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HGTV stars Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas headed south for the winter, taking on three double-occupancy home renovations in the Big Easy for their five-episode spinoff series “Bargain Block: New Orleans”.
While Bynum and Thomas did quite a bit of research before diving into their new undertaking, unexpected speed bumps popped up, as always, costing the “Bargain Block” boys more time and money than anticipated.
Thomas took to Instagram on November 8 to celebrate the end of their spinoff airing, and Bynum revealed which of the three houses paid off for the couple in the comment section. After one fan asked, “Did anything sell?” Bynum responded, “yep! First one was a loss but we turned it around for the second one. Did good enough to keep the third one.”
Keith Bynum & Evan Thomas Reflect on ‘New Orleans’ Journey
Thomas’ Instagram post featured photos of the couple’s final New Orleans renovation, with the caption reading, “That’s a wrap on Bargain Block New Orleans! We had a blast with this final house and really the whole time down in NOLA was an incredible experience. It’s always fun to be able to have a little bit of a larger budget and be able to push the design a bit more than the typical Bargain Block house. I hope you enjoyed the series and the homes.”
This third home, the one Bynum and Thomas kept, is the Marie Antoinette Jazz House from the “New Orleans” finale. The first house that Bynum shared was a loss was the Creole Cottage house (with the Astrology-themed rental unit) from episodes one and two. The second house, which made the couple money, was the Traditional New Orleans House (with the Mardi Gras-themed rental unit), featured in episodes three and four.
Bynum and Thomas previously opened up about the changes they had to make to their business model when adapting to the New Orleans market. The biggest change, Bynum and Thomas shared in an October 2024 interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles, came with the prices of the homes themselves. “I think, in Detroit, we’ve learned a lot about how to be really careful with our budgets, and that translated really nicely to New Orleans. The budgets are different for what people consider ‘affordable’ there, it was about twice [the going rate in Detroit],” Bynum shared.
“The market there is a lot more expensive,” Thomas added. “So in order to achieve that affordability we kept with the double [occupancy homes], which is basically like a duplex, where we have an owner’s side and then we have a rental side, and hopefully that rental side can help offset the owner’s mortgage.”
Keith Bynum & Evan Thomas Share One of Their Money-Saving Tips
Another user commented on Thomas’ Instagram post to write, “That tile was just a great find. Your new home is beautiful!” and Thomas responded to share how he and Bynum landed on the different tiles used in the kitchen and bathrooms.
“Yeah! Only tile we bought retail for that house was the inexpensive subway tile. Everything else was thrifted 🕺🏻,” he shared.
Despite thrifting most of their selections, fans didn’t seem to mind, as users chimed into Thomas comment section with their reactions, including, “I still can’t get over the bathroom tile and the kitchen in the first house creole! Soooo gorgeous! I know you didn’t make the profit you should have but whoever bought that house is sooo lucky! Great finishes,” and, “Love love the tile in this kitchen. Enjoy all your episodes. Reminds me a lot of my partner and I remodeling homes. 😍.”
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