Another chapter

Huck, the real boss of every project.

With the sale of E. Lafayette Circle, we are moving on from total home renovation projects. Behind there scenes, there have been many joys in doing this work. We have loved each neighborhood we worked in and the challenges of reworking homes for their highest and best use. We have found great satisfaction when the visions we had for a property became realities.

However, over the past eight years acquiring properties has become extremely difficult. For the financial piece of home renovation projects to make sense, you have to “buy right.” Property acquisition prices have climbed and the cost of materials has skyrocketed, while the labor market has tightened. Add in rising mortgage rates, and the tightrope one must walk to make a profit has become extremely narrow.

And our lives have changed. We have new opportunities in front of us. It is time to move on to our next adventure.

We learned so much.

We worked with some of the best people ever.

Thank you for following along with us.

Jane and John

Cleaner and greener

My children and I have allergies so I know first-hand the importance of having great indoor air quality. We have made renovation decisions that support this. The hardwood and ceramic tile floors can all be mopped or wiped. Low VOC paints were used throughout. The HVAC unit has been serviced and cleaned. All the windows have been cleaned and are operable.

To reduce the electrical load, we have added LED lighting. We chose new appliances that are Energystar rated. Weather stripping has been added to the doorways.

Altogether, the home will be easy to care for and have lower utility costs.

Big Bonus Room

Could it be an office?
Could it be a media room?
How about a craft center?
Private he or she space?
We are waiting to see how this great big 27’ x 9’3” space will be used. Located in a separate building a just few steps from the back entry, it has sustainable, easy-to-care-for, looks-like-hardwood bamboo flooring, fresh paint and its own refrigerator.

The countdown is on

It is so exciting to see a flip house come together! Here are some updates:

  • We found a way to add two more cabinets to the kitchen area. Can you say coffee bar?

  • The built-in bookcases/media center/wet bar area in the living area is looking super. We left a big space to accommodate a large TV, making this a great space for friends to hang out. The four base cabinets have a black granite top and provide additional storage.

  • John will be finishing the master bath with its two closets next week.

  • The laundry/utility room located by the kitchen is working out well. It has a utility sink with stainless steel work tables on either side. Wire shelving provides additional pantry and storage space. Plus, there is a closet in the utility room that is just the right size for household tools and cleaning supplies.

Speaking of cleaning supplies, we have scheduled the final post construction clean up. This great place will be all spiffed up and ready for the holidays!

The glass shelves above the bar sink make a pretty display and storage area for glassware.

Almost ready

Yes, it’s been a minute since our last posting in July. As some of you may know, many of our homes have been contractually spoken for prior to their completion. Earlier in the summer we accepted an offer on the Great Space project and began working toward the home’s finish with the new owner in mind. This person’s circumstances changed, and the house is now available.

We welcome contracts prior to completion, and the renovation is to a point that we are can invited interested, qualified buyers in to visit. The home has two bedrooms and two full baths with a large living area AND and a large, separate, finished space suitable for an office, a studio or a game room. Since mid-town homes are usually short of storage, we have added closets and cabinets throughout the house. We have worked to keep its original architectural charm while making the needed updates.

While we are not yet ready to photograph the rooms (things are always their messiest before we finish), here are a few of features:

  • A totally renovated kitchen that has butcher block and stainless steel countertops;

  • A pantry and laundry room with a deep utility sink;

  • A living area with a wet bar, entertainment area and bookcase;

  • A master bedroom with a brand new private bath and two closets;

  • A second, updated bath.

Below are several in-progress photos, click on each for more info. Interested in taking a look? Give John a call or text at 901-569-0211.

Demo Day!
The next Great Space is now underway!

After a bit of a hiatus, we have undertaken a new old-house-into-new-home project. It is located in one of our favorite neighborhoods. After closing on the property, we were greeted by neighbors on the street who said that they were glad to see us back and working on a home. That felt so good!

But enough about us and onto the house. First, this house is in the best shape of any we have purchased. Because of this, we are setting an ambitious timeline for the renovation and hope to have all work completed by the first of September.

