Erin and Ben Napier of 'Home Town' Pick Home Features To Keep or Ditch in 2023

On "Home Town," Erin and Ben Napier have worked on a lot of homes with a dated grandma-esque style that's crying out to be fixed—but what if you’ve actually bought that house from your own grandma?

In the Season 7 episode "The Mullet House," Erin and Ben meet newlyweds Alex and Wesley. Alex's grandma was looking to downsize, so they bought her 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom home for just $144,000.

This house, built in 1955, has been in Alex's family for 30 years, so she has a lot of special memories connected to the place. Still, the interior is decidedly old-fashioned, with floral wallpaper and ornate light fixtures.

Erin and Ben are given a budget of $250,000 to help the couple save the best parts of the house while replacing just enough to make it feel updated and youthful. Read on to find out which features the Napiers decide to save—and replace—which might give you ideas on what can stay (or go) in your own abode for 2023.

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Erin knows this house will need a lot of work, so they can't afford to change the outside too much.

"We’re not changing a ton on the exterior because we want to put most of their budget toward the inside," she explains.

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One change she does deem worth making is replacing the old front door with a new one with frosted glass windows. She knows this entryway swap will give the home a more welcoming look and make the interior brighter.

"Front doors like this are my favorite where you have a solid wood on the lower third and the upper two-thirds are glass," Erin says. "So you let it in so much light."

Once the new door is installed, Erin declares, "That is a friendly front door!"

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While a renovation is a great opportunity to make style changes, it's also a good time to revisit a home's layout and organization. For example, Erin and Ben realize that Alex and Wesley's new kitchen has an entire wall that is blank and unused. So when the HGTV stars replace the existing cabinets, they order some extras to line the empty wall.

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"By adding built-in cabinets on this wall where we didn't have any, I feel like we’re doubling the usefulness of the kitchen," Erin says after the new cabinets are set in place. Indeed, the added storage is sure to be a big benefit to Alex and Wesley.

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Kitchen islands weren't a typical feature when Alex's grandma bought this house. But now, they’re practically a given in a large kitchen.

So Erin and Ben fill up this kitchen's empty space by adding a massive 10-foot island in the center. The feature has storage on the side and provides convenient prep space.

While a kitchen island will provide a more updated look, Erin and Ben are careful not to go too modern. They choose a simple design with Shaker panels that match the new cabinets.

"It's a nice, clean, simple silhouette for the kitchen," Ben explains.

"It's timeless," Erin adds.

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Mirrored walls were a popular feature in the ’80s, but these days, they can make a room look dated. So while Erin and Ben know they need to remove the dining room mirrors, Erin wants to use parts of them to make something new. She puts nine of the mirrored squares into a black frame, decorating it with brass strips and small medallions. Erin explains: "I want to give her a mirror in that room using the original mirror but in a more modern and sophisticated, updated way."

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Erin and her best friend, Mallorie, create a new, smaller dining room mirror. Mallorie says mirrors like these will sell for at least $300 online, with Erin pointing out that this DIY project cost only about $20.

While not every renovator will want to preserve parts of an old mirror wall, it's a great reminder that removing mirrored walls can make a big difference when modernizing.

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Before renovations, this home had different floors in different rooms. So Erin and Ben decide to give the whole house new luxury vinyl tile flooring for a cohesive look.

"This flooring works with Alex and Wesley's budget, and it’ll be a way that we can tie all these rooms together," Ben says.

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While working with David, the flooring and tile installer, Ben says that he chose these floors for a reason. While the old wood flooring was dark and classic, the LVT looks less stuffy.

"These are kind of formal-looking, but they got a little bit of fake saw marks in them," Ben says. "So they’re a little bit casual, a little bit rock and roll."

Jillian Pretzel is a Southern California writer who covers lifestyle, relationships, home, and money management.