Battle on the Mountain — HGTV’s all-new, high-elevation-and-even-higher-stakes renovation competition — kicked off with Design Star Season 2 and HGTV host Kim Myles mentoring “hoodhearts” Tony and Lymari, who met on public transportation in Chicago and now helm a sprawling, raucous family. They credit discovering a shared interest in DIY with strengthening their bond with one another: “I think renovation speaks a lot to our marriage and how it really has been restored and rebuilt,” Lymari said. After doing life-altering work and juggling five children and two grandchildren, how hard could renovating just one mountain cabin be?

Lymari and Tony competed against two other teams of spouses with houses: Massachusetts-based "renovation husbands" Stephen and David, a design-and-DIY duo mentored by Rico to the Rescue host Rico León, and Amber and Trey, house flippers from southeastern Ohio who joined forces with Why the Heck Did I Buy This House? host Kim Wolfe. The premise: Each trio has six weeks and a budget of $100,000 to turn a down-at-the-heels cabin in picturesque Breckenridge, Colorado, into the ultimate mountain getaway. Weekly challenge winners earn bragging rights and a cool $3,000 in cash. The team to add the most value to their home altogether takes home a prize of $50,000. Between the spectacular scenery, the 10,000-feet-above-sea-level elevation, and Breckenridge’s well-earned reputation for rustic luxury, you’ve never seen a battle like this one.

Each team was given just three minutes to scope out three different homes via online listings, then a quick camping-themed competition determined the order in which they called dibs. Lymari and Tony landed a 1,278-square-foot home with three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms. Its starting value was $773,500. “It’s a little smaller in scale and it’s also the least-expensive house," Kim said, "I think there’s a real opportunity there [and] if we maximize, the ROI can be huge.” The home’s ultra-dated, knotty pine walls needed a major makeover, and the itty-bitty kitchen was blocked off in a cramped corner of the first floor. Team Myles envisioned a “mountain Scandi” makeover that created an open-plan layout and reimagined the home with a 21st-century take on natural grandeur. The price tag for the new kitchen? A hefty $28,000.

Now this is mountain living! Lymari and Tony transformed the cabin’s oppressive paneling with warm white paint, allowing the natural accents — exposed beams, high ceilings and a new bank of cabinets — to feel like carefully considered statements. The updated, intuitive footprint allows unimpeded flow between the dining and cooking areas, while open shelving replaces dinky upper cabinets on the kitchen’s rear wall. Chic and eclectic accessories complement the mountain vibe without feeling kitschy.