‘100 Day Dream Home’ Is Back With a Cozy Feature You’ll Want To Copy

‘100 Day Dream Home’ Is Back With a Cozy Feature You’ll Want To Copy

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Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt are back for another season of “100 Day Dream Home,” and while they’re accustomed to building from the ground up for their clients, they know there are plenty of ways to personalize any house.

In the Season 3 episode “A Family Legacy,” Mika and Brian meet Cristen and Mauricio, a couple planning to build on their beautiful 1.2-acre lot in Thonotosassa, FL. These clients want this house to be their forever home, so Mika and Brian use every cent of their $405,000 budget on a cozy fireplace, a gorgeous kitchen, and durable flooring that their clients—and their clients’ kids—will love for years.

While this dream home is custom, not every house needs to be brand-new in order to look great. Plenty of Brian and Mika’s best personalizations can be applied to an existing house—and make a big difference.

Read on to find out how Brian and Mika create a modern Florida farmhouse, and get tips for easy ways to customize your own home.

Use texture on the exterior

When it comes to designing a home, Mika knows the outside can be just as important as the inside. So when she takes Cristen and Mauricio on an inspiration tour of a local home, she asks what they think of the clean, white exterior.

“I love the white, but we want more of a texture,” Cristen says, suggesting stone and batten board siding.

Mika and Brian make sure to include a mix of textures for the exterior design, balancing different colors and materials to make this farmhouse stand out. When Cristen and Mauricio finally see their new house, they’re impressed by the smart mix of materials.

“The stone, the siding, the batten board, I mean, it’s incredible,” Cristen says.

Even though this is a custom build, Mika and Brian prove that some new textures or siding could be a meaningful upgrade for any home.

A cozy electric fireplace can warm up your home at a low cost

Inside the custom home, Cristen and Mauricio have the ability to add just about any home feature they want—just as long as it fits in the budget.

Cristen says it’s always been her dream to have a wood-burning fireplace, but Mika knows this $18,000 addition would mean going over their target price. Instead, Mika wants to surprise Cristen with an electric fireplace, which is much more affordable but still feels cozy.

“We have this beautiful wall in the great room,” Mika tells Brian. “I would love to do an electric fireplace to still give her that fire ambiance without burning the entire budget.”

The team installs an electric fireplace then dresses it up with a warm wood mantel and a brick hearth. On install day, Mika is excited about the feature.

“Even though we had to go with an electric fireplace, I mean, this thing is going to look like the real deal,” she says.

In the end, the fireplace does indeed look great and the team was able to save their budget.

Go custom on the kitchen finishes

Cristen and Mauricio want their home to have a farmhouse style, so Mika suggests subway tile, which has a classic farmhouse look.

“These are all the same shape and size but different color tones,” Mika says, showing off her subway tile samples. “There’s some that have, like, a little bit of a texture, and you can kind of have dimension. It doesn’t have to be flat.”

Cristen and Mauricio love all the options, so Mika suggests mixing and matching all three.

“That’s what building custom is about. I mean, you’re really creating a space that’s not been done before,” Mika says.

With a custom house, Cristen and Mauricio have plenty of opportunities to make their home their own. Sure enough, this three-tone tile backsplash looks fantastic and gives this kitchen a unique look that’s perfect for these homeowners.

Choose a rustic tile floor in the bathroom

Cristen and Mauricio have a hard time deciding on bathroom flooring, going back and forth between tile and vinyl that match the living spaces. Cristen loves the rustic wood look of vinyl, but Mauricio likes the durability of tile.

“I’ve always had bathrooms with tile. I’ve never seen any other material,” Mauricio says.

In the end, these two compromise on a tile that looks like wood, selecting a style that resembles the vinyl flooring in the living area.

Don’t forget about simple fixes such as paint

To finish this home, Mika wants to surprise Cristen and Mauricio’s daughter, Gia, with a special mermaid-theme accent wall.

“I promised Gia that we would somehow infuse a mermaid theme in her room,” Mika explains toward the end of the project. “So today I’m actually going to be doing an ombre wall for her.”

She uses four different shades of purple to create a colorful feature that looks a little like a mermaid’s tail.

Once the wall is finished, the room looks adorable. While Mika and Brian know that building a house can be pricey, Mika proves there are still inexpensive materials, like paint, that can make a big difference.

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