'Good Bones' Season 5 Episode 7: Mina and Karen transform a tiny old biker bar into a grand family home
In the latest episode of 'Good Bones', Mina Starsiak Hawke and Karen Laine are back in Talbott in the Old Southside neighborhood where they remodel an old motorcycle bar-turned-house into a single-family home. The former hangout joint goes through a total transformation, with a two-story addition built in the back and an industrial modern design as a way to pay homage to its bike roots. Bonus footage features Mina's toddler, Jack, taking his first bike ride, as the mother-daughter duo take a ride around the neighborhood in North Square.
The area that the old biker bar is based in is a part of Old Southside which is yet to transition, Mina thinks this the right time to invest in renovating the house and selling it. She bought the 530 feet house for $35,000. The house had no bedrooms prior to renovations. It was only a large space divided into two areas with one bathroom. After demolishing the old shed addition, the Two Chicks and a Hammer Inc team will convert the biker bar into an actual home, with a living room, dining room and kitchen. They intend to add a big second story addition that will house the four new bedrooms, three new bathrooms and a garage. They will also paint the exterior and add some landscaping.
This is an ambitious renovation for the team, where they will be converting the old house into a family home, three times its previous size. Since this project calls for some big additions, Mina is allocating a renovation budget of $230,000, which brings the total investment cost to $265,000. Along with landscaping and garage, she hopes to list it for $312,000, leaving them with a $47,000 profit. Demolition is underway and they practically take down the whole house. The back addition is almost 2,000 square feet and extends back to the alley. Mina got the floor plan approved and the team began laying the foundation for the massive two-story addition.
As the home gains structures, Mina and Karen decide on the final details. The exterior of the house will be painted in monochromatic shades of grey. Mina aims to give the house an urban-industrial vibe and softening it up with some light-colored tiles installed as the backsplash and a herringbone pattern in the bathroom. They want to give a "nod" to the biker bar and not recreate it entirely. The kitchen will get butcher-bar countertops and the flooring will be made from oak boards to give the house some warmth as opposed to cooler tones. The theme is leaning more towards the masculine than the usual whimsical feminine. In the courtyard, to the side of the house, the team is installing a new deck which would serve as a perfect little outdoor space to entertain.
Using discarded motorcycle parts that she found in the old biker's bar before demolition, Karen intends to make a rustic table for her DIY project. In the Talbott biker house, the interior walls have been bathed in light grey, while dark grey cabinets cover the expanse of the kitchen. Outside, the house also got a new fence. They invoke the biker theme by decorating the upstairs loft with unique biker-inspired pieces. It is an attempt at preserving the history of the house while adding sleek industrial touches and balancing it out with a mix of soft textures and colors.
The episode also gives us another peek into Mina's IVF journey. It's been weeks since she started on medications and doctor appointments, and now they're in the process of egg retrieval. A couple of days later she learns that one of her eggs has fertilized and the doctors will continue to monitor it to see if it turns into an embryo. They can then proceed with the transfer and if the embryo sticks and Jack will have a little sibling soon.
'Good Bones' premieres every Tuesday at 9 pm ET/PT on HGTV.