Kim Wolfe’s Most Brilliant Home Design Moves

On HGTV’s Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?, Kim Wolfe brings relationship therapy to people and properties. This is how she helps them fall in love all over again.

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August 03, 2023

By: Lauren Oster

Show: Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?

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Photo By: Jennifer Boomer

Kim’s Intuitive Approach to Design

Kim Wolfe became a professional designer after winning Season 24 of Survivor: One World (and capturing the audience-favorite prize to boot). Her knack for reading people and her strategic thinking skills secured her the Survivor victory, and — surprise, surprise — they're the same traits that make her a savvy designer. On Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?, she wades into San Antonio homeowners’ toxic relationships with their spaces, then nurses them back to health. Consider these gorgeous transformations in her step-by-step guide to rekindling a romance with your home.

see more: Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?

Recast Traditional Silhouettes and Palettes

Kim’s freewheeling design for this living room pairs silhouettes (consider how the delicate antique mirror she placed on the mantel echoes the hearth’s brick arch) and tones (the vintage rug’s rich brown background and cream details harmonize with the leather sofa and the woven chairs) to create a sophisticated and eclectic space. This is 21st century Southwestern style.

Design a Bath That’s Meant to Be Seen

The door dividing this guest bedroom from its bath stands wide open, as it should; the tropical wallpaper, intricately carved vanity, oval mirror and rose gold pendant all demand attention. Kim chose the equipale chair and framed photograph in this transitional space to introduce and complement the design choices in the room beyond it.

SEE MORE: 30 Beautiful Half Bathroom and Powder Room Ideas We're Loving Now

From: Kim Wolfe

Make Your Range a Major Moment

With an eight-burner, professional-grade range at their disposal, it’s safe to say Kim’s clients get down to business in their kitchen. She celebrated their love of the culinary arts by creating a hardworking space that’s also got serious design chops: This nook features brass-trimmed recessed shelving for tools and ingredients; a pair of postmodern, pyramid-shaped flush-mount fixtures; a backsplash with both textural Zellige tiles and a live-edge knife holder; and an array of rustic accessories. The silvery sage green she chose for the cabinetry framing this space is a cool complement to those tiles and organic accessories.

Offset Pale Furniture With Dark Walls

Kim performed a masterful balancing act in this home office by enveloping the walls, built-in shelving and even the ceiling with deep, dimensional charcoal paint — then using that paint as the visual foundation for high-contrast flights of fancy: a pale desk and daybed, a panoramic Western landscape, a creamy cowhide rug and a caramel-colored armchair. Reframed with that bold choice, those ostensibly-neutral furnishings are standouts.

SEE MORE: Dark + Dramatic Colors for Any Room

From: Kim Wolfe

Layer the Lighting in Living and Dining Rooms

Don’t let the abundance of natural light in this dynamic space distract you from Kim’s genius design choices: once the sun sets, these rooms can take on a whole new range of moods. Table lamps at different heights create conversation spaces in the sitting area, while both recessed lights and a leggy chandelier establish atmosphere at the dining table.

SEE MORE: 20 Living Room Lighting Design Ideas

From: Kim Wolfe

Think of the Office As a Guest Room

If your work-from-home needs are minimal, consider how Kim outfitted this room: The built-ins, lighting and furnishings accommodate light industry, but her design is layered to feel as warm as it is functional. This space could transition to welcome a guest in a snap — and would be an oasis for anyone who’s ever curled up for the night beside a printer atop a filing cabinet.

SEE MORE: 65+ Small Home Office Ideas

From: Kim Wolfe

Carry Wallpaper Across the Ceiling to Modernize Molding

With dated accessories and a traditional wall treatment, this fabulous space adjoining that living room was also feeling decidedly fussy. Kim splashed a maximalist Mediterranean pattern across the upper walls and ceiling to spice things up, then added an Art Deco-inspired pendant with the more contemporary detail of tone-on-tone hardware.

From: Kim Wolfe

Mix It Up With Kitchen Storage

Between the substantial island, installations beneath the counter and an upper cabinet between the kitchen and dining area, this space has more than enough closed storage. Given that, Kim opted to frame the streamlined range hood with pale floating shelves that provide easy access to frequently used pieces — as well as a generous view of the textural tile backsplash.

