We’re Obsessed With Tamara Day’s Old-Meets-New Style 15 Photos
Bargain Mansions host Tamara Day stays true to a home’s architectural design and historical context, but always finds a way to mix in modern elements. Take a look at 15 gorgeous rooms with her signature style.
Behind the Design with Tamara Day 11 Photos
Tamara gives us a peek behind the curtain at some of our favorite designs.
About the Show
For home restoration expert Tamara Day, there's no home that's too big! On Bargain Mansions, she specializes in restoring large, neglected homes that others are too scared to take on. Tamara brings these big beauties back to life so that new families can move in and love them again.
Season 2 Video Highlights 14 Videos
Check out these before-and-after transformations from Bargain Mansions.
Now Playing
Expansive 1950s Ranch 00:50
Now Playing
Second-Story Addition 00:54
Now Playing
Creating a Front Door Entrance 01:01
Now Playing
Master Suite and More 01:00
Now Playing
Contemporary Mansion Makeover 00:59
Now Playing
Contemporary Mansion Update 01:00
Now Playing
Colonial Kitchen Transformed 00:59
Now Playing
Closet Dreams 00:57
Now Playing
Kansas City Shirtwaist Fixer 01:01
Now Playing
Restored Fourth Bedroom 00:53
Now Playing
Kansas City Shirtwaist Charm 00:56
Now Playing
Shirtwaist with Large Suite 01:01
Now Playing
Rustic Transformation 00:58
Now Playing
Top to Bottom Renovation 00:56
Expansive 1950s Ranch 00:50
Tamera got creative with this expansive 1950s ranch-style home.
About the Host
Tamara Day
Get Social
Episodes
See Episode GuideWhen One Barn Door Closes
After restoring a fourth bedroom in the 3,100-square-foot Shirtwaist home, Tamara creates a reading nook and closet to complete the room. Then the Kansas City weather creates a problem in the front yard, while two brand new vanities might not fit in the master bath.
All About the Island
Tamara Day tackles a large 1905 Colonial with seven sun porches! She turns a cramped, ugly kitchen and a dining room into the ultimate entertaining space, but unsupported floors and a strange noise during demo slow her plans and may cost her big money.
A Closet Fit for a Queen
In the second phase of Tamara's 1905 Colonial renovation, she creates a 900-square-foot master suite and converts one of the home's seven sun porches into a closet. However, her budget takes a hit when she needs to install a new HVAC unit and her plan to save a vintage fireplace might have run out of gas.
Double Dutch Dilemma
Tamara Day gets the opportunity to renovate a French chateau she's wanted to tackle for years. She finds that a recent renovation left the kitchen looking outdated and tacky, but she's determined to create a home full of authentic details. Tamara and her dad go shopping for a Dutch door, then she restores plantation shutters to preserve the home's vintage French elements.
The Trouble With Cobbles
Tamara Day continues work on a French chateau as she overhauls a large master suite covered in the tackiest wallpaper she's ever ripped out of a home. She plans to move an entire bathroom to create an additional bedroom and extend a hallway with floor boards saved from downstairs. But to preserve a backyard kitchenette and cobblestone pavers, she will be forced to make decisions that may wreck her budget.
Fireplaces and Wired Spaces
Tamara Day annexes an oversized dining room to enlarge a tiny kitchen in a 1926 English Tudor. She rips out an outdated and tacky mantel to create a stunning fireplace surround. Using a piece of reclaimed walnut, she then creates a large desktop for an in-home office. Tamara also restores an original mail slot from the home and solves a problem with the old knob-and-tube electrical.
Two-Deck Tudor
Tamara Day struggles to create a more spacious master suite until she decides to add a second deck to a 1926 English Tudor. Tamara strips off numerous coats of paint to restore original doors in the home. In the backyard, she adds an outdoor living area with a fire pit. Tamara and her dad then realize the height of the garage doors may cause a problem.
Rhapsody in Beige
Tamara Day transforms a contemporary home on a large wooded lot that's devoid of any character. She installs huge windows to bring the outdoors inside, but she faces issues with resurfacing a fireplace veneer.
A Pain in the Deck
Continuing renovations on a large and bland contemporary home, Tamara Day tackles the master suite and replaces lots of dated cabinetry to make a stylish bathroom. She also creates a home theater, immense deck and patio to turn the home into an entertaining showpiece.
