Jody Minns's Stories: Ty Pennington Organizes an Area of the House That Even Organized Homeowners Overlook

Ty Pennington has renovated many homes to accommodate families who’ve suddenly grown in size, but the latest episode of HGTV’s “Ty Breaker” brings us into a particularly tough challenge because it involves a blended family with a teenager who really needs her own space.

In the episode “When Two Families Merge,” Grace Mitchell, star of “One of a Kind,” joins Pennington in Atlanta as he helps Courtney, a mom of three girls, and Spencer, a dad of two boys, merge their lives, “Brady Bunch”-style!

However, Courtney’s oldest daughter, 19-year-old Stormy, needs extra privacy if she’s going to enjoy living there. So it’s up to Pennington and Mitchell to turn the dirty garage attic into a great spot for this teen to get away. Plus, they have to pull double duty by updating the main house so that it works better for this big family, all for just $110,000.

Read on to find out how Pennington and Mitchell update these two spaces, which might inspire some changes around your own home, too.

Use light colors to make a space feel bigger

attic space — This dusty attic didn’t look livable.
HGTV

One of the biggest challenges in this attic renovation is making the space feel big enough for Stormy. While Pennington lifts up part of the roof to make more space, this room is still a tight fit.

So they decide to use lots of light colors in the design to make the space feel bright and open.

When it comes time to choose a backsplash, they choose a very light blue—almost white—to keep the space feeling bright. Plus, they arrange the tile vertically, bringing the eye up and giving the illusion of a higher ceiling.

living room — The subtle backsplash brings some gentle color to the kitchen.
HGTV

“Running the tile like this will give some great verticality,” says Mitchell. “I mean you worked so hard to get that roof up.”

Give a bathroom extra color for a youthful look

Mitchell and Pennington don’t want to use a lot of color in Stormy’s apartment, but they also don’t want the space to look too plain.

So, after they install some white tile in the bathroom, Mitchell decides the space needs some youthful paint to brighten it up.

“I love how this tile turned out, but it was feeling a little bit sterile,” Mitchell tells Pennington. “So I thought, what if when you walk in here, it’s like an art piece on the wall?”

She adds some green, yellow, and peach to the wall, and Pennington loves it so much that he decides to add a stripe of coral in the middle as well.

With all the colors, this bathroom looks beautiful. It’s a perfect bathroom design for this teenage hideaway.

Make custom storage for your favorite items

game drawer — This drawer is an organized gamer’s dream!
HGTV

Pennington wants to make sure Stormy feels comfortable in her new apartment, so he wants to customize this space to her tastes. As it turns out, Stormy loves video games, so Pennington decides to create a custom storage solution for her gaming gear.

“I’m going to make these custom sort of, like, cushion inlays,” he says. “They’ll all be, like, set right inside their own molds, like when you open a camera case and the items just fit exactly where the shape is.”

Having a personalized, organized space for video gaming is something that even the most organized homeowner might overlook. This may explain why it really makes an impression on Mitchell.

“I love how personalized this gaming drawer is,” Mitchell says, adding that it’s “not only going to be practical but really beautiful.”

Update a fireplace to freshen up a space

While Stormy gets a fabulous new apartment, Mitchell and Pennington know that the rest of the family deserve a little home refresh. So they plan to give the main living room a new look, starting with the fireplace.

“One project that packs a punch is refreshing the fireplace façade. It’s the focal point of the living room, so a little upgrade here goes a long way,” Pennington says.

Mitchell and Pennington choose an elegant blue tile to replace the brown tile, then they replace the mantel.

“We took out the old mantel because, to be honest with you, it was just a little dated,” Pennington explains.

Give the ceiling a makeover with grass cloth

While the new fireplace and some new furniture help make this living room look brand-new, Mitchell also wants to add some grass-cloth wallpaper to the coffered ceiling.

Grass-cloth wallpaper may have been a style staple in the 1960s and ’70s, but it’s making a comeback now for its unique look.

“Grass cloth, it has a really natural organic feel, but it brings a lot of warmth and texture to a room, which I feel like, with all the slick paneling, would really be a great contrast,” Mitchell says. “And putting wallpaper on the ceiling is something I love to do. It makes a room really unique.”