‘Bargain Block’ Stars Admit to Design ‘Miss’ After Season Premiere: ‘Lesson Learned’
Fans have showered HGTV stars Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas with praise for the way they transformed a dilapidated Detroit house into a “fairytale” home on the season four premiere of “Bargain Block,” which first aired on September 4, 2024.
But the following day, the couple revealed on social media that at least two design elements had to be changed since the episode was filmed to get the house sold.
Keith Bynum’s Golden Swirls at ‘Bargain Block’ House Have Been Removed
On September 5, when Thomas posted a series of photos of the house that Bynum was intent on turning into a “fairytale” cottage, fans immediately noticed a significant change: the finished front porch with a wood railing and banister down the front steps, which was not seen during the season premiere.
“Last night’s show didn’t let us see the finished porch with banister,” one fan commented. “This is so much better! We loved this fairytale house”
“Yeah it wasn’t finished in time lol,” Thomas replied.
He also posted a photo of the main floor bathroom in his Instagram Stories, featuring all-white walls — a stark contrast to the way it looked on the show. During the season premiere, “Bargain Block” realtor Shea Hicks Whitfield was seen talking up the golden spirals that Bynum hand-painted on brown walls throughout the bathroom.
Over the new photo of the bathroom, Thomas wrote, “last nights bathroom after we repainted it 😂”
Bynum shared that to his Stories, too, and provided additional explanation.
He wrote, “lol people ask me all the time if I ever have to paint over stuff to sell a house! We did here lol. The gold wall swirl was a miss lol! Lesson learned.”
Bynum added that Thomas “told me too lol”
‘Bargain Block’ House Sold for $160,000 After Renovations
Hicks Whitfield initially listed in for $174,990 in January, according to the home’s Zillow listing. With the changes made, the three-bedroom, two-bath fairytale house eventually sold June for $160,000.
Bynum and Thomas said during the season premiere that they purchased the abandoned house and a similar property next door for around $6,500 each. Zillow shows that transaction occurred in August 2023. By the following month, they were already working on transforming the house, as seen in a September Instagram post that Bynum shared.
He wrote, “Working on two houses next door to each other is always so fun!! These were so cute on the outside we couldn’t say no! The insides are a different story 😅”
The home next door will be featured on the next episode of “Bargain Block,” airing on September 11 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
The season premiere, titled “Once Upon a Time in Detroit,” has several re-airings on HGTV scheduled — on September 5 at 7 p.m. Eastern time, September 14 at 4 p.m. Eastern time, and September 16 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
In the middle of the fourth “Bargain Block” season, beginning on October 9, Bynum and Thomas will head south for a spin-off series that takes place in New Orleans, where they’ll renovate more homes and immerse themselves in local culture, according to a social media post from HGTV on September 5.
“They’ll be dancing in a Mardi Gras parade and enjoying a crawfish boil, along with other vibrant local experiences,” the post said.
Thomas described the five-episode spin-off — and welcome change of scenery during Detroit’s cold winter months — when he hosted an Instagram Live session in June.
“New Orleans will air basically in the middle of season four,” he told fans. “So there’ll be five episodes of the Detroit season and then five episodes of NOLA and then five episodes of Detroit.”
Liv Lane is an entertainment writer who covers the Hallmark Channel, HGTV, American Idol and The Voice for Heavy. Based in Minneapolis, she has three decades of experience as a local and national radio host, columnist and publicist, interviewing and working with a wide range of celebrities over the years, from Deepak Chopra to Lil Nas X. More about Liv Lane
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