Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa, Together Again

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Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead are back together—no, not in a romantic way—as house-flipping partners for Season 10 of “Flip or Flop.”

And after all the tension that characterized their working relationship in the past, this former couple seems to work surprisingly well together now. But it seems that the house they’re renovating isn’t quite as cooperative.

In the Season 10 premiere, titled “Back House Flip,” El Moussa and Anstead buy a $450,000 home in Lakewood, CA. While the house is small, it causes big problems. The flippers have to tear down an unpermitted third bedroom and second bathroom, which will not only eat into their budget, but take a bite out of the home’s value, too.

Yet miraculously, Anstead and El Moussa end up turning this tiny house into a huge winner, which they sell for a phenomenal price. Read on to find out how they pull it off, and learn some smart upgrades worth trying in your own home.

A new porch railing does wonders

This yard looked overgrown and unloved.

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El Moussa and Anstead know that buyers love curb appeal, so they focus their attention on the front yard.

“The front patio is nasty and old, and the landscaping is overgrown,” El Moussa says. So, the two decide to fix up the patio by adding some tile, putting up a railing, and adding a planter.

With a new railing and some added flowers, this front yard is transformed.

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In the end, the front of the house looks homey and welcoming. The added greenery and the refreshed patio give the home a lot of character.

“It’s a cute little house,” Anstead says.

A skylight isn’t always the solution

These skylights are dated, just like the rest of this kitchen.

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Skylights are generally a plus, but not in this house.

“A skylight is a great way to bring in natural light,” Anstead explains, “but in this house, it’s just not working. The skylight in the bathroom creates weird shadows, and the skylight in the kitchen is dated and just looks odd.”

With new can lights and a big window, this kitchen looks lovely.

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So El Moussa and Anstead close up the skylights. But to make up for the loss of light, they open up a new window in the kitchen and add new light fixtures.

When the work is done, both the kitchen and bathroom look much better. It just proves that there are many ways to bring light into a room.

A small kitchen doesn’t need extra counter space

Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead realize that a peninsula makes the kitchen seem smaller.

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With the lighting in the kitchen much improved, El Moussa and Anstead want to upgrade the kitchen with new counters and cabinets. However, the space is too small for an island, and as it turns out, it’s too small for a peninsula.

When El Moussa and Anstead see that their contractor, Jeff, has installed a peninsula, they realize just how narrow the kitchen is.

“We are working with a really small house, and we need to keep the floor plan as open as possible,” Anstead says. “This peninsula closes up the space, and it makes the walkway too narrow.”

Anstead and El Moussa are right to decide against a peninsula in this kitchen.

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When the peninsula is removed, the kitchen loses some counter space, but the room looks much bigger.

“The kitchen is actually huge,” Anstead says when touring the finished home.

Go all out with bathroom tile

El Moussa and Anstead want to make this bathroom look extra special.

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This house has only one bathroom, so El Moussa and Anstead know that they have to make it look phenomenal. Anstead picks out a fun, octagonal tile, and El Moussa thinks the selection will be great in the space.

“I love the shape, I love the color, I like that it looks like wood,” El Moussa says.

But Anstead doesn’t want to use it just in the shower; she gets an idea to extend the tile beyond the shower and onto the bathroom wall. While El Moussa wonders if the tile will make the bathroom look too dark, Anstead points out that the white tub, white cabinets, and white counter will even out the look.

This tile is so nice, Anstead decides to extend it beyond the shower.

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When the bathroom is finished, it’s unique and modern, and the light and dark colors complement each other perfectly. This home may have only one bathroom, but that one bathroom looks incredible.

A backyard needs some shade

This patio would’ve been much nicer with some shade.

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Once Anstead and El Moussa remove the back bedroom and bathroom, they’re left with a sizable back patio.

It’s a great asset to the yard, but given the costs to demo the addition, El Moussa doesn’t want to spend much more money on the space.

So Anstead sticks with picking out a gray tile to cover the concrete, and they stage the space with a table and chairs—all budget-friendly upgrades that promise good bang for their buck.

El Moussa and Anstead realize that a pergola would have helped this backyard.

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The patio looks great, but after it’s done, Anstead and El Moussa regret not splurging on a pergola to provide some shade.

“The tile looks really nice,” Anstead says, “it would definitely be nicer if I was in the shade right now.”

Is this a flip or flop?

In the end, Anstead and El Moussa are left with a two-bedroom, one-bath house. They go over budget on the rehab, spending $93,000 instead of their budgeted $65,000. Combined with other costs, El Moussa and Anstead have a break-even price of $570,000. They decide to list the house at $649,900.

After a few days on the market, the house gets multiple offers. El Moussa and Anstead accept one for $675,000. If the sale goes through, these flippers are in for a sweet $105,000 profit.

For such a small house, that’s a big deal—and proof that El Moussa and Anstead are off to a great start together. Again.

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