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00:00:00I'm so excited to be in Florida.
00:00:06The breeze when it comes off the lake smells like orange blossoms.
00:00:10We got four months to change a small town.
00:00:13We're going to make it alive in places it hasn't been alive in a long time.
00:00:18This is going to be our biggest challenge ever.
00:00:22In season one, we went to Atumka, Alabama, and it was the hardest thing we'd ever done.
00:00:27Their downtown was completely empty.
00:00:30And we had never taken on something so huge.
00:00:33Downtown Atumka has gotten a makeover.
00:00:36Since HGTV came to town, it has revitalized the city.
00:00:39The change in Atumka has been like this crazy tidal wave of awesomeness.
00:00:45Season two in Fort Morgan was an even bigger undertaking.
00:00:49Our main street is on life support.
00:00:51But with our partners Dave and Jenny Mars, we were able to bring that town back to life.
00:00:56It has been six months since viewers all around the country learned about little Fort Morgan, Colorado.
00:01:02Hometown Takeover was gas on the fire for us.
00:01:05It's been a year and we've been busier than ever.
00:01:09But now we are headed to a town that's got some obstacles that we have never faced before.
00:01:16Here we are, Sebring, Florida.
00:01:19You have a lake.
00:01:20You have a racetrack.
00:01:21You have a park that is a circle in the center of town.
00:01:25This town has every piece of the puzzle and yet somehow Sebring is struggling.
00:01:30If we can't make a difference here, it honestly feels kind of hopeless.
00:01:37Vacant storefront.
00:01:38A lot of empty.
00:01:39The highway coming through Sebring starts pulling traffic away from downtown and making
00:01:42it no longer your center of commerce.
00:01:45Downtown was a ghost town.
00:01:46We've hit some hard times.
00:01:47We've thought about throwing in the towel.
00:01:49We're in Florida.
00:01:50Hurricanes are an issue.
00:01:51It's hard to get traction when you're constantly getting blown away.
00:01:55How are we going to survive?
00:01:56How are we going to make our next paycheck?
00:01:57The circle's been dead for years.
00:01:59Years.
00:02:00We came here because we got to renovate your house.
00:02:04In order to turn this place around, we're helping the town's biggest changemakers so
00:02:08they can keep transforming people's lives.
00:02:11I want to be that light for single parents.
00:02:14This is not just a house to me.
00:02:16This is home.
00:02:18I don't want people hurting.
00:02:19I don't want people going without.
00:02:22My cup will run it over, and I can do so much.
00:02:25You guys don't know what you have done for our family.
00:02:28We're going to take on a downtown that is literally falling apart.
00:02:34I'm worried about the structure of this building.
00:02:36We're using everything we've learned and everything we know to try to keep this town's heart beating.
00:02:41You're like doing heart surgery on the town.
00:02:43Sebring needs help.
00:02:44We need Ben and Erin.
00:02:45We aren't going to get there on our own.
00:02:47This is going to be a lot of work.
00:02:49But are we ready?
00:02:50Yeah, we're ready.
00:02:51I think.
00:02:54We can't do it alone, so we're bringing in a ton of help.
00:02:57That's the first annual community street art party.
00:03:02This has to work.
00:03:03We better not screw this up, fellas.
00:03:05No pressure, but this is the one that counts.
00:03:09When you're coming to a town that's been working at this for 40 years, and then something massive
00:03:15like HGTV coming to help your town doesn't do it, then what will?
00:03:21We've done this two times now, but I feel like that's the biggest crowd.
00:03:28There's going to be a really big rally this afternoon.
00:03:31They think they're coming to try to get HGTV to come here.
00:03:39All right!
00:03:44Hey, Sebring!
00:03:47Sebring, Florida!
00:03:50Sebring, Florida, you're getting a hometown takeover!
00:03:55Let's do this!
00:04:09Sebring really feels like the diamond in the rough.
00:04:13It has a very charming downtown.
00:04:16They're struggling to get people to invest in it.
00:04:19I've been living here for 22 years, and I remember a time when it was vibrant,
00:04:23but now Sebring is quiet.
00:04:39Driving into the circle, you pass a lot of beautiful homes.
00:04:44You pass a lot of hurricane damage.
00:04:46There's a lot of blue tarps.
00:04:48And then as you look a little bit closer, you see, like, oh, these are in pretty rough shape.
00:04:52And that pretty much is the story of Sebring.
00:04:56The town looks like it's got everything they need.
00:04:58It's beautiful, but can't judge a book by its cover.
00:05:02Hi!
00:05:03Are you excited?
00:05:04Are you excited?
00:05:05Hi!
00:05:06Thank you guys so much for being here.
00:05:09No town gets revitalized without that person who keeps it going when everyone else is tired.
00:05:16Christy is that person.
00:05:18I've grown up here.
00:05:19Obviously, I've known nothing else.
00:05:21To get Sebring back on its feet means that I had a small part in the legacy that I get to pass on then to my family.
00:05:27I want my children to understand the importance of their downtown,
00:05:30and hopefully they get to have a piece of what our future's going to be.
00:05:33We were working hard before you guys got here, but now the real work starts.
00:05:36Yeah.
00:05:37When was the boom?
00:05:38Like, when do you feel like it crescendoed?
00:05:41I think from, like, the 60s to the 80s.
00:05:43You'd come downtown for your shopping.
00:05:45You'd come downtown to eat.
00:05:46This was your entertainment.
00:05:47It was your hub.
00:05:48And now it's not anymore.
00:05:50Highway 27 coming here is fantastic, but for your transient traveler, not for my downtown people.
00:05:56Well, I mean, and like this.
00:05:57I mean, these people, they're going to leave here.
00:06:00And they did.
00:06:01I mean, like, look around.
00:06:02I have people that are here, and my restaurants aren't packed.
00:06:05So it's like, okay, what do we have to do to be able to captivate that audience and keep them here?
00:06:08Yeah.
00:06:09We haven't created that buzz around downtown, and I think that's going to take us having a downtown that's worth being drawn to.
00:06:16Lake Jackson is right there.
00:06:18It's right there.
00:06:19And standing right here, you have no idea that Lake Jackson is right there.
00:06:22And we have the races, but I bet if you asked 90% of people that are there, they're like, there's a town?
00:06:27We need to bridge it all.
00:06:28We do, and we haven't figured out how to do that.
00:06:30It's beautiful.
00:06:31It just is a little bit dead.
00:06:33Every block has a dead spot.
00:06:34It does.
00:06:35A dead zone.
00:06:36It does.
00:06:37I can tell you that we have great bones and a great personality, but nobody wants to take you home.
00:06:40Yeah.
00:06:41You know?
00:06:42Well, we, as it turns out, have a lot of experience working with historic downtowns.
00:06:47Yeah.
00:06:48And we have a lot of friends and resources.
00:06:50Well, if anybody can do this, you guys can do this, and we are right here with you to help you.
00:06:55We can do this.
00:06:57We can do this.
00:07:00We, the greater we.
00:07:02It's a great town.
00:07:10There's one thing that we have stuck with through Watomka, Fort Morgan, and now going into Sebring.
00:07:16We want to help the people here who are already helping.
00:07:19It would be one thing to come in and just, you know, paint every building and say, oh, look, well, look what we did, and walk away.
00:07:25That's not what we're after here.
00:07:26But you have to find every changemaker in this town and then work all of their spheres of influence.
00:07:32That is how you change things.
00:07:36Man, oh, man, I'm excited about Jen's house.
