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"   VIEW MORE PHOTOS&amp;amp;gt; Tall, dark, and handsome\u2014that doesn&amp;#039;t just describe Carter Oosterhouse, the hunky home and lifestyle expert from the hit remodeling and decorating television show Trading Spaces, it also describes his kitchen. The newly renovated space is the heart of a three-story, 1,700-square-foot Southern California beach house that he bought a year ago. &amp;quot;I wasn&amp;#039;t looking for perfection, just something near the water that had potential,&amp;quot; says the 29-year-old Traverse City, Michigan, native. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s on a corner lot, has a yard, and is just blocks from the ocean.&amp;quot; The drawback was that the home&amp;#039;s kitchen hadn&amp;#039;t been updated since it was built in 1985. Oosterhouse moved in and immediately embarked on a five-month-long redo that brought the kitchen into the 21st century and reinvigorated the adjacent living and dining rooms. Between working on Trading Spaces (taped in a different U.S. city every week) and appearing monthly in do-it-yourself project segments on NBC&amp;#039;s New York City-based Today show, Oosterhouse is constantly on the move, and his home needed to suit his busy lifestyle. He wanted crisp, contemporary decor that wouldn&amp;#039;t compete with the seaside view. &amp;quot;I am sort of a minimalist, or as I like to call it, a simpleton,&amp;quot; he jokes.  His goals for the renovation were high style, low maintenance, and a layout designed for casual entertaining. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m not a great chef, but I do more than mac and cheese,&amp;quot; says Oosterhouse, who comes from a large family where everybody cooks. &amp;quot;My mom is Mexican, so tacos are always a favorite.&amp;quot; First he removed a wall between the dining room and kitchen, to allow for easier circulation, more natural light, and a view of the Pacific Ocean. Tall cabinets are not a problem for the 6-foot-2 homeowner, so he highlighted the room&amp;#039;s vaulted ceilings with slab-front, ebony-stained oak built-ins that climb up 7 feet and provide extra storage to keep clutter at bay. Kitchen countertops in absolute black granite with a shiny finish plus a full suite of commercial-style stainless steel appliances complete the masculine look. He chose terra-cotta-colored concrete tile flooring and extended it into the dining area to unify the decor. &amp;quot;Tile floors make life easy,&amp;quot; says Oosterhouse, &amp;quot;I can come right off the beach and not worry about messing them up.&amp;quot; To carry the spare aesthetic to the adjacent living room, Oosterhouse replaced wall-to-wall carpeting with solid walnut flooring. &amp;quot;I searched long and hard for just the right look\u2014rustic, yet sophisticated,&amp;quot; he says of the new 3-inch-wide planks with knots, scrapes, and an ebony finish. The furnishings are simple, and nothing is too precious, except for an antique Spanish console table he bought a few years ago. &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s the one thing I definitely protect with a tablecloth when I have a party,&amp;quot; he notes.  For advice on the decor and finishes, Oosterhouse enlisted the help of his older sister, Sienna, a Los Angeles-based interior designer. &amp;quot;We are really close, and we collaborated on everything,&amp;quot; he says. In the living room, Sienna blended the beloved console table with authentic and reproduction midcentury furniture and some inexpensive accessories. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a high-style concept, but without the price tag,&amp;quot; she says. She shopped at local antiques stores and on eBay for some of the vintage finds. &amp;quot;Online auctions are a good resource,&amp;quot; she says, &amp;quot;and there are still great deals out there.&amp;quot; Now that the dust has settled, Oosterhouse can kick back and enjoy his updated digs. &amp;quot;A home is only what you make it, and I am really happy with the way this one turned out,&amp;quot; he says. With this renovation finished, he&amp;#039;s directing his attention and handiwork to remodeling a second home, an 1890 Michigan farmhouse near his family&amp;#039;s residence. The task will let him express his more traditional side. &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t have a lot of free time, and it&amp;#039;s not in great shape, so that&amp;#039;s going to be my project for the next thirty years,&amp;quot; he says with a laugh. style to go: console tables Add a touch of rough-hewn flair to your room with these Old World\u2013inspired pieces.  Three Drawer Colonial Table #06149-3. Pine in a natural finish. 78&amp;quot; wide x 21&amp;quot; deep x 36&amp;quot; high. $1,250. Whoa!; 864-421-0020, whoafurniture.com.   P.D1 Primitive Work Table in solid mahogany. Two- drawer version shown. 47\u00BC&amp;quot; wide x 23\u00BD&amp;quot; deep x 30\u00BE&amp;quot; high. $1,268. Warisan; 877-927-4766, warisan.com.  Rustic Console Table made of reclaimed barn wood. 50&amp;quot; wide x 20&amp;quot; deep x 32&amp;quot; high. $1,150. Stoney Creek Woodworks; 970-577-1775, stoneycreekwoodworks.com. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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