What Flipping a House Really Looks Like

Warning: this may be my ugliest post in almost 4 years of blogging. It’s OK though, because it’s leading up to something awesome.

Have you seen the TV shows about flipping homes and thought, “Those people must be crazy to want to take on that project!”? Well, they probably are, and now, so am I.

If you’re not familiar with the term “house flip” it means to buy a home that needs a lot of work, put the work in, then sell it at (hopefully) a profit. It’s something the decorator in me has always wanted to do, but as you can probably imagine, a lot of details must to come together for it to be done well. And lucky for me, all those things have finally come together! My dearest friend and business partner, along with her husband, have decided to take the plunge and flip a home. Somehow I convinced them that they needed a partner, so here we are, flipping our first house. And since you have so graciously and patiently followed along with me through all my other creative endeavors, I thought I’d share our experience with you here on the blog.

Right now we’re in the part of the process that I like to call “It Has to Get Worse Before it Gets Better” so let’s revel in some messy photos, shall we?

“Before” Photos

This is the entrance to the house. Needs a little trimming, wouldn’t you say?

When you walk in, you’re immediately greeted by a narrow dark hallway. We’re opening it up to catch that light at the end of the tunnel.

The bedrooms need a little updating…

And maybe some new light fixtures.

You can’t fault them for not having enough color in their house. You should have seen all the multi-colored carpet we pulled out already!

The master bathroom leaves a little something to be desired… Unless you’re a fan of sunken blue-tiled tubs, and runaway vines growing on a slider (?!) door.

The hall bath just needs a little touch-up.

But the living spaces are, well, spacious.

It’s filled with one-of-a-kind touches like this lovely chandelier in the dining room.

(Pay no attention to the giant pile of dirt that came from a stone half-wall planter which I’m sure was all the rage in 1971.)

At least we aren’t alone in the house.

Let’s move into the kitchen, where plenty of opportunity awaits.

We’ve already opened up the space into the lovely den, which was the picture of 70’s style with dark wood paneling throughout and a period-appropriate brass fireplace cover.

As you can see, all the house needs is a little attention, some TLC, and oh just maybe a complete overhaul. Although I’m a die-hard DIYer, this is going to be a job for the professionals so that we can hand over the house to its new owners, knowing that every detail has been carefully corrected. Also, we’re hoping to put it on the market in 6 weeks, which means this is not a project for weekend warriors and amateur DIYers like me. So no DIY tutorials here, just hopefully some design inspiration and a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of what it’s really like to flip a house.

This flip started out bad, went straight to ugly, and eventually we’ll make it good. Join me for the journey along the way!