00:07:39It's the first historic house you see coming into downtown.
00:07:43The town cares about what this house looks like.
00:07:46Jen's house, that is a huge staple in Sebring.
00:07:50I remember being a little girl and driving past it, and it's been frozen in time.
00:07:54I used to think it was a museum.
00:07:56Every town has at least one house that is the house.
00:08:01The charming, iconic, historic house.
00:08:06It kind of reminds me of the Big Fish House.
00:08:08That was a statement house in the town and was symbolic of the renewal happening there.
00:08:13When the most iconic house in a town is well-loved, that says something more about the entire city.
00:08:20It's important to hold on to those structures and to save them.
00:08:24They tell the story of the town.
00:08:26This bungalow was built in 1917, so it's a big part of Sebring's story.
00:08:30It is, and then it was bought by someone who's actually making a huge impact on Sebring's future.
00:08:40Kindergarten teachers are so hugely important.
00:08:44Good job, guys.
00:08:46Come sit down on your square.
00:08:48When you have a teacher that makes you love going to school, it makes you excited to learn,
00:08:54and you keep that your whole life.
00:08:56Jen is one of those teachers that the students just adore.
00:09:00We are the kindergartners' first introduction, and we just want them to have a love for school.
00:09:07Jen is just a natural.
00:09:09She's got a great sense of humor, so she makes learning lots of fun.
00:09:13A lot of people's lives are made better because of her, so we need to make her life a little better, too.
00:09:18She knows her house is iconic in Sebring.
00:09:21She knows it needs work, but that doesn't mean she knows how to do it.
00:09:25We're going to help her so Jen can just focus on teaching and serving in Sebring.
00:09:30This house is definitely our dream house, and it is perfect for us.
00:09:35It's amazing that we're now living in it.
00:09:38Everyone passes it coming into town.
00:09:41We're right across the street from the Welcome to Historical Sebring sign.
00:09:45I would like this to be the gathering place.
00:09:47I'd like to have teachers over or kids after football games,
00:09:51so you feel like you have certain expectations to keep it a certain way.
00:09:55But for Jen, I think life just kind of got in the way.
00:09:59To know Jen is to love her and the strength that she has and what she's endured.
00:10:04You would never guess it. You would never guess it.
00:10:07Oh, how does that baby look?
00:10:09Sad.
00:10:10Sad.
00:10:11Baby's sad.
00:10:13All right, I might need a second.
00:10:16We've had a really rough past couple years.
00:10:20Went through a divorce.
00:10:22Had to live with my parents.
00:10:24And it just all happened very quickly.
00:10:27And me and my children weren't really prepared for it already.
00:10:33We've already been through a lot of challenges.
00:10:35This house has a lot of challenges.
00:10:37If we don't get help, I'm not sure what we'll do.
00:10:41We are going to help her.
00:10:43And we're going to surprise her at school.
00:10:45You've got to hurry and get there before they let out.
00:10:47Yeah, we're kind of cutting it close.
00:10:52Here it is, right up here on the left.
00:10:56Love the sound of a playground.
00:10:58I love to see paper hearts hung up anywhere.
00:11:01Hello.
00:11:04Hey, kids.
00:11:06Hey.
00:11:07It's so good to meet you.
00:11:08It's good to meet you.
00:11:09Oh, my gosh.
00:11:10I'll be in.
00:11:12Oh, my gosh.
00:11:13You're going to make me cry.
00:11:14What are we doing here?
00:11:15What are you guys doing right now?
00:11:17Looks like they're separating the colors.
00:11:18They are.
00:11:19They're sorting them.
00:11:20Y'all love your kindergarten teacher?
00:11:21Yeah.
00:11:22Very.
00:11:23You have a big impact on these kids' lives.
00:11:25There actually are a few that have come through,
00:11:27and they're teaching now.
00:11:29Wow.
00:11:30Well, a lot of people are inspired by you.
00:11:32That's why we're here.
00:11:33That's how we know about you.
00:11:34Yeah, that's right.
00:11:35You chose an iconic house in Sebring.
00:11:37It's so charming.
00:11:39We know how you feel overwhelmed about how to make the house
00:11:43what you really want it to be.
00:11:45Yes, I want to be that house where they all come,
00:11:47you know, and just, you know, hang out.
00:11:50A house is more than a house sometimes.
00:11:52It's a whole new chapter of life for you.
00:11:55Right.
00:11:56We've, you know, been living with my parents for a while
00:11:59and been in limbo, so it's nice to finally have a home
00:12:03for my kids.
00:12:06It's all right.
00:12:07You're okay.
00:12:08You're doing great.
00:12:09You're doing great.
00:12:11This has got, ooh, you're getting wobbly.
00:12:13Whoa.
00:12:14You're making a snake tower at this point.
00:12:16We're doing some building while we're here in town.
00:12:18Yeah, because we're going to renovate your house.
00:12:21Yeah.
00:12:22Is that all right?
00:12:23Would that work?
00:12:24Yes.
00:12:25That would be wonderful.
00:12:26Yeah?
00:12:27Did y'all hear that?
00:12:28Did you hear that?
00:12:29We're going to fix up her house.
00:12:31Yay.
00:12:33I just need one thing from you.
00:12:34I need you to make a video for me.
00:12:36Okay.
00:12:37Walking through the house, tell me everything you love about it,
00:12:39everything you wish was different.
00:12:41Tell me everything you can, and that'll be the first step
00:12:44to making it exactly how you wish it could be.
00:12:46Okay.
00:12:47On that note, do you think your parents
00:12:49would let you stay with them again?
00:12:51Absolutely.
00:12:52Yeah?
00:12:55Jen's house is our first residential project in Sebring,
00:12:58and so over the next four months,
00:13:00we'll be making changes to more houses and businesses
00:13:02and public spaces all over town.
00:13:04While we figure out Jen's house,
00:13:06our team started work on other parts of town
00:13:08to just keep the momentum going.
00:13:10Hi, my name's Andrew.
00:13:12I'm Abigail.
00:13:13I'm Ellie.
00:13:14This is our house.
00:13:15I've always loved this house.
00:13:17Since I was a little girl, we drove by it every day.
00:13:19We just knew we had to have this house.
00:13:21It was perfect for our family.
00:13:23The people who owned this house before
00:13:25are known forever also.
00:13:27She was my first grade teacher.
00:13:30I became a teacher because of him.
00:13:32I can't describe the feeling of relief
00:13:36that somebody that I knew and loved
00:13:38and really had a bond with was going to live in the house.
00:13:42I pour as much money and time as I can into it.
00:13:45I want to keep it preserved as long as I can
00:13:48so that it can be here another hundred years
00:13:50for more people to come and enjoy it
00:13:53and bring community into it.
00:13:55But old homes take a lot of work.
00:13:57We have a lot of half-done projects in there.
00:14:00Just like Sebring, Jen's house is beautiful.
00:14:03It's picturesque, but it's not really working on the inside.
00:14:06This is our living room.
00:14:08It's very empty right now.
00:14:10Added furniture is a DIY pageant on our list.
00:14:13But it's hard with money and stuff, so yeah.
00:14:17Things just kept piling on.
00:14:19When you feel like you're catching up with one thing,
00:14:21another thing breaks.
00:14:23You take a couple steps forward, a couple steps back.
00:14:26But the kids are happy.
00:14:28So what we learned from Jen's video
00:14:30is that while the house is iconic, it's in decent shape,
00:14:33it just doesn't really flow.
00:14:35And she has a lot of unfinished projects.