We have never renovated a home that was is such good starting condition.

Over the next two months we will repurpose interior spaces to improve flow and function. Currently, the house has two bedrooms and one bath. Our plans include capturing an awkward space to create a master bedroom with a private bath. A pantry and laundry room will be located next to the upgraded kitchen. The large den area will have a wet bar. The beautiful hardwood floors will be complemented with durable porcelain tile in the living areas.

But wait, there’s more! There is a large shop outback that will be upgraded so that it can be used for a home office, media room or kid’s play area.

Ambitious timetable? Yes. Ambitious plans? Will this make a great house. We believe so. We invite you to follow along.

Home for the holidays

Our sweet spot home is now under contract! Assuming all goes well with the closing, the soon-to-be-owners will be nestled in bed (in front of the fireplace) with visions of sugarplums dancing through their heads well before Christmas Eve. Thanks to all who have followed along as we brought an old house to its new life.

John Baker
Everything in its place

I have found that if something has a designated place, I am far more likely to put it away. This has proven to be a practical guideline for working on homes. At the beginning of the renovation process, we ask questions like, “Where will the vacuum cleaner and the broom stay? Is there dish storage near the dishwasher? Where will the towels go? Where will people hang their coats?

The new master bathroom features a walk-in closet.

The answers to these questions, and others, drive the plans for the renovation and our big goal of making homes livable.

In this home, each of the bedrooms has a walk-in closet, plus we have added a coat closet near the front door and a linen closet near the hall bath. The kitchen has new cabinets and features a coffee station next to the refrigerator. The laundry room also has a storage area.

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

On the outside

If there were ever a brick house that cried out “Paint Me,” it is this one. In reply, we stained the brick, but left the choices about how to update the entry until most of the major design decisions had been made.

Usually there is a hitch in a project. On our previous project the Faxon House, I must have put together 27 kitchen designs before we landed on the final design. On Sweet Spot, the design of the front entry has been problematic.

The original front door had been replaced with at some point with one that did not fit the style of the home. So that the property would make a great first impression, we really needed to dress the entry up in a period and style appropriate way.

First, we took off the vinyl siding on the front gable end to see if anything interesting had been covered up and could perhaps be restored. No such luck.

Next, we combed Pinterest for entry design ideas. And drove the neighborhood looking at entryways and doors. And we asked for input from friends, neighbors and subcontractors. After taking in all this information, we would settle on a design, and then realize we had missed an important consideration. I think we had four final, now-not-final designs — making us all a bit crazy and a wee bit cranky.

Because we knew the front door would need to be replaced, we began the hunt at our local architectural salvage companies for a replacement door. At Front Street Antique Mall, we found a vintage 1942 beauty that we are refinishing for use. This door choice, along with existing trim and details, locked in some elusive design element decisions. But because it is a wooden door, it needs a bit of protection from the elements. This prompted us to build out the fascia and a bit of the roof. Step by step, piece by piece, we have figured out the entry design. The gallery shows the progress.

Dreamy

The view from the large back deck.

One of my own personal desires was to have a bedroom with tall windows framed with gauzey white curtains that dance on a breeze. I have dreamed of stepping out from my room onto a deck or patio to enjoy the quiet of the evening.

Maybe we have been building this dream into a reality with the Sweet Spot house.

The new master bedroom suite has large windows on either side of the fireplace that look out onto a large deck. The rear door leading to the deck is only steps away from the bedroom. And from this deck you can see the nicely landscaped, fenced in back yard. Lovely. Private. Tranquil.

Cooking

We had to conquer some interesting structural and design issues when designing the kitchen. The previous remodels of the home left irregularly spaced, uneven load bearing beams in view — not what you want when the end goal is an open concept design. After working through several options, we decided to think like the best computer programmers and “make a bug a feature.” We wrapped the beams in wood and then added a third beam making them equally spaced.

