Emily Simpson Details Her "Sleek & Modern" Renovation: "Huge Undertaking" (EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS)
The RHOC cast member gives The Daily Dish an exclusive new look inside her ongoing home renovation.
Nearly two years after Emily Simpson announced that she had started renovations on her house, The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member has a less-than-ideal update to share: "It’s not close to being done."
"We recently finished most of the downstairs and kitchen, but I still have five bathrooms to remodel (one of those being the primary bedroom bathroom, which is a huge undertaking!)," Emily exclusively told The Daily Dish via email. "I’d also like to completely renovate the backyard."
Although the project is taking a bit longer than expected, the results are already gorgeous.
See Inside Emily Simpson's Renovated Kitchen
As Emily has shared on social media recently, she completely transformed her kitchen and family room (watch the video above to see what both spaces previously looked like).
"We renovated most of the downstairs: the kitchen is remodeled, the flooring is all new," she explained. "We knocked out a wall in the kitchen area and [added] a large trifold cantina door. One fireplace was completely renovated, while a second fireplace was torn out and renovated into a new built-in. A lot of things such as lighting, ceilings, etc. were renovated downstairs as well."
While the entire downstairs looks stunning, Emily considers one of the rooms to be a standout.
"My favorite room in the house is the kitchen," she shared. "It’s so bright and sleek and modern now. It makes me feel happy! I love to make really big colorful flower arrangements for the new countertop."
Emily Simpson Shares Her Home Renovation Challenges
Emily, Shane Simpson, and their kids had lived in the home for several years before starting the construction process.
"We decided to renovate now because the children are older and it felt like the right time," Emily explained. "We could order food, or go out to eat, or make toast on the floor, which was much easier to do with older children."
"The home is beautiful," she added. "But it had not had any updates since it was built in the '90s."
While Emily was prepared to adapt her family's lives to the construction process, there were a few things about the renovation she wasn't expecting.
"Firstly, it takes much longer and costs much more than they tell you!" she said. "Also, there was a long period of time where we had severely heavy rains in Orange County, so they could not install the new trifold cantina door in the kitchen until it was dry out. For months, we had a large unfinished wall with a plastic tarp as a door."
Is Emily Simpson selling her house?
Emily may sell her home one day in the future.
"I do not consider this home our forever home," she stated. "I’m honestly renovating it with the long-term goal of renting it out or selling it."
As for where she and her family would live once moving out of the home, Emily has previously revealed that she would one day like to move to Utah or Wyoming. "I need more land," she said in 2020. "More space and horses."
Press play on the video above to see Emily's home before it was renovated.
