HGTV’s David Bromstad Shares Tips to Breathe New Life Into Old Condos

MIAMI — The host of HGTV’s “My Lottery Dream Home” tells Patch that you don’t have to win the lottery to breathe new life into your old condo. You just need a splash of “fabulous” and a few well-placed additions to your living space.

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“If they want to breathe some new life in without redoing the floors or buying area rugs which can be pricey, just go in and buy some great throw pillows, some fun accessories from either Tuesday Morning or Home Goods — one of the off-brand retailers,” suggested David Bromstad, who lives in Miami Beach. “That’s going to bring in color and excitement to your space without breaking the bank. You can do that from season to season without completely going crazy. That’s a great way just to splash things up a bit.”

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Bromstad, who got his big break on an HGTV reality show competition in which he beat out nine other designers, was in Miami this week promoting Capital One’s Banking Reimagined Tour that will be in the Magic City from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

A 52-foot hands-on digital experience on wheels will be parked outside Bayside Marketplace with lots of tips to help people gain financial freedom.

In his HGTV show that airs at 9 p.m. on Fridays in Miami, Bromstad teams up with recent lottery winners to help them find their dream homes. “It’s pretty cool,” he explained. “Most of them have won $1 million off a scratcher and they’re just finding fabulous homes within their budget.”

Bromstad, who has a line of home furniture and accessories through Home Shopping Network's Grandin Road, was surprised to find that so many of the lottery winners he meets are still practical about money.

“They’re being super smart about their money which is super crazy and surprising cause you always hear about these lottery winners that spend all of the money,” he confided. “My winners are incredibly brilliant.”

Since most people never hit the big jackpot, Bromstad suggests that they focus on updating the condominium or home that they already have. Focus on the kitchen, bathroom and flooring, particularly in the case of an older unit to get the biggest resale bump.

“I would start with the floors,” said Bromstad. “That is one thing that is going to breathe amazing life. Most people in condominiums had either carpet or most likely like a really outdated, nasty tile."

In the case of a condo by the beach, he said, "I would just replace those with a beautiful weathered grey flooring that’s very beachy and wonderful and it goes with everything. It has great resale value, something not too light, not too dark — something that hides the dirt perfectly.”

If a new floor isn’t in your budget, there are cheaper alternatives.

“Lay some beautiful rugs over it. That’s going to hide the tile,” according to Bromstad. “It’s going to bring some new life into the condo without spending a ton of money and then you can change out from season to season, or at least from year to year if you so choose.”

He doesn’t like the idea of replacing a few tiles here and there, such as in the case of a South Florida woman who wanted to know how she could brighten her home that has black tile throughout.

“If you’re going to swap out a few tiles you might as well swap them out for all of them,” he acknowledged. “That’s why area rugs are so great. I’ve had many apartments that had the most undesirable flooring but you can really hide everything with area rugs. Just get the biggest ones possible.”

In beach apartments, where the fresh ocean can wreak havoc on furnishings, Bromstad suggested considering indoor-outdoor products.

"They’re amazing and they’re going to last the elements," he said pointing to many options for carpets, pillows and even couches. "Basically it’s a little bit more money to buy the outdoor furniture, but it’s definitely worth it if you have you do have some of those problems."

Many older condominiums also have mirrored walls that are not necessarily a reflection of the current owner’s taste. These too can be expensive to remove.

“If you don’t want to rip them out, you can make it something interesting and you can kind of put empty frames on it to keep the light coming in and kind of stack them or you can just hang pictures on that wall and kind of ignore it. Pretend it’s not there,” he advised. “You can put film on it to give it an aged look or a colored look or a pattern.”

He recommends removable wallpaper as one way to camouflage an unattractive wall mirror.

“If you don’t want to tear it down or if you are in a rental, you can take removable wallpaper and just wallpaper over it. No one’s even going to know that there is a mirror there. It’s just going to look like wallpaper,” he said.

Some older condominiums also have dated counter tops and cabinets.

“This is a place — if you do have the money — replace those cabinets, or at least replace the counter tops,” he explained.

If that’s not in the budget, “paint the cabinets or do some additions onto the cabinets to make them look a little bit more festive and fabulous,” according Bromstad. “But, if you are going to get some new cabinet tops, you might as well get some new cabinets. You don’t have to spend a ton of money — honestly.”

This is yet another area that might benefit where removable wallpaper comes in handy.

“That removable wallpaper is just super fun,” he said. “You can put that on your cabinet doors, give it a whole fresh new look. There are so many different textures out there, different finishes, different palates. You can do almost anything that your heart desires and make your cabinets look the way you want them to.”

Photo courtesy HGTV