To create a more an open concept floor plan and clear up the traffic flow, we removed the wall separating the dining room from the living room and closed up a doorway from the dining room to a hallway.

We revised the kitchen layout so that there would be a great working triangle. By creating a laundry room out of the oddly placed bathroom, we were able to move the washer and dryer out of the kitchen and add in a refrigerator/beverage area.

Let’s talk about tile

Our Sweet Spot project has undergone most of its major transformations over the course of the last three months. The tile work has been finished and every single wall and ceiling surface has been painted. The hardwood floors are refinished and the kitchen completed. We are on to finishing touches and punch list items.

But before showing you more, let’s go back to tile. Whenever the existing tile in one of our project homes is good looking, we work to keep it. We faced a number of conundrums on this house. For example, what do you do when a tile now longer made? How do you keep the old tile, and make the updates look as if they were part of the original design? We presented our installer with these doozies and more this time.

Challenge 1, the existing full bath. The existing shower walls and flooring were from a pre-fab kit. While they looked fine at first glance, upon closer inspection we found that they were awful and had to go. However, the black and white mosaic tile floor, featuring a pattern we had not seen before, was in great shape. A standard white 4” x 4” tile wainscoting covered the walls and complemented the floor.
When we pulled out the old shower floor pan and accompanying vinyl shower surround we were left with a big gap in the flooring. Because the floor pattern was unique, we could not find a matching or complementary tile.
What to do, what to do?
We solved the problem by using oversized, black porcelain tile planks on the shower walls and adding white tile as an accent that picks up the pattern from the floor. Using so much dark tile in a small area is the opposite of my normal design tendencies, but in this case we decided to go bold. The installer cut pieces of the black planks to size to fill in the empty spots in the floor and to create a band at the top of the tile wainscoting. I held my breath during the installation, and breathed a big sigh of relief one the job was done.

Challenge 2, the former full bath turned laundry room. There was an oddly-placed full bath located at the back of the home away from the bedrooms. Really, who wants to run through the house to get to a shower? So we repurposed the space, and it is now a half bath and laundry area. In doing, so we pulled out a tub and once again were left with areas of the tile floor that needed to be patched. We found five pieces of the existing tile, but needed more to complete the patching.
The solution this time was to pop out some of the tiles and add back in a complementary tile to make a checkerboard pattern in the floor. Again, I held my breath until the installation was complete, and we are thrilled with the results.

Challenge 3, the new master bath. We created a new master suite in the back of the home, complete with a walk-in closet and full bath. Early on, I picked a floor tile with a really pretty pattern that would complement the stormy blue vanity we had chosen, but waited to purchase the tile until I could see the vanity in place and confirm the color. Well, everyone else must have thought this tile was pretty too as it was out of stock when we went back to buy it. So, the day before the installers were to begin their work, I was rethinking the bathroom flooring and shower surround.
In the end, we put together a really lovely combination of oversize planks and small hex tiles. By running the shower accent band and the planks vertically, the ceiling appears higher and the shower appears larger.

These low maintenance floors are looking super, even before cleanup.

Challenge 4, the kitchen and back hallway floor. Years ago, a former owner added on to the back of the home, and the floor took a strange and pronounced dip from the kitchen area into the addition. Because of this, before we began working on the home John and an inspector crawled all under the house to make sure that there were no structural issues. There were none; the floor was just wonky.
Our floor plan rework included creating a hallway to the back door so we had to level out the floors before laying the new tile floor. The tile crew added two inches of leveling cement to the floor before laying the tile. Saggy floor solved.
We chose to lay the tile on the diagonal and worked with the crew to make sure the pattern was centered on the doorways. And yes, I held my breath. And yes, once again our installer came through with great looking result.

I am glad we are finished with these installations so that I can get back to regular breathing.




Ready, set, go!

We are back on it with a new project. In this crazy housing market, it took us a bit to find a property that would fit our model—right location, right size, right price.

