Kim Wolfe became a professional designer after winning Season 24 of Survivor: One World (and capturing the audience-favorite prize to boot). Her knack for reading people and her strategic thinking skills secured her the Survivor victory, and — surprise, surprise — they're the same traits that make her a savvy designer. On Why the Heck Did I Buy This House? she wades into San Antonio homeowners’ toxic relationships with their spaces, then nurses them back to health. Consider these gorgeous transformations in her step-by-step guide to rekindling a romance with your home.

This visually stunning kitchen was formerly an oh-so-basic beige cramped kitchenette with notably limited counter space. The renovated space has been enlarged and Kim's design makes use of clean lines and a rich, gray-green palette — giving it an authentic pro-kitchen feel. The countertops and backsplash are an elegant gray soapstone, and the ceiling-height custom cabinets go a long way in creating an opulent, dramatic vibe.

This new wet bar is a standout feature in the home's living room, creating an eye-catching visual with black cabinets offsetting white walls and the open shelving in a natural wood finish. Veined black marble and a charcoal-gray tile backsplash, paired with recessed accent lighting, help define this addition as an elegantly distinctive focal point.

This cool mid-mod-inspired dining space follows in the spirit of the period and architecture of the home. Formerly contiguous with the living room, the space has been creatively partitioned off using reeded glass and custom wood framing. This motif, much like '60s-era offices, provides a semienclosed space but allows the room to still feel open to the rest of the home. "It feels architecturally interesting and something that could have been a part of the house originally," says Kim. "A lot of times you have reeded transoms with the front doors on these midcentury homes, and this kind of replicates that vibe."