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The Time
Erin and
Ben Napier Converted A House Into A Restaurant
By DARBY WAGLER
In Season 4 Episode 16 of “Home Town Takeover,” Erin and Ben Napier broke out of their comfort zone and transformed a house into a restaurant for brothers Elliot and Connor Bell.
When they first toured the home, which is now the “Bird Dog Cafe” in Laurel, Mississippi, it was filled with rotting wood, old floors, and lots of junk.
Once they got rid of the old furniture, knocked down the walls, redid the floors, and repainted the trim a bold, red tone, the place was completely transformed.
To make the restaurant personalized for the Bell brothers, Erin Napier asked local illustrator Adam Trest and the Prince Sign Company to create signs for the cafe.
To match these signs, the Napiers also added a divider made from old windows in the middle of the dining area, which hung down from the ceiling and featured white rustic panels.
The furniture they chose on either side of the divider was mismatched and eclectic, like a church pew and sewing machine tables built by the Bell's grandfather.
They made the kitchen look masculine and unique with a butcher block countertop, a natural wood wine holder, and deer antlers surrounded by framed photographs and pieces of artwork.
Finally, to pay homage to the inspiration behind their cafe's name, local artist Mark Landis painted the Bell brothers a picture of their bird dog, Emmy Lou.