One of my absolute favorite house tours, Dana's DIY Modern Casual Home, will soon be no more. Dana and her husband have decided to start over from scratch, rebuilding an older house that they purchased at a bargain price. The couple will soon say goodbye to this adorably customized house and embark on rehabbing a very rough gem ...
It's a bit shocking isn't it? When I first saw the photos of what Dana affectionately calls "the underdog house" on her blog, House*Tweaking, I audibly gasped. Oh lady, I muttered at my computer, you must be mad! To say that Dana and her handy hubby have a lot of work ahead of them is an understatement! But you know what? If anyone can make this house over, it's these two! One need only look back at the house tour of their brilliantly customized builder-grade home for proof.
Besides, I love the reason Dana and Steve are taking on this huge project. Facing a desire for a career change, and wanting to reduce their house payment in the hope of being mortgage-free within five years, the couple are taking this plunge with a big picture in mind. It will mean a little short term pain as they rehab this very neglected, aged house but in the end, when they're living debt free, they'll be able to look back at the "before" photos with a smile.
Luckily, for those of us who would never have the nerve to take on such a huge project, we can follow along on Dana's blog.To see the rest of the photos of Dana's new fixer upper, check out the post: House*Tweaking: The Underdog Before House Tour.
Images: House*Tweaking
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I really hope that the Goodbye and Hello were incorrectly labeled...
Oops, read the rest of it, disregard!
Love her blog :) Can't wait to see what they have in store for the underdog house!
I'm curious about the difference in the houses' prices/mortgages vs. how much the remodeling will cost them.
hopefully this new house will feature fewer monogrammed items and stenciled numbers...
I think the new house has great light and bones...not tough to see how this house could be really cool.
Its actually a cute little ranch with some god bones - I hope they don't modernize too much (of course they've got to do something about those brown shag rugs and the A/C issue) as there's a lot of charm in those old ranches.
Will be interesting to see how they progress!
My husband and I are about to do something similar. We have renovated our current home and are now looking for new challenges. The draw to DIY is just too strong sometimes. Good luck to them!
i LURVVVee the new space - very big and bright! but of course some paint and couches, AND new window treatment will be nice.. but Im sure Dana+hubby wont disappoint.. happy working (on the new space) AND I LOVE THE LIVING AREA, REALLY !!! so big! so bright!
it'll be great. They'll knock that wall out that separates the kitchen from the rest of the house and put in a great island and update the windows and all the aesthetics. I've seen MUCH worse during my house hunting.
The new space has a ton of light, which is great. And I agree with @rlmesq—less awkward, stenciled letters...
Their new house really isn't all that tragic. One of the houses my husband and I saw had mushrooms growing in the carpet. Now, if they were to take on that house? That would be amazing...
I can see a lot of potential for the new house.
my husband and i are in the thick of a VERY similar project right now, and yes that kitchen is original kids.
best of luck to this couple, that house has a pretty piece of land and will look fabulous with a little care. potential debt freedom is something i'm totally jealous of!
Aside from the brown carpet, the "new" doesn't look that bad. Beautiful big window, and the ledge above the brick work seems to have potential.
I wonder what the next owners of the "old" property will do with it. They have some pretty stunning examples to start from.
Chances are the new owners of the old house will change things according to THEIR taste. There's something very UNgreen about the whole remodeling chain reaction.
There's tons of potential here! I actually think the kitchen cabinetry is cool and salvageable - love the modernist relics!
I am in the middle of rehabbing a pre-war apt that is turning out to be quite painful. The excitement of renovation has been tempered somewhat after 3 straight grueling weeks (daily) of stripping lead paint and plaster from the cracking walls, moldings and trim. The end does not appear to be in sight. sigh.
Great new house - I see the potential, with little more than some paint and elbow grease. and will make a beautiful family home. I actually think the landscape needs way more help than the interior.
I love the loftiness of their goal, but I'm curious. Does a large renovation actually save money on a mortgage? I've never done a large project like this, but I've known people who took out a second mortgage to complete a large project. So how does this save money?
Great potential, as long as there aren't any nasty surprises, the "after" for your new home will be very rewarding. Good luck!
I believe on their blog, Dana talks about how they are moving to a smaller home and even with renovation projects will cost less than their current home. My husband and I are doing the same thing and when you have the skills to do much of the work yourself, renovations don't cost that much. Most of the cost is in hiring someone to do the work. Can't wait to see how everything turns out, I'm sure it will be a lovely space for their family.
@ everyone - Thanks for all the well wishes! My Handy Hubby and I certainly know that selling our current home (by owner, mind you), buying a fixer-upper, DIYing, paying professionals for things beyond our skill set, moving, downsizing and making another house our home isn't easy or right for everyone. We expect setbacks and obstacles and plan to share every dirty detail - so you can learn or laugh from our mistakes! But DIY and home design are our passions. We really enjoy doing it together. While we are very lucky to be financially stable, we are looking forward to becoming totally debt free. It will give us the freedom to really pursue some financial goals, career changes, and leisure activities together. We're not doing it for anyone else but us.
@ akay - I'll be sharing all of the financial stuff on my blog as it happens. Basically, we're buying a cheaper house but plan on making the same payment we're making now once our current home sells (which we understand could be months from now). That's a whopping $1200 a month added onto the downsized home's mortgage payment...that's how we'll pay it off in the short-term. Even with the reno we plan on doing, the cost of the home is so inexpensive. We plan on paying cash for materials and projects so not everything will get done at once. But we're hopeful and excited and eager for a change.
i'm sure they'll make it wonderful !!