For the past 12 years, ABC’s The Bachelor has been entertaining (and sometimes embarrassing) American viewers. While there’s quite a few (seriously a ton) of failed relationships on the show, every once in a while a success story comes through. Sean and Catherine Lowe are one of those success stories. The couple met on season 17 of the show, and were married on January 26 of this year.
First stop after the televised wedding? A honeymoon in Bora Bora. Next they returned to the beautiful Big D (Sean grew up in Arlington), where the former insurance salesman-turned-furniture designer and his blushing bride moved into a recently renovated home in the Vickery Place Conservation District.
Two weeks after they had moved in, I was invited by Ty Pennington and Sears to stop by the Lowes’ place and check out a backyard makeover in the works. While that’s great and lovely, I was actually interested in what Sean and Catherine’s interiors were like. And while I wasn’t invited into the house (bummer), I did have the chance to chat with them about their first home together, some not-so-stylish bachelor furniture, what goes down in “the pit,” and how they’ll be entertaining guests this summer.
When it comes to decorating their home, “grown sexy” (groan) has transformed to “comfy modern.” Check it out below.
D Home: Why did you pick this home?
Sean: The house was pretty move-in ready. The people we bought it from had flipped it, so they renovated the kitchen, the bathroom, the closets, all that stuff. That was nice for us because we had thought about buying a fixer-upper, but realized we would be living in chaos for months while projects are getting done. A move-in ready house is always nice.
D Home: Why did you like this neighborhood?
Catherine: We wanted something charming and the craftsman-style home feels like [my hometown] Seattle to me, and this neighborhood is so nice. It has the charm of older houses but mixed with newer finishes, and appliances. That’s what I was really looking for.
Sean: I love this neighborhood because it’s walking distance from all the bars and restaurants, and shopping. It’s a quaint neighborhood but we’re minutes away from everything we need.
D Home: Do you have any advice for newly weds on how to combine households? Did y’all work with what you had, or start all over and buy new furniture?
Sean: We bought a lot of new stuff.
Catherine: But the good thing was that we sync up on styles, which was so nice. I don’t know if you can convince people to change their style, but it was refreshing to trust that he would choose something nice and it wouldn’t be a battle when picking out furniture.
D Home: So Sean didn’t have any terrible furniture from his single days that you never wanted to see again?
Catherine: We figured out ways to make it look like those items weren’t like that. We have leather couches that are pretty bachelor-y. They definitely aren’t feminine.
Sean: So we took a colorful pillow and put it on the couch to make it look a little more feminine.
D Home: Why were y’all looking to revamp your backyard?
Sean: Well I think we both love entertaining, and barbecuing is so big here, we just wanted a space to have our friends and family over to relax and enjoy the outdoors.
Catherine: He’s definitely looking forward to the summer because he’ll be able to use the house for that purpose.
D Home: Is this going to be your first Texas summer?
Catherine: Yes. That’s why I was like “I don’t care for the outside.” But that’s only because of what people have said. So I’m trying to fix up the inside but he’s very adamant about doing the outside.
D Home: How would you describe your decorating style?
Sean: I would say comfortable and modern. We want it to feel like it’s a house that’s lived it, but we also like the sleek lines.
Catherine: We focus more on calming rather than loud things, but we like little accents. Sean’s mom is an interior designer, so he’s grown up around it.
Sean: I’d like to say I have an eye for it, she’s rubbed off on me a little bit.
D Home: Are there any special rooms or details in your home you love?
Catherine: The kitchen is gorgeous.
Sean: Yeah, we have a great kitchen, but I was going to say the couch.
Catherine: Typical boy.
Sean: When we’re not traveling, we love watching movies and TV series, things like that. We created this huge couch that is two sectionals and we call it “the pit.” It’s a space to lay out and totally relax, it’s our spot.
D Home: What’s the transition from TV to life in Dallas been like?
Catherine: It’s been easier than you expect just because the whole time we have known each other, we have been true and honest about our feelings and relationship. It’s strange and surreal to say that our wedding was on national television. We are such normal people who just want a sweet life together. We have gotten a lot of exciting things but we still want what everybody wants.
D Home: Do y’all get stopped a lot when you’re out and about?
Catherine: We do, but everybody is so sweet.
Sean: We get stopped all the time for pictures but everybody is so nice, saying that they love the show, and of course we never mind taking photos.