SEE MORE: 26 Open Shelving Ideas for Your Kitchen

From: Kim Wolfe

Reframe Old-School Stripes

Filigreed Hollywood Regency details and high-impact patterns that should have made this home feel opulent instead showed its age. Kim gave that timeline a kick by introducing eclectic elements like the color-saturated portrait above the sofa, gracefully Scandinavian chairs and a sisal area rug that punctures the space’s formality.

SEE MORE: 30 Timeless Wallpapers You Won't Regret in 30 Years

From: Kim Wolfe

Punctuate Spaces With Large-Scale, Standalone Art

A massive piece of art, like the colorful portrait Kim chose for this living room, has the clean visual weight of a feature wall or room divider. Even more eye-catching with a wide, ridged frame, this beauty makes a single, strong statement that assorted items on a gallery wall (sorry, gallery walls!) can't compete with.

From: Kim Wolfe

Keep Kids’ Furnishings Simple and Splash Out on Wallpaper

Work and play complement each other beautifully in this playroom and homework space, where Kim paired a built-in storage bench and desks with fabulous Cole & Son wallpaper inspired by a national park in Botswana. A pair of natural rattan chairs are all that’s needed to round out the design, and there’s plenty of open space for (and spots to stash) toys and craft supplies.

SEE MORE: 45 Small-Space Kids' Playroom Design Ideas

From: Kim Wolfe

Define the Kitchen With Contrasting Cabinets

Kim gave her clients breathing room by opening up their home’s floor plan, then distinguished between functional spaces by installing dark cabinets that ‘divide’ the dining area from the bar and kitchen. She also performed the nifty trick of adding a tone-on-tone, butcher block-topped storage and prep island that doesn’t detract from the kitchen’s spacious feel.

SEE MORE: 15 Open-Concept Kitchens and Living Spaces With Flow

From: Kim Wolfe

Try Textile Art and Color Blocking in a Nursery

Brushing terra-cotta toned paint across and below this nursery’s chair rail introduces an eye-catching, contemporary design element that doesn’t take up space (and will be a snap to clean). Kim followed that opening move by softening the space with rope art above the crib and a high-contrast Moroccan area rug, both pieces that can accompany the little one who sleeps here for years to come.

SEE MORE: 34 Gender-Neutral Nurseries We Love

From: Kim Wolfe

Think Outside the Sectional

Kim chose curvaceous and whimsical seating to keep the eye moving in this dynamic great room, where an architectural midcentury-inspired chandelier draws the eye to the gathering space before the fireplace. Pedestals and occasional tables present an array of curios beside all those perches, and a sleek glass stair rail ensures that the magnificent bookcases ascending to the second floor are visible from every angle.

SEE MORE: How to Arrange Your Living Room Furniture

From: Kim Wolfe

Focus on Texture in the Bedroom

From fringed fiber art and the button-tufted headboard to breezy semi-sheer curtains and the nubbly handwoven area rug underfoot, this bedroom is all about materiality. With just a hint of brass on the nightstands to add a note of luxury, Kim’s design celebrates touchable organic surfaces.

SEE MORE: 30 Dreamy Bedroom Designs From HGTV Stars

From: Kim Wolfe

Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?

Kim Wolfe’s Most Brilliant Home Design Moves

Related To:

Shop This Look

Kim’s Intuitive Approach to Design

Recast Traditional Silhouettes and Palettes

Design a Bath That’s Meant to Be Seen

Make Your Range a Major Moment

Offset Pale Furniture With Dark Walls

Layer the Lighting in Living and Dining Rooms

Think of the Office As a Guest Room

Carry Wallpaper Across the Ceiling to Modernize Molding

Mix It Up With Kitchen Storage

Reframe Old-School Stripes

Punctuate Spaces With Large-Scale, Standalone Art

Keep Kids’ Furnishings Simple and Splash Out on Wallpaper

Define the Kitchen With Contrasting Cabinets

Try Textile Art and Color Blocking in a Nursery

Think Outside the Sectional

Focus on Texture in the Bedroom

7 Things to Know About Kim Wolfe of HGTV’s ‘Why The Heck Did I Buy This House?’

Former Survivor Winner Kim Wolfe Stars in HGTV Series 'Why The Heck Did I Buy This House?'

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