Before and after: In New England, the ‘Ugliest House in America’ gets a makeover

Real Estate

Before its transformation, Retta described the house as a “mishmosh hodgepodge color-block animal sanctuary.”

By Lauren Daley

February 5, 2026 | 7:00 AM

3 minutes to read

“Treat yo self” was Retta’s tagline in “Parks and Recreation.”

And that’s just what a New England couple did when they won a $150,000 home renovation from HGTV after their Vermont home was deemed the “ugliest” in America.

Hosted by Retta, HGTV’s “Ugliest House in America” sees the comedian travel across the country to “tour properties nominated by their owners as the ugliest home around,” per the show description. In the finale, HGTV designer Alison Victoria surprises the winners with a total home renovation.

On the season 7 finale, which aired Feb. 4, homeowners Brooklyn and Dylan teared up when they saw their remodeled Vershire, Vermont, home. (HGTV did not provide last names.)

The couple and their three sons were introduced in episode four when Brooklyn explained the house “is our nightmare.”

Retta named the home “Mishmash Hodgepodge.”

The bright orange and blue house— three stories high, built on stilts, and 3,344 square feet, per the show description — may have been deemed the ugliest in America by HGTV, but the view is gorgeous. It sits on 14 green acres, with panoramic views of the White Mountains.

“Is there a significance to the colors?”Retta asked of the bright exterior.

“At least you never get lost when you’re driving up to it,” Dylan quipped. The family said they had lived in the home for 10 months when they appeared on the show.

As for the chaotic inside, Dylan said, “We definitely want to make it less circus-like.”

There were green monkeys carved into the cabinets and birds carved into the staircase railing. The primary bedroom and bathroom ceiling was thatched. Parts of the interior were painted in blocks of yellow, orange, and blue.

“I feel like I need to center myself,” Retta said.

She pointed out that the living area had built-in couches made of stone and concrete. “I look at your couches and I think: hemorrhoids,” she joked.

After looking into their mirror-filled bathroom, Retta remarked, “This is sensory overload. This is a fifth-grade project.”

Retta pointed to the thatched ceiling in the primary bedroom: “You’re asking for mice.” Walking into the upstairs bathroom, her eyes popped, as she took in another thatched ceiling. The couple shared that spiders kept them out of the bathtub.

At the end of the episode, Retta dubbed the home a “mishmosh hodgepodge color-block animal sanctuary.” She scored the Vermont house a 6 out of 6 for appearance on the “Ugly Meter.”

In last night’s finale, we learned that of the 15 houses Retta toured this season, the Vermont house was “uniquely ugly.”

She and Victoria announced to the New Englanders: “You have the ‘Ugliest House in America!’” as confetti rained down.

Victoria pointed out that the land they sit on is “amazing…This could be very picturesque… The view’s ridiculously beautiful,” the designer said. “I want the outside of your home to be as beautiful as the property it sits on.”

Walking inside, Victoria suggested leveling out “wonky weird” floors in the conversation pit area, taking out the bird carving on the stair handrail, taking down the plastic sheeting wall of the primary bedroom, and redoing and thatched “tiki-hut-kind-of-feel” ceiling, among other things.

“I don’t know where to start,” she told the camera. “This is seriously one of the wildest, craziest, ugliest houses that I’ve ever taken on.”

After demolition and remodeling, the couple was brought blindfolded before the house for the big reveal.

Gone was the orange and blue paint. “It’s like a painting behind your house,” Victoria said of the green woods and hills. “And now your house is part of the painting.”

“This doesn’t even look like the same house,” Brooklyn said touring the interior.

The primary bedroom, totally redone, now boasts sliding glass doors to an outdoor hot tub. They also see a madeover patio area with a new walkway.

“I am blown away,” Dylan said.

“It reminds me of a fairy forest house,” Brooklyn added. “And I love that.”

Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.

Lauren Daley is a longtime culture journalist. As a regular contributor to Boston.com, she interviews A-list musicians, actors, authors and other major artists.