Battle on the Beach houses for Sale

The teams are back for the third week of HGTV's “Battle on the Beach,” and this time, it's all about the living rooms.

In the episode “Living Room Showdown,” the three teams of up-and-coming renovators—led by superstars Ty Pennington (“Ty Breaker“), Alison Victoria (“Windy City Rehab“), and Taniya Nayak (“Build It Forward”)—turn their plain living rooms into cozy, elegant spots for vacationers to gather.

"Right now, these living rooms are big, blank slates," Pennington says at the beginning of the challenge. "Let's face it, you've got great views and that's about it."

The teams each have $80,000 to fix up their entire Surfside Beach, TX, homes, and with a $50,000 grand prize on the line, the pressure is on to impress celebrity judges Sarah and Bryan Baeumler (“Renovation Island”).

Read on to see how these teams create three luxurious living rooms, and score some tips on creating a living space that will make you feel like you're on vacation, too.

Stone gives off a cozy feel

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Victoria's team of Corey and Paige (from Alberta, Canada) go into this week with one win, the kitchen, already under their belt. And since the living room is connected to the kitchen, the couple are confident they can continue to impress. When designing this room, they use the same stone they installed above their kitchen range and put it on the fireplace.

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This stone looks great in the room, giving the sitting space a cozy cottage vibe, while also giving the entire common area a cohesive look.

"The stonework for me is what really puts it over the top in general," Sarah says when she and Brian walk around the space. It is "a great color. It just looks like beach."

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Use dark accents on the ceiling

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Nayak's team, father-son duo Roosevelt and Brandyn (from St. Louis), have yet to win a challenge, so they're especially determined to impress the judges this week. They add an electric fireplace to their living room, build a unique coffee table out of an antique chest, and add a wine fridge. But perhaps the most noteworthy feature is up above. They use the wood-burning technique of shou sugi ban to darken the planks before affixing them to the ceiling.

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"See that detail in the middle? They burned it," Nayak tells the judges. "They took the wood, and they just took a torch to it and burned it, so I thought that was really cool and different."

The feature looks great in this room, but Brian points out that the air holes aren't filled, giving the wood a speckled look. Still, it's a beautiful addition that makes Roosevelt and Brandyn's design stand out.

Decorations don't need to be pricy

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To finish this room, Nayak encourages Roosevelt and Brandyn to build a wall hanging out of a wood frame and a shower curtain.

"This is a cheap way to create a 'wow' moment. All we have to do is stretch a graphic-printed shower curtain over a frame and voila, instant art," Nayak says.

It's a simple addition that makes a big impression in this living room.

"I love the size and scale of it," Sarah says of the art when the room is finished.

It's a beautiful piece that Nayak points out cost only about $75.

Recycled features can feel fresh in a new room

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Pennington's team of business partners Wally (from Dallas) and Jacqueline (from Las Vegas) also take inspiration from their kitchen. They repurpose the kitchen's original cabinets (which they removed to make space for beautiful green cabinetry), paint them white, and build them into the living room. The feature works because Wally and Jacqueline relocated the main bedroom door, creating one long living room wall.

"The one really big change we did is we got rid of a door so we could really maximize that wall," Pennington points out to the judges.

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The judges are impressed with the smart storage solution. It shows how valuable a long, empty wall can be when it comes to design and function. Plus, this built-in will surely make homeowners think twice before trashing their dated cabinets.

Use an antique mantel for a faux fireplace

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Throughout this competition, Pennington has worried that Wally and Jacqueline aren't taking enough risks with their design. While Pennington would like his team to go a little bolder, he's finally able to come to terms with the simple, but elegant, style his mentees like.

"I've never tasted a more cauliflower soup than what I'm looking at here," Pennington says, looking around the room, "but that's cool, I get it. You guys are playing it safe."

While Jacqueline and Wally pick a muted design for their living room, they add character with an antique fireplace mantel. While the other two teams add electric fireplaces, this team proves that a fireplace feature doesn't need to be showy and modern. In fact, simply adding a mantel can create the suggestion of a fireplace and provide a historic living room centerpiece for only a few hundred dollars.

Who wins this week's 'Battle on the Beach'?

When the rooms are finished, the judges are impressed with each team. However, there's one clear winner: Victoria's team, Paige and Corey. These two score their second victory and win a sweet $3,000.

"I'm really impressed with how much they did," Victoria says. "These were big builds, so it's like, you know, you can have these big hopes and dreams, you can have this big vision, but you have to be able to execute it—and I think they were aggressive and I think it paid off."

Hopefully they can keep up the momentum for next week's challenge: the kids' room.

The post 'Battle on the Beach' Reveals a Genius Decor Hack That'll Transform a Living Room for $75 appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.