Hey guys! I just got back from Chicago where we moved our son Jake into his new apartment (I miss him already!). While I was there, I saw a story on the news about a “Fixer Upper” house in Waco that was seriously damaged when a drunk driver drove his car into the front of it.
As soon as I got home, I looked it up to see which house it was. They dubbed it the “Three Little Pigs House” when it appeared during the third season. I remembered the house and was sad to hear about the accident. It was so adorable when Chip and Joanna were done with it!
A Look Back at the “Three Little Pigs House” Makeover:
Here’s what happened to it, according to the Waco Tribune:
Police say a man suspected of drunken driving smashed his car through the front of a “Fixer Upper” home in North Waco early Saturday morning, capping more than a year of frustration for its owners, who feel their complaints about neighborhood crime have gone unheard.
“The owners, Ken and Kelly Downs, sleeping in an interior bedroom at the time of the crash, weren’t hurt, but their house sustained considerable damage. The car broke through an exterior wall and a parallel interior wall of a front room office.”
I’m assuming that means this room is the one that the car ended up in.
The kitchen makeover was especially dramatic:
After the show, the homeowners listed it on Airbnb and posted these photos:
You don’t get to keep the furniture Joanna stages it with (unless you buy it), so the rooms look a bit different now.
The Waco Tribune reported the drunk driver was found in a Hyundai Accent wedged inside the house.
“Tires left grooves in the sloped front lawn but didn’t leave any apparent damage on the front porch, seeming to indicate the car went over the porch, crashing through a railing and two walls.
“In the home renovation by Chip and Joanna Gaines, a brick fireplace had been relocated in the office and likely was what stopped the car. The next room the car would have hit, was the bedroom where they were sleeping when the crash happened, Kelly Downs said.”
“While the Downses encountered some problems with their home after moving in, the neighborhood had issues they did not expect: late-night noise from nearby bars, suspicious activity and push-back, some of it anti-‘Fixer Upper,’ from local residents when they complained to police.”
They’ve taken a lot of flak on the internet for saying they felt “deceived” by Magnolia Realty, which sold them the house, but it sounds like the crash was the latest in a series of difficult realities they faced after moving there. Unfortunately, life after a makeover isn’t always as picture-perfect as it looks on HGTV!
You can learn more about the accident and see the damage the house sustained in the Waco Tribune. Read more about the makeover on the Magnolia Market blog (photos by Rachel Whyte) and get rental info on Airbnb.
Oh, and you know all those headlines that have been popping up about Joanna Gaines quitting “Fixer Upper”? Totally false. It’s a scammy ad for wrinkle cream. (Deets here.)
P.S. Visit my HGTV page for more info on your favorite shows, including “Fixer Upper”:
The post This “Fixer Upper” House in Waco Was Wrecked by a Drunk Driver appeared first on Hooked on Houses.
by hookedonhouses via Home And Garden
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