding. Exterior paint was faded and the ironwork columns were dated. Wood framing on the left of the home was badly rotted due to a roof leak, and the windows needed replacing.

The finished exterior boasts bright white paint and a decorative pale-pink door. A new picture-window is framed in white trim and surrounded by wood shingles in natural finish. Keith and Evan added gutters and replaced the old front ironwork with wood columns. The new look is a fitting match for Evan’s interior, which drew on modern and midcentury influences.

Evan and Keith procured this tiny and derelict bungalow from the City of Detroit for the grand sum of $4,500. It’s nominally a two-bedroom with an interior of 600 square feet. Outside, stair rails were made from plumbing pipe, the stairs themselves were in serious disrepair (a couple were missing entirely), the porch was rotted and the front exterior was covered in a cheap faux-brick tile. Inside, the ceilings and walls featured gaping holes — and a few more surprises lay in store.