Karen E. Laine totally shocked Good Bones fans after putting her new Wilmington, North Carolina, home on the market. The news came just after the HGTV personality showcased renovations on the home on a special new season of the popular series and shared plans to retire there.
The one bedroom, one bathroom house is listed for $500,000 on Zillow. She initially purchased it for $70,000 in February 2023.
“Completely rebuilt starting with the foundation, all the way up to brand new solar panels. This is essentially new construction on a small, quiet street,” the description says. “White oak floors, efficient kitchen, low maintenance outdoor space, EV car charger, all electric. The huge second story loft would be perfect for an artist or home business.”
In August, fans watched Karen design the home during a special season of Good Bones. She enlisted the help of fan favorites Cory Miller, MJ Coyle and Austin Aynes to assist her in the renovation.
“I am tired of Indiana winter,” she told her colleagues during the show of why she wanted to retire in Wilmington. “And I had this idea: Wouldn’t it be nice to retire in Wilmington?”
“I went there once and I loved it,” Karen said. “So I went back in January. It was 80 degrees during the day. So I got on the interwebs and I found a house for sale and I bought it.”
The DIY expert customized the house to fit her personality, even opting to paint the floors blue and creating her own jade-colored countertop with resin. It seemed like she was very pleased with the final design, getting emotional several times along the way.
“What I thought this house was going to be for me has completely changed because I bought this house to move here, and retire here and live here but I realized I would miss my family too much,” Karen said in the third episode of the special season after unveiling the completed renovations. “I can’t live away from that, so its shifted a little for me to where this is going to be a place I visit with regularity, but maybe I can get some of the grandkids on an airplane and we spend a weekend together and we go to the beach; that would be the best of both worlds.”
“I bought this house to retire, and what I’ve learned in doing this is I’m nowhere near done,” she concluded, hinting that more renovations were up her sleeve.
Karen retired from the Two Chicks and a Hammer business in 2019 but still remained a cast member on Good Bonesuntil the end. Good Bones ended its initial run with season 8 in October 2023. The cast waved goodbye to the show after host Mina Starsiak Hawk revealed there was drama between her and her family. Mina and Karen did not have any scenes together when the show returned for a special three-episode run this summer. Instead, they focused on separate renovations and did not address their rift.
