'Selling the Big Easy': Brittany Picolo-Ramos helps Kyle and Kaylan buy a 100-year-old Uptown dream house
HGTV's brand new series 'Selling the Big Easy' was about to hit screens in the first half of 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic played havoc with its broadcast and the network decided to delay its release. Starring real estate agent, Brittany Picolo-Ramos, the series premiered on September 11, and the first episode saw her help featured couple Kyle and Kaylan find their dream house in New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA)
Kyle and Kaylan have been married for five years, are parents to two dogs and all of them recently moved to New Orleans. They decided to reach out to Brittany who is a noted personality in the real estate market in the region to help them seek out the best house for themselves. Speaking about their requirements, they needed a house with historic charm, something with at least 4 bedrooms, an entertainers kitchen with all upgraded appliances, a separate office space, a costume room, and a dog-friendly property. Their budget for their new home was $1.1M.
Brittany was excited to work with them and since they were newcomers to the city, she wanted to introduce them to the whole city and its suburban areas, metro areas, and surrounding spaces that people don't really know about. She got to work with her team of trusted agents: her best friend Lauren, her brother Joel and Derek. All of them sat together, looking at the best possible options for Kyle and Kaylan. Lauren found a house off Magazine Street. It was built 100 years ago and freshly renovated. It came with a gourmet kitchen and almost all rooms had exposed brick walls and the open floor plan added to the beauty of the house. It was priced at $998,000 and very much in Kyle and Kaylan's budget. Joel too had an option ready, he had found something on the Irish Channel and this was a much fancier home with Italian Carrara marble in the kitchen, wooden floors, huge walk-in closets, a balcony, and a dog park nearby. Derek presented a property located in Metairie, however, this option was priced higher than the budget the couple had set aside. It was a 6 bedroom, 6.5 bathroom home spanning 6550 sq ft. and it was listed for $1.15M.
The Metairie property was the first house Brittany took Kyle and Kaylan to. They didn't love the house initially as it was too far away for them and the interiors too failed to impress them. The only features that stood out was the wine room and the entertaining room. They then went to the Uptown House Lauren had found out. The four bedrooms and four baths 3,250 sq ft home was definitely in their budget. The front porch of the house immediately spoke to the couple and they visualized themselves hosting a dinner party over there. After taking a look inside, they found out that during the restoration process the original finishes were modernized and this was a dampener because they wanted something with historic charm and besides the pocket doors and brick walls, the couple felt that the house was missing the NOLA charm. The couple looked at a few more houses later but finally settled for the Uptown House as there was a lot of room for customization. They bought the house for 995,000 and the adjoining green patch for 280,000 for their dogs.
'Selling the Big Easy' airs Fridays at 9 pm on HGTV.