Summary

In an interview with Collider, Rehab Addict star Nicole Curtis says she doesn’t like any current design trends in old homes.

She criticizes homeowners who remove original features in renovations, joking she’ll haunt future owners of her homes.

Curtis safeguards her properties to preserve their original character, but reveals the one thing that upsets her about some of her current homes.

If you’re planning to renovate an old or historic home, don’t say “open concept” to Rehab Addict star Nicole Curtis — she just might kick your ass. Curtis returns to HGTV, bringing her signature grit, heart, and passion for forgotten homes to a powerful new season of Rehab Addict. This time, she’s headed to Wyoming to tackle one of her biggest challenges yet—a decimated property in the middle of the county—while also restoring one of Detroit’s most neglected homes. Staying true to her roots, Curtis remains unwavering in her mission—restoring homes with the same timeless style and fierce commitment to preserving the beauty of the past. While Curtis’ goal is always restoration and enhancement, she reflected on how some homeowners tackle old home renovations and didn’t hold back. “Everything,” she tells Collider when asked which new design trends she didn’t like. “I think every trend I see out there is blasphemy to the old house character, so it can be anything.”
Nicole Curtis Has One Rule for Old Homes: Love Them as They Are—or Don’t Buy Them at All

“You don’t love an old house, don’t buy an old house.”

Want to make Curtis break out in hives? Show her weekend warriors with a sledgehammer and an open floor plan in an old house. “Taking out five rooms and making these massive open floor plans and getting rid of original fireplaces, getting rid of original woodwork, taking out archways, taking out original tile. It’s insane,” she says. “Don’t buy an old house. You don’t love an old house, don’t buy an old house, just don’t do it. Unfortunately, I’m stuck with houses that are just in the worst shape. And then people get [the house] pristine, meticulous … It’s very disturbing sometimes. I say this a lot on camera. These aren’t my kind of people. They’ll be like, ‘I have an old house too.’ And then they show me pictures, and be like, ‘We just redid our kitchen, and we threw out the original bathroom.’ Like we’re not friends.” She adds, “My face doesn’t hide it. I’m horrified. I’m like that’s not good. Sorry.” Curtis is passionate about preserving a home’s history, and few things bother her more than renovations that strip away its original character, leaving it nearly unrecognizable. She even joked that she will “troll” homeowners who go to those extremes with design changes in an old home.
Nicole Curtis From ‘Rehab Addict’ Isn’t Just Restoring Homes—She’s Protecting Their Souls

“You can’t choose your buyers.’Yeah, you can.”

Her aversion to others making trending renovations doesn’t stop there, she’s also worried about what might happen in the future to the homes she saves. She tells Collider she even does drive-bys from time to time to see what the homes she saves look like today. But what about 100 years in the future? “I will haunt them,” she jokes. But Curtis has put some safeguards in place, so homeowners will have to respect her work in the future. “I put deed restrictions on my houses to protect them so you can’t make them rental. They have to be owner-occupied,” she shares. “I have even gone so far as to say, you cannot paint the woodwork in one of the houses. But for the most part, I don’t really sell a lot of my houses. When we have sold houses I educate the buyers. They say like, ‘You can’t choose your buyers.’ Yeah, you can. I will make sure that that home is going to somebody who [will love it].”

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Curtis’ resolve extends beyond her properties to the possessions she sells. “I remember years ago when I was broke and I was selling stuff on Craigslist, and I had this really cool end table. I went to go sell it to someone, and she’s like, ‘That’s gonna be so great once I put a coat of paint on it,'” she recalls, which was a record-scratch moment. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not selling it to you now. Give it back.’ And she thought I was kidding, and I’m like, ‘No, keep your $35. I’m keeping it.'” While Curtis does everything she can to maintain the integrity of her homes, sometimes there are certain touches — especially one of her signatures — that don’t always remain. One of her finishing touches is to add an American flag to the front of every property, and she says it’s depressing to see several of her homes no longer flying the flag. “The thing for me that I see my Minneapolis houses now is that there’s no flag,” she says. “So many families in military service, and that’s the reason our flags are on there. And so, seeing one of my houses without a flag is heartbreaking. I always say, listen, it doesn’t matter what end of the [political] spectrum you lie on here. We always support our families and the military. We always honor that for our family. So that’s the only crushing thing.” Rehab Addict premieres Tuesday, June 24, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.

Rehab Addict

Release Date

October 14, 2010

Network

DIY Network

Cast

Nicole Curtis

Herself – Host