00:14:37So she needs our help preserving the charm
00:14:39while making it homier
00:14:41because she wants to invite over students
00:14:43and the teaching community.
00:14:45I mean, the Spanish moss in the tree out front
00:14:47just frames the most idyllic, picture-perfect,
00:14:49little historic house, and it's the first thing you see
00:14:51when you come into town.
00:14:53So it really needs to make the best first impression
00:14:55that it possibly can.
00:14:57The green and the white
00:14:59is how Sebring knows Jen's house.
00:15:01This is how it looked when she was a kid,
00:15:03and I want it to look that way now.
00:15:05Did you know that the railing is the one thing
00:15:07that's keeping the house off the historic registry?
00:15:09Because it's not original, it was added later.
00:15:11We can fix that.
00:15:13When we're all in the kitchen, it does get really crowded.
00:15:16We like to bake together or cook together,
00:15:18and we haven't been able to do a lot of that as a family.
00:15:22I'm in the culinary program at my school,
00:15:24and I just really like cooking and baking,
00:15:26but it's very hard with a very small kitchen.
00:15:28I want to open up a little bit
00:15:30between the dining room and the kitchen
00:15:32so that you feel like there's a little more elbow room there.
00:15:35We wanted to have an area
00:15:37where the kids could sit at the countermen.
00:15:39We now have a halfway countertop.
00:15:41I had a great idea of extending it out
00:15:44so the kids could sit here.
00:15:46And Lynn decided to price countertops
00:15:48and realized they couldn't do it yet.
00:15:50It was a good effort,
00:15:52but she doesn't have the time or the experience to finish it,
00:15:55and now they can't even use their peninsula.
00:15:57But I think we have an opportunity
00:15:59to do something really fresh and pretty in here.
00:16:02I want everything in there to feel light and pretty and brassy.
00:16:06But the dining room, which right now,
00:16:09I guess you would call it formal, but not exactly historic.
00:16:13Historic houses like hers
00:16:15would have historically had wallpaper,
00:16:17probably in the dining room.
00:16:19Doesn't that feel so good?
00:16:21I like it.
00:16:23This is, like, my very favorite design plan.
00:16:26Anytime it gets to be a little whimsical,
00:16:29I am so excited!
00:16:38I'm nervous about her house.
00:16:40What if we mess it up?
00:16:42It's got to look the way it's always looked,
00:16:44but it's got to look like the best version of itself.
00:16:47Right.
00:16:49Howdy, neighbor.
00:16:51Good morning.
00:16:53Good morning!
00:16:55Look at your amazing house!
00:16:57I'm in love with this house.
00:16:59The trees.
00:17:01It is magical.
00:17:03We know that keeping the historic integrity of the house
00:17:05is important to you.
00:17:07Yes.
00:17:09I want to do new railing on the front porch,
00:17:11like an X pattern that has a very cottage look,
00:17:13a new front door,
00:17:15and then emphasize the trim around your door
00:17:17with a little paint,
00:17:19maybe some lanterns on the porch.
00:17:21Yes.
00:17:23This house needs some lantern magic.
00:17:25It's going to be very classic, timeless Florida.
00:17:27Really exciting.
00:17:29I just want to keep things inside
00:17:31feeling bright,
00:17:33fresh, citrusy.
00:17:35If a key lime pie were a house.
00:17:37The floors are the graham cracker crust.
00:17:39Yes, it is!
00:17:41Living room, dining room, beautiful.
00:17:43Great floors, great trim.
00:17:45It's amazing.
00:17:47Yes, but I want to bring some wallpaper
00:17:49into the dining room.
00:17:51Paint the wainscoting a color
00:17:53and maybe the ceiling.
00:17:55And then we have to open things up
00:17:57between the dining room and the kitchen
00:17:59to make it easier to have gatherings in there.
00:18:01And we'll get rid of this pass-through opening
00:18:03and just make it one big doorway.
00:18:05We have to finish this DIY project
00:18:07on the peninsula to make sure
00:18:09we have plenty of comfortable seating right there.
00:18:11I want to do a tone-on-tone
00:18:13checkerboard pattern.
00:18:15An elegant stone countertop that goes
00:18:17all the way across.
00:18:19Everything is soft and white and light.
00:18:21Enameled appliances that feel a little bit nostalgic.
00:18:23And I'm excited
00:18:25to put your range
00:18:27under the window.
00:18:29It would be such a beautiful view
00:18:31when you're cooking.
00:18:33Teachers, y'all, mold our future.
00:18:35Literally, we want to make sure
00:18:37that this house has the soft landing
00:18:39that you want it to be.
00:18:41Woo-hoo!
00:18:43I'm seriously jumping up and down
00:18:45excited about this house.
00:18:47It's gonna be so good.
00:18:49I was sinking down,
00:18:51tried to run, there was no escape.
00:18:53Our goal is always to honor the home's history,
00:18:55but we have to also personalize it
00:18:57for Jen and her family
00:18:59so they feel peaceful and at home there.
00:19:01Because she means a lot to this town,
00:19:03and that house means a lot to her.
00:19:05Watch that chandelier.
00:19:07It's going anyways, right?
00:19:09We have renovated about 40 houses
00:19:11with Jonathan. He helped us
00:19:13revitalize Laurel. You know, we just
00:19:15never thought we'd get to work together again.
00:19:17I mean, he moved to Florida.
00:19:19It's a 12-hour drive
00:19:21to his house from our house.
00:19:23I need a little bit of crazy in my life.
00:19:25I need a challenge. 14 weeks
00:19:27to pull off an entire town.
00:19:29I couldn't turn down the opportunity to work here with Ben and Erin.
00:19:31We built a friendship.
00:19:33When we adopted the boys, they came over to the house.
00:19:35Helen and Isaac shared diapers.
00:19:37I want to get this wall
00:19:39opened up today. If we could get started
00:19:41on that, that'd be great.
00:19:43It's all going, but I've got to check something
00:19:45before we start, really.
00:19:47Pre-1978, so you know what that means.
00:19:49You've got a 100-plus-year-old building.
00:19:51More than likely, there's lead paint.
00:19:53This liquid, if it changes
00:19:55and becomes brown, it's lead.
00:19:57If it doesn't, then we're good.
00:19:59All right, I'll let you do the honors.
00:20:037, 8, 9, 10.
00:20:05It's brown.
00:20:07It's brown. It's lead.
00:20:09How long before we can get the lead remediated?
00:20:11So, proper
00:20:13setup, demo cleanup,
00:20:15looking two to three days.
00:20:17It just slows us
00:20:19down a little more than I was looking forward to.
00:20:21Can we do the tile?
00:20:23The tile can come up. Can we do the countertops?
00:20:25The tops can come up.
00:20:27Well, let's just do everything that we can.
00:20:29How big a boy are you?
00:20:31Oh, yeah! That's it.
00:20:33There you go. You got it?
00:20:35Got it.
00:20:39Have you noticed that sign?
00:20:41The one across the street?
00:20:43It says, like, welcome to Sebring, don't it?
00:20:45You can barely read it.
00:20:47When, like, the official signage coming into a town
00:20:49looks completely forgotten,
00:20:51it's another one of those,
00:20:53like, mental cues
00:20:55that you take that says something about the health of the city.
00:20:57We can do better.
00:20:59I want to... We're gonna do a new sign.
00:21:01I feel like we need a new sign.
00:21:03What if we, I don't know,
00:21:05think about the circle
00:21:07and an orange slice, and how do we make that art
00:21:09and put it on the sign? That's where my brain is.
