Entire episodes of TLC’s long-running reality TV series The Little Couple were devoted to the construction, outfitting, and decor of the 2-story home at 2802 Fairhope St. in Knollwood Village to accommodate the particular requirements — and dimensions — of the growing family of its owners, Dr. Jen Arnold and Bill Klein. The home has been shown off in magazine features, too (see the above video from People). Since the end of the show’s last season the couple has moved to Florida, however, and as of last week the home is up for sale. But here’s some news that might come as a disappointment to the show’s many fans — some of whom have chosen to show up on the home’s doorstep and leave notes for its stars: The home has already been renovated, and many of those little touches the couple so greatly appreciated (the custom-lower-height countertops in the kitchen, for example) have been replaced.
Non-fans or average-sized house shoppers just looking for a place to live, however, will probably appreciate the renovations just completed by Blackwell Design, which included raising all the shower heads; reworking the kitchen and bathrooms with standard-height counters; elevating the outdoor BBQ, and raising the cabinets in the laundry room and the vanity in the master closet. There’s also a new custom pantry in the kitchen.
Here’s a quick tour of the new interior:
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The entry (above) and the elevator:
The family room:
We’ll interrupt here for a moment to show the same room as it appeared in an episode of The Little Couple from 2011, when Design Star‘s Michael Stribling came calling:
Back to the dining area and kitchen:
The countertops may have been moved back up to a 36-in. height, but Dr. Arnold’s prized French-door-style oven remains, as this view shows — along with the drawer-style dishwashers:
The ground-floor master suite:
Upstairs, you’ll find the study
and bedrooms, relieved of bunk beds and stickers:
There’s also a separate apartment over the garage:
And a pool in back:
Also new: exterior paint.
The 4-bedroom, 4-and-a-half-bath property, which sits on a 9,240-sq.-ft. lot at the corner of Fairhope and Lorrie Dr., is listed for sale with an asking price of $1,225,000.
The couple had moved out by the time the storms from Hurricane Harvey hit Houston: Dr. Arnold left her positions at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine to become medical director at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. (They still own the Rocky and Maggie’s pet shop in the Rice Village.) Their Knollwood Village home did not flood, but Klein came back to volunteer in the aftermath. Later, the family was forced to evacuate their new Florida home ahead of Hurricane Irma. You can catch up on it all in the 1-hour special preceding the season premiere of The Little Couple, which airs on TLC next Tuesday.
- 2802 Fairhope St. [HAR]
- Why Did ‘The Little Couple’ Move to Florida? Plus Details on Their Hurricane Irma Evacuation [InTouch]
$1.2 mil south of Braeswood and really close to the NRG? No thanks.
At least it didn’t flood
Hate the new exterior color!!! Doesn’t go with the style of home at all..and the old Cole was perfect..wonder whose brilliant idea that was..lol
Edit for the author: Dr. Arnold’s husbands’s name is Bill, not Rick.
@commonsense… South of the bayou floods far less than the north side. North flooded almost all the way to Holcombe. South of bayou was only two streets in. Being near NRG is also awesome because you can actually walk to events without paying for parking.
His name is Bill Klein not Rick!
@Cherie & Jennifer: Thanks for catching that! It’s fixed now.
@commonsense you must not have been to the area in a while; that same house is prob $1.6m north of the bayou. But then north of the bayou it would have flooded – with only 3 steps from grade it’s too low.
North of the bayou (Braeswood Place) it flooded badly after Alison, but south not nearly as much. Same story after Harvey. Nevertheless, homes are more expensive north of the bayou. Other features of the area (such as med center proximity) trump flooding probabilities. Anyway, many of these properties are tear-downs, so the new construction will just be elevated a bit more.
“Didn’t flood” is hardly justification to overpay for a house. All new construction is elevated, if you drive north of the Bayou there are no wet furniture in front of new construction homes, only old teardowns. Additionally, the area that close to NRG is still a bit suspect, I’m surprised that starbucks close to them does not have bulletproof glass like banks in the hood.
Did they address the pool? As I recall from the show, it was very shallow to accommodate their size.
“Didn’t flood is hardly justification to overpay for a house. ”
.
Supply, meet demand