Corbels and Chaos
Tamara Day sees great potential in a 1938 cottage with an unusual layout, unfinished renovation and no front door. She constructs a cathedral ceiling and creates two massive cedar corbels for the entrance, but the process of installing an egress window puts a crack in her budget.
Skylight Surprise
Tamara Day struggles to install a full bath and enlarge the master suite as she continues to renovate the 1938 cottage. She successfully creates a hidden playroom in the kids' bedroom, but fails to win her dad's approval on her plan for the backyard shed.
Water Damage Be Gone
Tamara heads to Leawood, Kansas, to completely transform the uninspired basement of a water-damaged French Provincial. Then, she incorporates French flair throughout the house while designing a spacious open floor plan ideal for parties.
Family Room Where?
Tamara upgrades a 1978 Tudor home by increasing the size of a small kitchen and adding much-needed light. Next, she reworks the main bedroom's floor plan and remodels the basement into an incredible game room where the family can relax and have fun.
Bold In, Old Out
Tamara modernizes an outdated, 1970s Tudor home by giving the kitchen a much-needed upgrade and renovating two uninspired living spaces on the first floor into statement rooms.
The Heart of the Home
Tamara Day tackles the battered kitchen of her new property, an 1897 bungalow. She enlarges and modernizes the space while preserving traditional elements of a bungalow kitchen. Tamara and her dad hunt for a suitably sized island. After deciding on a style, she helps construct the cabinets. Working with her team she injects new life into the area she calls the heart of the home.
How Suite It Is
Tamara Day transforms a bedroom as she continues renovating an 1897 bungalow. Knowing modern buyers expect a master suite, Tamara annexes a second room to enlarge the tiny closet and add a bathroom. Tamara and her dad find a tub that would be a perfect match, but it's painted black. A missing fireplace tile may create a problem, but she's determined to transform the space into a luxurious master suite.
The Mural of the Story
Tamara Day works on restoring a 1909 Craftsman home, opening up its meandering layout and ripping out the tacky additions that have stripped this house of its original charm. She saves vintage light switches and a wallpaper mural that could be the showpiece of the dining room if she can keep it from being destroyed during renovations.
Clowning Around
Tamara Day continues renovating a 1909 Craftsman home, transforming a small bedroom into the master bath. She saves and refurbishes French doors, vintage sinks and a tub from the house, while adding modern elements like a sauna. During the walk-through with her contractor, Tamara discovers the creepiest thing she's ever found in a home.
Tile and More Tile
Tamara revitalizes a neoclassical Colonial's kitchen, breakfast nook, and parlor without losing an ounce of its historic charm. Next, she turns to the unfinished attic, converting it to a lavish 1,200-square-foot homeowner suite.
Raise the Roof
Tamara Day gets creative renovating an expansive 1950 ranch-style home. She updates the exterior with faux stone and adds another floor to the 3,000-square-foot home, but rain and an old fireplace force her to rethink her plans and budget.
Stairway to Master Suite Heaven
Tamara Day uses her 1,400-square-foot second-story addition to create three new bedrooms in a 1950 ranch home. She guts the master suite to re-frame it for a massive closet, but her plans to reuse the shower doors in the bathroom may fracture her design for the whole room.
Family Room Where?
Tamara upgrades a 1978 Tudor home by increasing the size of a small kitchen and adding much-needed light. Next, she reworks the main bedroom's floor plan and remodels the basement into an incredible game room where the family can relax and have fun.
Tamara's Tudor Tutorial
Tamara Day takes on a 1927 Tudor by blowing out the existing small kitchen and outfitting it with a large island and eating nook. She transforms a bedroom into a dining room, but her hopes of refurbishing the deck begin to break apart before she can even get started.
Shower Showstopper
Tamara takes on a behemoth 1927 Tudor house, but while she admires the home's original details, her dad discovers a problem. She uses a kitchenette to create a bar, revamps an uneven patio and enlarges the master bathroom to transform the 5,700-square-foot home into a showstopper.
Shirtwaist Second Chance
Tamara rescues an abandoned 1908 Shirtwaist home and designs an open plan kitchen with a custom range hood and refurbished corbels for the walls. Later, she incorporates wainscoting and tile into a newly created den.
Move That Kitchen
Tamara renovates a single-story ranch and tackles her biggest challenge to date, transforming the former master bedroom into a stunning, open kitchen. However, she and her dad run into problems during demolition.