00:21:17While the team keeps working at Jen's,
00:21:19we're gonna head downtown and make a plan for the circle
00:21:21because that is a hugely important
00:21:23part of Sebring's revitalization.
00:21:25If you grew up riding bicycles
00:21:27and you ever broke a spoke,
00:21:29then it's not really rideable anymore.
00:21:31You have to get that fixed.
00:21:33You have the circle in Sebring,
00:21:35and you have these spokes, and they're not all healthy,
00:21:37and so the town's not really rolling along
00:21:39like it should be.
00:21:41If you're not here Tuesday through
00:21:43maybe Saturday,
00:21:45you might miss a lot.
00:21:47A lot of places haven't always stayed open late.
00:21:49They're closed on Sundays.
00:21:51They can be closed on the weekends.
00:21:53We are going to touch
00:21:55everything around the circle.
00:21:57Each block is a wedge.
00:21:59We can do one wedge at a time,
00:22:01and we're gonna start with one that's already trying
00:22:03really hard to make it work.
00:22:05Sebring Soda on the south wedge of the circle.
00:22:13Can we just go ahead to Sebring Soda
00:22:15and surprise them? Okay, let's go.
00:22:17I like going
00:22:19to the soda shop
00:22:21because all the fun treats there and all that.
00:22:23Me and my mom usually go
00:22:25every Thursday at the school.
00:22:27When Liz and Daniel opened this,
00:22:29they wanted it to be the start
00:22:31of a revitalization.
00:22:33I've lived in Sebring for 33 years,
00:22:35so I've been here for a very long time.
00:22:37This is definitely home.
00:22:39We've been together for over 24 years.
00:22:41High school sweethearts.
00:22:43I love this town. Everything about this town,
00:22:45the people, the families,
00:22:47there's just so much to love,
00:22:49but the entire downtown just needs
00:22:51this little...
00:22:53In 2018, we were approached by the previous owners,
00:22:55and they were talking about just closing down the soda shop.
00:22:57I just approached them and said,
00:22:59it's such a staple here.
00:23:01Would you want to sell it?
00:23:03And they go, we didn't even think of that.
00:23:05We're able to continue this
00:23:07staple that we believe in.
00:23:09Are there any holes in the cooler that we need to fill?
00:23:11It hasn't
00:23:13gone as good as we thought.
00:23:15We've seen
00:23:17multiple businesses come and go
00:23:19over the time that we've been here.
00:23:21There's definitely been many times
00:23:23where we don't pull a profit,
00:23:25so it's a business that you do
00:23:27because you love it, and you know how much
00:23:29is riding on it for the entire downtown.
00:23:31The building needs a lot.
00:23:33The paint is over a decade old.
00:23:35The electrical, the plumbing.
00:23:37There's a lot that needs to get done.
00:23:39We've invested a ton,
00:23:41but we're still throwing money in
00:23:43to try to make it better.
00:23:45They needed to be busy all day, every day.
00:23:47If we leave,
00:23:49I'm afraid there will be a regression
00:23:51of the downtown growth.
00:23:53It's something that our local people
00:23:55look forward to, and I think that if that
00:23:57happened, it really could cause a
00:23:59chain reaction.
00:24:01There's definitely been some times
00:24:03where we thought about throwing in a towel.
00:24:05We love downtown.
00:24:07We want it to keep getting better.
00:24:09If we could make
00:24:11this pop, then we can
00:24:13get other businesses downtown
00:24:15to start doing the same.
00:24:17We've been doing this for many
00:24:19years now, and we see that when
00:24:21one business gets a new awning,
00:24:23paints their facade,
00:24:25the business next door says, we've got to do something.
00:24:27We've got to freshen up.
00:24:29It's contagious. It always
00:24:31happens this way.
00:24:33We want to be
00:24:35here for generations. That's our goal.
00:24:37We want people to be able to
00:24:39bring their families here when they came when they were
00:24:41kids.
00:24:43Hey!
00:24:45Hey, y'all!
00:24:47Hey, Sebring Soda!
00:24:49It's great to see you!
00:24:51This is so cool!
00:24:53I'm a big soda drinker.
00:24:55In Laurel, at the General Store, we have
00:24:57Mississippi's largest glass bottle
00:24:59soda collection. We don't know if that's
00:25:01true.
00:25:03I'm seeing familiar sodas here.
00:25:05There's a nostalgic quality
00:25:07to a business like yours.
00:25:09Everybody that comes in here is happy.
00:25:11Serving smiles.
00:25:13This feels like a very important
00:25:15business to the circle.
00:25:17I think so. We're one of the few businesses
00:25:19that decided to be open seven days a week.
00:25:21We were literally the only thing
00:25:23open down here.
00:25:25The only thing open after 5 o'clock during the week,
00:25:27and the only thing open on Saturday and Sundays.
00:25:29That is amazing, y'all.
00:25:31How many sodas do y'all carry?
00:25:33We stock about 200 different flavors.
00:25:35And then, when the Soda Festival
00:25:37comes, we're up to about 300.
00:25:39Tell us about the festival.
00:25:41We travel here from all over the place.
00:25:43All over the U.S.
00:25:45Liz and Daniel have spearheaded the Soda Festival
00:25:47since 2018.
00:25:49At first glance, it looks great.
00:25:51But, the people who come to this festival
00:25:53aren't necessarily even sticking around
00:25:55to enjoy the town. So you can't have
00:25:57this one fun event once a year
00:25:59and expect that to keep the town
00:26:01thriving. That's right. We need this
00:26:03wedge to feel like a festival
00:26:05every single day of the year.
00:26:07What's the biggest struggle
00:26:09with this business?
00:26:11Everything is aging.
00:26:13Was that already in here?
00:26:15Yeah. Not my favorite.
00:26:17Have you looked above it?
00:26:19No. It's a little scary.
00:26:21There are windows that are up there,
00:26:23but they're blocked by the drop ceiling.
00:26:25There's electrical duct work.
00:26:27There's all kinds of stuff up there.
00:26:29100-year-old building. I don't want to get into.
00:26:31We would like to definitely change that up.
00:26:33Would y'all like us to help you fix it up
00:26:35in here a little bit? Absolutely.
00:26:37Would that be okay? Yes!
00:26:39I'm so excited!
00:26:43This is a cool business.
00:26:45This is life-changing.
00:26:47Big deals. It's going to help
00:26:49us grow. It's going to help downtown
00:26:51grow. It's going to take the whole town to a next
00:26:53level. That's why we want to do this.
00:26:55Okay, so we have
00:26:57lots to think about here.
00:26:59We'll chew on it. We'll sip on it.
00:27:01We'll sip on it. Yeah.
00:27:03It was always a gathering place,
00:27:05but now it needs to be a memory-making place.
00:27:07I want people to want to remember
00:27:09the times they spent at Sebring Soda.
00:27:15Coming up on Hometown Takeover...
00:27:17It's garbage. We can do so much better!
00:27:19I'm teary. I don't know how to let go!
00:27:21It's hard to actually put into words
00:27:23how happy that I am.
00:27:25Oh, my gosh!
00:27:27It's a once-in-a-lifetime change.
00:27:29Yeah!
00:27:33Work around the circle is continuing,
00:27:35but before we officially start over
00:27:37at Sebring Soda, we really need to settle
00:27:39some things over at Jen's. We want to
00:27:41get her and the kids back in as soon
00:27:43as possible, but this lead
00:27:45situation has set us back a few days,
00:27:47so we've just kind of been in a holding pattern
00:27:49until that gets cleaned up.
