Our Latest Flip House Project – Before and After

Our latest flip house went from hoarding to homey with surprising efficiency. It was a fun project to be a part of and even I was amazed at the transformation!

Flipping houses is not for the faint of heart, and sometimes these old homes look like there’s no hope. This latest flip house even had me doubting when I first saw it. But that’s when the most fun transformations happen.

Check out how we brought new life to this old home!

An Old Home Buried in Clutter Gets a New Chance at Life

When we started on this house, it was stuffed with, well, stuff. From floor almost to ceiling. Even the front yard was a hopeless overgrown jungle.

Little by little, we cleared out the clutter and found good bones underneath.

Apparently, it had one owner all its life, and she wasn’t one to downsize her stuff. There were rooms full of junk, the kitchen was tiny and cramped, and everything was dark and crowded.

The bedrooms each seemed to be devoted to a different mysterious hobby or craft, and the one uniting theme was romance novels. Piles of them. On bookshelves, stacked by the bed, covering the night stands.

But once we got rid of the clutter piled everywhere, and ripped out the dated 70’s kitchen and half wall with weird spindle railings that separated the kitchen from the living room, the layout wasn’t too bad.

There were about a dozen different colors and patterns of floor coverings, ranging from linoleum to shag carpet, so we knew those had to go.

I count seven different types of flooring, just in these two photos!

But I have to say, this was one of the cleanest houses I’ve ever redone, once we got rid of the clutter. There was no rot, dry rot, termite damage, mold, or droppings of any kind. It cleaned up just like a blank canvas.

Then the fun part started.

How We Brought New Life to This Old Home

We opened up the kitchen floor plan, from tiny U-shaped kitchen to bigger L-shaped with an island.

We removed a few windows to make room for cabinets, and we opened up the doorway to the sunroom and the opening to the dining room. Now the whole area flows much better for family living and entertaining.

We gave pretty much everything a coat of Shoji White paint, and put in new Pure White trim throughout.

The open concept kitchen flows into the living room, dining room and sunroom, while still defining the spaces. We used a butcher block island to create a comfy spot for people to have breakfast, do homework, or keep the cook company.

Painting the fireplace white and updating the mantle gave the living room a whole new look.

We picked a neutral wood-look vinyl plank tile for the floor throughout the whole house, except the bedrooms which got carpet. Now there are only two types of flooring and they look great together.

While just about everything in this house is brand new, the bathrooms were my favorite part of the design process.

For the main bath, we moved walls, doors and plumbing to open up a tiny, dark, cramped space and turn it into a retreat.

We picked a furniture style vanity from Lowe’s and topped it with round mirrors and black fixtures, to contrast with the brushed champagne hardware of the plumbing fixtures.

Then we built a larger custom shower and used oversized subway tile in a herringbone pattern to give it a little style without being too loud and style-specific. Custom glass doors will complete the look.

In the hall bath, we decided to leave the layout as it was. It was ugly, but everything was in the right place. We can fix ugly.

We went with streamlined farmhouse style. We used a wood vanity and black fixtures to keep things modern and classy.

Finally, we cleaned up the exterior, gave it new garage doors, mailbox, and a fresh coat of paint, and did a LOT of landscaping. It looks like a new house!

I would say come check out the transformation on our latest flip house, but it’s already sold! Now the new owners can move into an essentially new house and start filling it with their own hobbies, personalities, and maybe even romance novels.