My Houzz: Watch Jenna Fischer Secretly Renovate Her Sister's Home

In this Houzz original video, the actor uses the site to plan a surprise renovation of her sibling’s living spaces

Mitchell Parker 10 April 2017

Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.

Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More

Comment215

Click "Embed" to display an article on your own website or blog.

For 20 years, actor Jenna Fischer has lived in Los Angeles, where she became widely known for her role as Pam on The Office. But she’s always called St. Louis home. When she was younger, many Fischer family events took place at her grandparents’ house, which her grandfather designed, and in which her father grew up. Fischer’s sister, Emily, and Emily’s husband, Dwight, bought the home a few years ago and began raising a family there. “We were all really excited that the house was going to stay in the family,” Fischer says.

Recently, Fischer wanted to do something special for her sister, who’s a schoolteacher, tutor and volunteer for Girls on the Run, an organisation whose mission includes enhancing the self-esteem of middle school girls. Fischer decided to surprise Emily with a renovation to her home, using Houzz to redesign and furnish the kitchen, living and dining areas.

“It just comes so naturally to her to put herself last,” Fischer says of her sister. “This is all about really giving Emily the type of renovation that will make her life easier and more comfortable.”

My Houzz: You Won't Believe What Jenna Fischer Did for Her Sister

Photos by Studio Nigh

Kitchen and Great Room at a Glance
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Who lives here: Emily and Dwight and their two kids
Size: About 580 square feet (53.9 square metres)
Designer: Jenny Rausch of Karr Bick Kitchen + Bath

Watch now: See Jenna Fischer surprise her sister with a remodelled kitchen and great room

The project was part of My Houzz, a video series documenting public figures as they surprise someone meaningful to them with a home renovation. A previous episode of My Houzz featured actor Kristen Bell.

Before Photo

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

BEFORE: The home worked for Emily and Dwight at first, but once their two kids came along, it started to feel more cramped. The kitchen was completely closed off from the nearby living and dining areas. The kitchen sat in its own room behind the armchair shown here. There was also a stairway behind those walls leading down to the basement.

The layout made it difficult for Emily and Dwight to keep an eye on their kids while cooking dinner.

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

AFTER: Looking from the same angle as the previous photo, you can see how the kitchen now opens to the living area.

To begin the renovation, Fischer used Houzz to search for designers in the St. Louis area. She came across Jenny Rausch’s profile for Karr Bick Kitchen + Bath and fell in love with Rausch’s work. She also liked the positive reviews on her page. “I could see the thought she put into each renovation,” Fischer says. “We just clicked right away.” She and Rausch bought almost all of the new furnishings and accessories for the renovation from the Houzz Shop.

City Lights Design + Build did the construction for the project.

Based on Fischer’s input, Rausch wanted to create storage for everything, then open the sightlines so Emily and Dwight could see the kids when they were cooking and feel more connected. Rausch and the construction team knocked down the walls between the kitchen and dining and living areas. The kitchen, shown here, is now more open to the other living areas.

Moving the staircase that leads down to the basement wasn’t a feasible option. Luckily, the walls separating the kitchen from the other spaces weren’t load-bearing, so Rausch was able to take them down. To make the stairwell half walls look good, Rausch wrapped them in wainscoting.

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

With the walls down, the kitchen now opens to the dining room. A grey 12-inch-deep storage pantry sits against one of the half walls that partitions off the stairwell.

Before Photo

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

BEFORE: Emily inherited the appliances in the kitchen from her grandmother.

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

AFTER: New appliances, cabinets, countertops, flooring and lighting brighten and update the space. A 30-by-60-inch island gives the family more work surface.

Before Photo

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

BEFORE: The living room was overrun with bins for toys and art supplies. The furniture felt oversized for the space. “They had a lot of stuff and no place to put anything, so it felt really cluttered,” Rausch says.

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

AFTER: Fischer knew her sister loved the beach and the ocean, and she wanted to somehow bring that feeling into the home in a polished but not formal way. Fischer and Rausch donated the existing furniture and introduced new pieces in relaxing blues, sandy tones and natural fibres to hit a subtle ocean theme. “That way it doesn’t scream mermaids and anchors,” Rausch says.

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

Rausch painted the fireplace brick and added a hearth, which can double as extra seating in a pinch. She also added a deeper mantel.

Each room got new decorative lighting, recessed can lighting in the ceiling and more natural light.

Before Photo

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

BEFORE: The front door knob was awkwardly located in the middle of the door.

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

AFTER: A panelled door replaces the old one and allows a bit of natural light into the interior.

Emily’s father refinished the bookcase to complement the new wallpaper that Rausch hung.

Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath

Rausch integrated built-in storage into the dining room, which had become a dumping ground for backpacks and kids’ art and crafts, so that activities can still take place there while everything is more organised and out of sight. “It made sense to leave things where they naturally put them, but just make it more organised,” Rausch says.

A built-in storage system has a charging station in the cabinet and drawers that hold art supplies, games and toys. “You get a lot more storage when you do built-ins,” Rausch says.

“It feels so homey,” Emily says of the newly renovated spaces. “I like the openness of it. I think it will make life so much easier.”

“This is the biggest gift I’ve ever had in my life,” Dwight says. “It’s absolutely awesome, and I couldn’t have asked for a better sister-in-law.”

“She does so much and asks for so little,” says Fischer, pictured here on the left with Emily. “My sister is just my hero.”

Watch now: Don’t miss Jenna Fischer’s sister’s reaction to her new kitchen and great room