00:27:51We contained everything with the plastic up.
00:27:53Containing the dust is the biggest point, and then
00:27:55as we finish the process,
00:27:57cleaned, no more lead, no more suits, now we can move forward and start building things.
00:28:04Historic bungalows, cottages, the walls are never just smooth plaster. Historically they weren't.
00:28:12There would be a wallpaper or a paneling. Those are little bonuses but they make such a huge
00:28:17difference. Having some texture on the ceiling with some v-groove paneling I think is gonna
00:28:21really add because again it was the details that are perfunctory and now we want to make them
00:28:26showstoppers. Sebring used to be known as bungalow town. That was the nickname but over
00:28:35the years most of those bungalows have either gone the way of the hurricane or they've just
00:28:40been torn down. A lot of the houses in Sebring have lost their historic features through
00:28:45renovations or through hurricanes and as a result they're no longer on the historic registry.
00:28:51Jen's house is an opportunity for us to hopefully get a house back on the historic
00:28:56registry. His house is a hundred and something years old and it's not historic because of this
00:29:01railing. Garbage, we can do so much better. The railing is not original to the house and it
00:29:06doesn't match the architecture of the house at all. We want to dress that up a little bit which
00:29:09then would also qualify the house to be designated historic. I mean we're doing an x pattern right?
00:29:15Yes but I think we can hold probably four sections. Let me measure it. You see this x
00:29:23pattern in porch railing especially in coastal areas and cottages. I think of the Carolinas
00:29:30and Florida when I think of the x pattern railing. This and then you know. Yep. One like this. I like
00:29:37the squareness of the x. You like it? Okay let's go.
00:29:50We're officially starting the first business renovation on the circle today.
00:29:54We've come up with a plan that really leans into what's so special about it. What's up?
00:29:58Hello, hello. I can't wait to hear what your ideas are. Well your logo is giving me some great
00:30:05color cues. It's gonna feel pharmacy. Oh yes. But fun. This blonde brick building it needs to stand
00:30:14out more than anything. It should be effervescent. We want to paint the buildings like a light blue
00:30:21green. Love it. I want to give you some iconic signage that is kitschy, nostalgic, retro in
00:30:28some way. We want people to see this building from the other side of the circle and say
00:30:34oh that's the soda shop. We love it. Big time. Okay. If you can imagine the heaviness overhead
00:30:42disappearing and it lightens up and you see those original historic windows. We want to have
00:30:47a built-in booth in the glass window here. We'll add additional seating and some custom soda racks
00:30:53along the window. Update the counter and then move the point of sale a little bit further down so it
00:30:58draws your customers deeper into the store. And then the color. We're going to lean into like
00:31:04minty light blue greens with red pops and white pops. It's going to be very different. I can't
00:31:11wait. I hope you're okay with it. We're very okay with it. Y'all get out of here. I'm about to tear
00:31:15this sale. We're fixing to get physical. Bye y'all. Ben and Erin wants to renovate Sebring Soda. This
00:31:22is amazing. It's something that we just never thought in a million years could happen. It's
00:31:26something that's going to change our lives. We may have four months to transform this town but
00:31:31we only have six weeks to finish Sebring Soda before the Soda Festival. When you know you've
00:31:36got an event coming up, you've got to get it ready. You want it to be the best it's ever been because
00:31:41the people are going to be really excited to see what happened, what's changed. It better be good.
00:31:48Dang. What do you see up there Ben? It's not bad. It's not bad at all. Is that plaster patchable?
00:31:55We can make it look a lot better than that. Finding the plaster ceiling felt like we're on
00:32:01the right track. We wanted something not rotten. That's what we were looking for. And we wanted
00:32:05height. We wanted ceiling height. Oh, I do see something that I like.
00:32:12Dang. Looks all right up there. It's awesome. Can you see the paint color over there? Yeah.
00:32:28It's like minty robin's egg blue. That is the color that I had already chosen that I had in
00:32:33mind for everything in here. I feel like every project is giving us hints of what it wants to be.
00:32:42Have a seat. What? I'm just being romantic, that's all. My favorite. Peach soda. The night we went on
00:33:00our first date, he stopped at a gas station. He got a peach soda, our favorite. My favorite and
00:33:06his favorite. And we shared it. We were headed back to the dorm. He was going to drop me off.
00:33:10And then he said, would it be all right with you if I gave you a kiss?
00:33:15That was our first kiss. It tasted like peach soda. Did you steal these?
00:33:28Just like in Watumka and Fort Morgan after that, we have to rely on a huge group of helpers to make
00:33:33sure we can get this revitalization done in four months. The town needs this to happen. So while
00:33:39we're working on projects for Sebring Soda, Jonathan's crew is going to be pushing forward
00:33:43at Jen's house. Jen and her daughter love to cook, but she also wants to be able to invite over
00:33:48students and other teachers. So I want to make it extra special. With the cabinets, I think we
00:33:52should lean into the warmth and the historic charm of the house. And we can go with a raised panel
00:33:57style and a soft cream color. And I think that'll tie in really nicely with the millwork details of
00:34:02the backsplash and the ceiling. Erin loves a checkerboard floor. I do, but black and white
00:34:09can be harsh. In certain color palettes in a house like this, everything is so soft and white and
00:34:15light that the black would have been out of place. So we're going to do the cream and then a darker
00:34:20cream, travertine. Tone on tone. Dang, Jonathan. Looks a little different, huh? The black acoustic
00:34:34tile was killing their vibe. I love the transom windows. And look at these. The ones under the
00:34:40awning are on hinges, so you can open them on a nice day like today. It gets it even brighter in
00:34:46here. Oh, yeah. The whole vibe that we got going on is to get it minty, bright, happy, fun. It's
00:34:53going to be awesome. Sebring Soda is going to need a new menu. So you got to figure out what those
00:35:06fonts are that indicate the era of the building, the vibe of the store. And to me, it feels like
00:35:13two teenagers on a date in 1939. This old-timey pharmacy soda fountain feeling
00:35:20that we've seen in movies and we've probably never experienced in real life.
00:35:25So I feel like things are in really good shape here, and we've got to get back to Laurel.
00:35:30So while we're gone, Dave and Jenny Mars are going to rescue us once again. I love this little
00:35:36circle with the American flag right in the center. It's really cool. This is adorable.
00:35:41They have always been so willing to help us out with these projects in other towns,
00:35:46and I'm so thankful they understand small-town America. Last year, we were working in Colorado,
00:35:50which was Dave's home state. This year, we're here in Florida, which is where I'm from. So
00:35:55it feels like a full-circle moment. It does. They're cool buildings. There's just not anyone
00:36:00in them. Definitely has a lot of gentle. We've asked Dave and Jenny to help Jonathan keep things
00:36:05moving at the soda shop. That's going to go inside near their signs. We'll be able to display all
00:36:10their sodas. We have these pieces that are vintage, and they're not exactly the same size
00:36:16and height, but they have the same look. All right, so on this back wall, we will have the menu board,
00:36:21right? It'll be 113 inches wide, and then on either side of the board, we'll hang the top
00:36:28half of that and this guy to display soda, but they're not the same height. This is not the
00:36:35same height as this, so we're going to have to probably cut that one down. I always want to
00:36:39incorporate old things in spaces, so especially this building is from the 1920s. I don't think
00:36:43they should be perfectly matched. That would be too manufactured, like, imperfect. That's why
00:36:48she married me. Exactly. Okay, you ready? They're cool pieces. You know, any time that we can
00:36:57repurpose something, it looks cool, it looks authentic, and you don't want it to be exactly
00:37:01the same. And I also love the curves on the top of these. They tie in nicely with the binket over
00:37:06here. This is nice. You know, we've seen this strategy before, right, where you take a place that is
00:37:12a place where people of all ages can come. It's the starting point. You get it going, and then
00:37:16the momentum continues. Once that starts, it will spread. I think it's going to help everyone.
00:37:28Hey. Hey. I had an idea. Yeah? Yeah. You remember when we were in Sebring, got these postcards,
00:37:35and, like, they have these little brochures that are about the history of the town, and I was
00:37:40thinking, what if you just stay in dollhouse modes since you're working on this for the girls?
00:37:45And then I thought about, what if there was, like, you know, a little free library, but it looks like
00:37:52Jen's house. Okay. In her front yard. Yeah. That's, like, the gateway to downtown. It would be full of
00:37:59these, so it's like a visitor center in miniature. I love it. And I love this. The girls are gonna freak out.
00:38:07Yeah, they are. Yeah. Jen is the kind of person who will appreciate having something for children
00:38:14in her front yard. I can't think of anybody else who it would be more perfect for. Is that a tiny
00:38:19doorknob with a tiny little key? How else are you gonna get in? And also, I can't think of a house
00:38:24that would be cuter in miniature than hers. So good.
00:38:43This is beautiful. Wow. What a cool house. Very southern, very old Florida. Good morning.
00:38:51Hey, how's it going? Looks great. This is an awesome house. Oh, the railing looks so nice.
00:38:56The handrail, that's beautiful. Okay, so we have the lights wired for pendants up here. Yeah.
00:39:02We have to go find those. I know we can't do gas, but I want it to look like a gas lantern,
00:39:07you know. This is really pretty. Oh, look at the ceiling in here. Oh, it looks great. It looks so
00:39:13good. They painted it already. It's very historical, too. I love it. I love the color, and this is gonna
00:39:17have wallpaper in this room. Hey, remember the pictures, how closed off this was? I know. This
00:39:21looks so good. What are we doing in here, backsplash today? Yeah, yeah. We have to decide whether we're
00:39:25going v-groove or just that flat back. No, I think you need the v when you get the texture. I mean,
00:39:32more cottagey. Yeah, and it gives you some dimension. Otherwise, you're just putting wood
00:39:36on the wall. Tying all of these rooms together, you have the v-groove out there, you have it
00:39:40in the ceiling in the dining room. I think it makes this feel really cohesive. We'll get to it.
00:39:45All right, sounds good. This dining room, I've designed a wallpaper that's inspired by the citrus
00:39:54groves. This is where most of the, like, oranges in America come from. It's a callback to Sebring's
00:40:00history. I want to really let this house feel playful and sweet and historic, a little whimsical.
00:40:15So Sebring Soda is the spot for kids to hang out. So it's like their version of our dairy bar. Yes,
00:40:24Sebring Soda is in a blonde brick building, but it's like it doesn't emphasize what kind of
00:40:31environment you should expect. It's not the vibe. This building is the first building we are
00:40:36painting on the circle. A big part of our strategy when we come to a small town is to come up with
00:40:42a color palette that reflects the personality of the place. History was not afraid to paint
00:40:48something a crazy color. Floridian architecture has a lot of pastel color. It's a focus on
00:40:55the endless summer that the state experiences, and so we want to start there. When we took down
00:41:00the ceiling, this is what color the room was historically. Well, there you go. It's like
00:41:06almost an exact match to April Thicket. The concrete floors are scored, so it's big squares,
00:41:13and I want to paint them like checkerboard pattern. Nostalgic soda shop kind of vibe. Yeah. So I feel
00:41:19like if this is our interior color, maybe the contrast on the checkerboard is... I like that
00:41:25with some little moments of red and cream. Just a little bit. And then at the exterior,
00:41:32Villa Blue. That seems nice. Oh, that's really nice. It's crazy. That is exactly the color of your eye.
00:41:38I think Sebring will be happy with this, and it'd look nice beside a white building. Yeah.
00:41:43Doesn't that feel good? That feels so good. You've got a lot of work to do. Thanks for reminding me.
00:41:49Okay. I mean, we've given ourselves four months for all these projects. That fits in our schedule.
00:41:55The soda shop has a deadline, and that's the Soda Festival. I don't think we can say
00:42:01we have transformed Sebring Soda without painting the yellow brick. It's been really cool seeing
00:42:06like the soda shop getting a new kind of like vintage kind of feel. Like I love the new colors.
00:42:12It's really cute. It's looking so good in here. Okay. I want to see how the floors actually came
00:42:19out. Me too. Oh, wow. Oh, I love it. Oh, that's cool. Oh, it looks so good. Oh, I love it. Two-tone.
00:42:27Yeah, so imagine the whole place looking like this. All the light coming in. It's gonna be
00:42:31so colorful and just happy. Yeah. I love it. We kicked off this huge undertaking with Jen's House
00:42:48and Sebring Soda, but there's progress starting and happening all over town. They're seeing so
00:42:53much action happening in such a short amount of time. I think that can only energize a town.
00:42:59It's not like one of those things where, oh, we came back six months later and it looked totally
00:43:03different. No, you come back a week later and it looks different. It makes you think, well,
00:43:07what could they do with the infinite time they have after this four months ends?
00:43:11I've been saving that for years. Here's what we need. We need a shelf on casters. Okay,
00:43:24for sodas. It's gonna feel more pharmacy, apothecary, and so I want these to feel that
00:43:30way, like old school soda shop. So each one of these shelves will have two of these squares
00:43:36with rounded corners. During the festival, they could roll it outside. They really could. We get
00:43:41these bent, we weld them together. You feeling strong? I feel strong. This is a meaty pipe, man.
00:43:46It's gonna be tough. The first thing I noticed, I walked in, it's like, whoa, there's a really
00:43:54heavy chunk of ugly right there in the middle. Doesn't exude fun. And this is a soda shop.
00:44:00It should be fun. You can get ice cream. You can get hot dogs. Tag me in if you need me, buddy.
00:44:06I'm gonna build something that is effervescent, fun, bubbly.
00:44:11He ain't even breaking a sweat. The pipe ain't got nothing on Josh.
00:44:22All right, we gotta go find some lights for Jen's house. Some exterior lights that look...
00:44:26Historic. Yeah, like lantern style. How cute, look at this little beach area. Okay, so we want
00:44:33a hanging pendant, not wall sconces. Nothing on the wall. This is a really important home for this
00:44:40community. Everyone drives by it. We want to make sure all of the details are right, and we want to
00:44:45make sure it's true and authentic to the time period that this home was built in. We're not
00:44:50trying to change this home, we want to just enhance what's already here. Do you want glass
00:44:55in them? Yeah, it's like you would find like a gas lantern, you know, on the front porch.
00:45:00No, that's a little too cabin-y. Oh, look at this one. Oh, I love this with the brass. Oh, and that
00:45:05actually looks like gas. I think that looks very southern. It adds character. It's cute. When the
00:45:11light's on, it just feels really warm, like a candlelight. Jen wants it to feel welcoming. She
00:45:16wants to be able to bring other teachers over. She wants to have teacher events, and she needs
00:45:20to have a front porch especially that she's proud of. This is the first thing you see when you pull
00:45:25up to the house. You see the lighting. These will be really beautiful. All right, let's go see if he
00:45:28has three, or if he can get us three. Okay. And I think that's the one. I love it.
00:45:51I love this place. I always get stuck like in the first... Yeah, these are my favorite booths.
00:45:55Like I already see pretty plates. Those are great. Good morning. Good morning. How are y'all?
00:46:01We need vintage china. Or dishes. Oh, that sounds pretty. I would go around this way because you're
00:46:07gonna find plenty of it right back there. She has so much good stuff. Jen's house is so
00:46:13classically Floridian, historic. Magical. Magical, and it's the first like historic home you see when
00:46:20you're coming into downtown. Most of the like historic features of the interior are gone. It's
00:46:26got a beautiful little formal dining room, and that's where I want to bring in the charm. Yes,
00:46:31we need to just pile on the charm so the inside of this house looks like the outside of the house.
00:46:38There's nothing more southern to me than a nice plate wall, and it's something that she could add
00:46:42to as the years go on. Add to for the rest of your life. Yeah. So it becomes a plate room.
00:46:48Oh, my dream. I want to be sure we're mixing plenty of Mississippian connection between us
00:46:54and her. Oh gosh. So once we can make this house feel worthy of its historic significance in the
00:47:04way that it looks, it's going to make Jen feel confident. That's going to make her want to host
00:47:09the teacher events and PTA events. The trickle down effect. This is good. We need some
00:47:16white space like these because it's going on wallpaper that's already kind of busy,
00:47:20and then plus the seabring plates, and I think we're good.
00:47:29These are lining up pretty good. I'm on business. There it is. Oh, that was it.
00:47:37I have test bottles. Oh, sweet. It looks awesome. Thank you. I love it. What color? We forgot about
00:47:44paint. We were going so fast trying to hurry up and get done. I love all of the mint, light,
00:47:49icy blue colors that we're going with in the soda shop, and I feel like the perfect complement
00:47:54is going to be red. Cherry on top red. Oh, yeah. Sounds pretty special. You know what I mean.
00:47:59Because they have ice cream also. Yes. We got less than a week until the soda festival. Yeah,
00:48:09and we really want to get Jen and her kids back home as soon as possible, but we're all right
00:48:13because Dave and Jenny are still in town taking care of things. Okay. Oh, that looks so good.
00:48:21Historic homes like this put a lot of attention into the details. I don't know that it would
00:48:26have had a white painted steel door. It would have had a wood, really pretty door that you
00:48:30don't often see a lot in newer homes, so going back to a header and a footer and then the crown
00:48:37around the two front windows as well as the front door, it really just highlights the front porch.
00:48:42It makes the house look original. I love it. Isn't that pretty? Yeah, beautiful. Now it's a historical
00:48:48house. Looks so good. Okay, I brought a lantern too. We can hold those up and see how they look.
00:48:54Okay. All right. Oh, look how pretty. Hello. Hi. I'm just being nosy. Oh, hi. See what's going on.
00:49:03Oh, we are working on renovating this house. We're updating it. It didn't need a lot because
00:49:08it's such a cool old house. It's a very old home. Yeah, yeah. You know a lot about the home? I know a
00:49:16little bit about it. I lived here for 50 years. I taught first grade two blocks from here. Jen
00:49:22was in my first grade class. Are you serious? We raised two boys here and five grandchildren.
00:49:31Wow. So we've had many good memories. Oh, I'm teary.
00:49:37Well, don't get me started. So long story short, Jen, she was graduating from college
00:49:45and she wrote me a letter. Now believe it or not, I framed it. Oh, that is so sweet. And it's been
00:49:52sitting on my dresser ever since. Wow. Can we hear the letter? Okay. Okay. This was December
00:49:59of 01. She said, Dear Mrs. Stephens, I am graduating from the University of North Florida
00:50:06with honors. I wanted to let you know how much you have influenced me. It is because of you that
00:50:13I've decided to become a teacher. Ever since I had you in first grade, all I ever wanted to do
00:50:19is to be a teacher just like you. Thank you, Jennifer Drury. I mean, well, so that's beautiful.
00:50:26That's why we're here doing the house is because of the impact that she is
00:50:29making for this next generation. I got to get a photo of that letter. That is so cool. I think
00:50:35we could use that somewhere in the house probably. You are the best nosy neighbor I have ever had.
00:50:45If you think about it, like how hard teachers work. I mean, I know just from watching
00:50:48my own sisters teaching kids, they've worked every day, day in, day out, getting validation
00:50:54in the form of a letter. That is really cool because she's worked so hard for so long.
00:50:58You never know what that impactful moment is going to be for a child. So many of them happen
00:51:05with teachers. So we can come in here now and give back to someone that is making that same impact
00:51:11right here in Sebring with the next generation of people that will live in Sebring. Oh, it's
00:51:17such a pretty day. And it was perfect out here. That was a good couple of days. It was,
00:51:21it was busy. It's time to get back to the kids. It's a sweet town. I think it's going to make it.
00:51:25I think it's going to do well. I do too. Jen's teacher, Miss Stevens, got some volunteers
00:51:38together, some friends of Jen's. Other teachers. Other teachers to help and paint her front porch.
00:51:45And not just the most small town. The sweetest thing you ever heard.
00:51:48Growing up, we would drive by this house, my mom and dad, and I would always look, just look around.
00:51:54And I always knew it as the big white house with the green shutters. So when Jen said that she was
00:51:59buying this house, I said, what house? She said the big white house with the green shutters. Oh my
00:52:03goodness. It's just so funny how things come full circle. It is. I'm hoping that Jen can have a home
00:52:08that she's proud of to have people over. She deserves this more than anything. She needs
00:52:14some good things to happen. So now Jen won't be able to turn us down for our teacher sleepover.
00:52:18Yeah. And then she's going to use that stove to cook me something.
00:52:28I'm excited to be back in town.
00:52:30I'm here in the dark tonight. I'm holding on to your precious light, Zoe.
00:52:40We are putting the final touches on Sebring Soda. Soda festival's this weekend. Liz and Daniel are
00:52:47going to show up. We're going to show them everything. And then they can get ready for the
00:52:50festival. Festivals like this are, they're huge for all local businesses. It's not a, you know,
00:52:56oh, this is only going to benefit the soda shop. This helps everyone in the downtown footprint.
00:53:02Stripes are really key here. I just love these straw dispensers. They're really sweet. You can
00:53:08believe in your town all you want, but the reality of owning a business takes away the romance.
00:53:14Sometimes you just needed to add a little romance back to it. That's what I'm always trying to do.
00:53:21Yes, it is. Just add a little romance. There's going to be that moment. Oh yeah.
00:53:27Where your hands touch. Some 16-year-olds are going to go on their first date here and then
00:53:31bring their grandkids here. Right up there. Your mamaw and I shared a hot dog and a soda.
00:53:39Good story, grandpa. We've been sharing hot dogs ever since. They're gonna be here in a sec. Come on.
00:53:48Has everybody been talking about it to you and trying to tell you what it looks like? Not too much.
00:53:51We keep telling them not to tell us anything. We don't want to know. Good. Good. Because literally
00:53:55everyone in town is driving by and looking in and trying to come in. Because it is. Can we look
00:53:59breathtaking? Yeah. Can we do it? Look at it. Oh my god.
00:54:08It's absolutely beautiful. It's adorable. Adorable. Oh my god. It's perfect.
00:54:17It's perfect. Look at the sign. I see the sign. I freaking love it. It's still a bottle cap,
00:54:23but in a more nostalgic way. It's a very 1930s vibe that we went with. It's a little bit
00:54:31apothecary. And the color on the outside. I would have picked that color. I really wanted to focus
00:54:37on making it light and refreshing. That's what people should expect from a soda shop. Now it
00:54:42sticks out. It blended in before. Now it sticks out. For a business, that's exactly what you need.
00:54:48This is our first one on the circle. Eventually we're going to touch all of them. The entire
00:54:54circle. Don't look in there yet. All right. Don't look up until you work inside.
00:54:58Oh my god.
00:55:05Holy crap. Oh my god. Look. Oh my gosh.
00:55:15Oh my gosh. Oh my god. It's hard to actually put into words how happy that I am. It's absolutely
00:55:36beautiful. All the light is so transformative. Opening up the original transoms. And that's
00:55:43where in the 1920s someone got paint all over the glass. That was not our crew. That was, wait. That
00:55:47was original. That was original paint? We color matched everything to the original color. It's
00:55:52absolutely beautiful. So this is going to be the date spot. This is the spot for me. This is
00:55:59romance. Erin and I already had a date here. The point of the way we designed all this is because
00:56:05we want it to obviously appeal to kids because of what you sell. We want it to appeal to every
00:56:10generation. To their great grandparents who would have visited establishments that looked like this.
00:56:18I designed a new menu for you guys. The front. Oh look how nice. I like the little displays.
00:56:25Jenny and Dave Mars helped us build those displays. I mean they're vintage pieces. They repainted,
00:56:31repurposed. They don't match but they look the same. Isn't that interesting? Oh my gosh this
00:56:36floor. The floor is kind of my favorite part. The checkerboard pattern. It's beautiful. Was
00:56:41super transformative. We have outdoor seating. You have this seating. You have standing room only.
00:56:47You know it's just a situation where we would have never had the opportunity or the ability
00:56:52to do something like this ourselves and it's a once in a lifetime change. It really is. Yes. It's
00:56:59going to help us be a little bit more financially stable which means we can stay for years to come.
00:57:05There's some vacancies on the circle. If you guys do well those vacancies disappear. I want to see a
00:57:12line around the block. We do too. You're gonna have a lot of people who are applying to work here.
00:57:19We have a hiring fair this Friday so we're very excited. We're gonna have a perfect time. We're
00:57:23gonna beef up our staff. Right on time for Florida's busiest festival. That's right. That's right.
00:57:35Thank y'all for working with us on getting this made. Absolutely. Thank you guys for the
00:57:45collaboration. We could not have asked for a better final piece to welcome everybody into
00:57:50downtown Sebring. I love how this final design really embodies downtown Sebring. You get to
00:57:55perfectly see how the circle is crafted. The blue reminds me of Lake Jackson and then we have a
00:58:01beautiful orange tree in the middle. Look at the city on the circle. You can't miss this one. This
00:58:06looks good y'all. You could barely even read the old one. Kindergarten teachers set the stage for
00:58:14a child's love for learning for their whole life. Those are the kind of people you should help.
00:58:20So pretty. Have y'all seen this little house? That's really cool. It's sweet huh? She knows her house
00:58:26is iconic but always a little self-conscious about should I do more to make it even better.
00:58:32So now it feels like it's closer to who she is and who her family is.
00:58:38That's what we were after. You're playing hooky today. Yes. Well welcome home Miss Brindling.
00:58:45Oh my gosh.
00:58:55It's beautiful. It's a little house. I know. I want to live here so bad. It's just so beautiful.
00:59:05It's so beautiful. You guys are awesome. I'm so happy for you. Thank you so much. Thank you.
00:59:13Beautiful. The lights are so pretty. I love that door. I love the door. The door is so good. That
00:59:19was kind of what it was lacking was just these little touches. You know doing the railing.
00:59:23Fingers crossed we're going to be accepted into the historic society. Your house is the first
00:59:28thing people see when they're coming into downtown. You feel like you have a responsibility
00:59:33to make sure that yes it stays iconic. When it got picked people got nervous because they didn't
00:59:39want it to change too much. We would never change what made this house so fundamentally beautiful.
00:59:47The house is so cute. Okay well I made that. It is a miniature version of your house. This has
00:59:52educational material about Sebring. Pretty cute huh? Yes. You should see the full-size house.
00:59:59Yeah let's go look at the full-size house. Yes.
01:00:01This room is perfect but. Oh my gosh. Your dining room. Oh my gosh.
01:00:13This is crazy. Oh my gosh. I would never put wallpaper up. This is incredible. It's gorgeous.
01:00:22I designed this wallpaper. Really? It's citrus grove. Yes. Sebring pottery. We have a
01:00:29Sebring pottery. We have lots of it on the wall. We found some laurel pieces too. So we're sister
01:00:35cities now. I love that. Oh my gosh. It's so I don't even know what to say. Like it's just so pretty in here.
01:00:42Can you recognize that? Oh my gosh. That's so crazy. Miss Stevens dropped by while Dave and Jenny were here
01:00:50working on some things and she gave them copies of this for you to have. So cool. Like imagine
01:00:58what that meant to her. She kept it for 20 years. Yeah. Oh that's crazy. It may not get documented
01:01:07but you will be that for someone else here in Sebring. That's the goal. Yeah.
01:01:13Go into your dreamboat kitchen. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Wow. Wow. Look at the floor.
01:01:25It's so pretty. You have a whole countertop over there. And they can sit at it. The kids can sit
01:01:32at the counter. That was the goal. This is what I wanted so bad. Well now it's done. Now it's done.
01:01:38Look at the appliances. They're beautiful. This is my first time to put a range in front of a window
01:01:44and I am so into it. Oh never seen such beautiful appliances. This is crazy. You almost don't want
01:01:51to use them. Oh I definitely will. Ellie will use them more than me even. She loves to cook. Oh my
01:01:57gosh they're gorgeous. And we've connected your dining room and kitchen a little bit more by
01:02:02open. Opening things up right there. Everything looks so finished. I've never had a house that
01:02:06looks so finished. You have no idea the last couple years have been crazy. And I needed a
01:02:13home. This is so great. I have no idea. It's so important to feel like you've got a safe place
01:02:21I think I've been trying to hold it. I'm so grateful for you guys. So we're grateful that
01:02:29we got to spend time in this house. That's a keeper. Oh yeah.
01:02:40Oh my gosh. Ben and Erin thank you for making our house a home and a place that my kids can make
01:02:53so many memories and grow up in and doing things that may have never happened without them.
01:03:00Now I can focus more on teaching and the kids in my class.
01:03:15The new Sebring soda looks absolutely wonderful. This is a nice refresh. Downtown Sebring and
01:03:23Sebring area beats it. So what we're trying to create is this vacation land that our grandparents
01:03:31and our parents experienced. Being here and seeing this town that's on a circle it feels like magic.
01:03:42We're off to a really good start and it feels like we've done so so much
01:03:46here but we're really just starting on the circle.
01:03:49This season on Hometown Takeover. Ladies and gentlemen start your engines.
01:03:57Here's to another hundred years.
01:04:00Vinette and Sean are there for anyone in their darkest hour. We want to help y'all and we want
01:04:05to renovate your house. Oh my gosh. Oh I don't like the way that looks. Never done a whole restaurant
01:04:13before. Oh my god. Get to the dumpster fire. That's not good. Oh. Holy. Our lives are going to be changed.
01:04:23Cracker. We just want to be the spark. I feel like we've sparked something.