After taking a little time for ourselves, we started working in earnest on our new project in July. This home is very near the Pink Palace so it is close to shopping and services (you can walk to Vibe Foods), the University of Memphis and East High School. It has a wonderful, shaded back deck along with a nicely landscaped back yard. We love the very quiet, tree-lined street and have gotten to know many of the neighbors.

Before stain

Before stain

As always, our designs are guided by practical considerations — improving the traffic flow, upgrading or adding baths as needed, reworking the kitchen and creating storage all while making sure the renovations are pleasing to the eye.

Curb appeal is also key. One of our first decisions was to stain the exterior brick to match the existing siding — unifying the look of the exterior materials. Through a bit of research, we learned that staining the brick is a better choice than painting as it allows the brick to breathe, thereby holding the finish better. After John and Evan pulled off the very sad metal awning, the paint contractor got to work, first pressure washing the entire exterior then applying the stain. Now we have to figure out a welcoming front entry.

After stain

After stain

The floor plan is in the process of being overhauled so that the living spaces are more accessible and usable. Yes, it now has an open concept. Yes, it will have a great kitchen.

The house formerly had three bedrooms and two baths in a really funky configuration. When complete, it will have a master bedroom suite with full bath, walk in closet and working fireplace, along with a second bedroom with a walk-in closet. There is a laundry room with a half bath that has easy access to the very large back deck. And it has the new Covid-era necessity — a separate area just right for a home office.

If all goes well, we hope to have the home ready by mid-October.

Hail Mary

It’s been six weeks since the last posting—six weeks filled with hard work dedicated to finishing the project before the March 31 closing. Excluding our own home, Faxon is the largest, most intensive project we have ever attempted. And, excluding our own home which we continue to work on between projects, the Faxon renovation took the longest to complete. Altogether, from closing to closing, we spent seven months flipping the house.

When we first started last August, our plans were to renovate the existing living area downstairs. We anticipated the work would take four months and had hoped to be finished before Christmas. After taking a long, hard look at the attic space, and talking with our appraiser and other consultants, we decided to convert the attic into a loft. This decision contributed to the flip taking three months longer than we had planned.

It turned out so well.

It turned out so well.

Repurposing this space had many benefits, but it was very challenging. Once we decided to go this route, much of the original work plan had to be re-thought and re-quoted. For example, we had to find a flooring refinisher that understood how to work with the rough pine planks upstairs. (Thank you Midtown Hardwoods.) Even with the crew working super-long hours, refinishing the floors took eight days. To frame the upstairs walls, we had to compensate for the nearly 100 years of settling in the floor and the roof, otherwise the walls would have looked weird and out of whack. (Thank you Evan.) Sheet-rocking all the wall and ceiling angles upstairs required Felipe’s master talents, along additional days to complete.

We did not anticipate having to entirely rebuild the front porch (more info about this in a blog posting below). This required more than a week to complete, but the result is that the front has a welcoming, period-appropriate design, and the porch itself is strong enough to hold a porch swing. Maybe several porch swings.

The construction time was also extended by consequences of Covid. One of our subcontractors had to pull off the job for a period of time. It was difficult to get construction materials, and appliances were hard to find. The ice storm also caused us to lose days. And we did pause the progress to celebrate a family wedding, observe the holidays, and attend to other unexpected events.

Once the house was under contract, the days leading up to closing became particularly long for John and Evan. Together, they were completing a Hail Mary pass, going flat out to the finish. With every project, there are so many final details and completing these truly makes the difference between a good project and a great one. We were and are committed to this level of quality.

Today is April 9, and, with the exception of a few minor finishing tasks, the reno we began in August is done. Without a project on the horizon, we are taking a deep breath (at home, without a mask). And relaxing. And reflecting. And, as with every single project before, we can honestly say, this is the best one yet.

What’s next? With several of our previous projects, the houses seem to find us. If you know of a house that is ready to become a renovated home, let us know. Thank you for your interest.

A Valentine's Proposal
“It feels like home.” Music to our ears after so much hard work.

“It feels like home.” Music to our ears after so much hard work.

We asked, “What do you like?”

He answered, “Everything. It felt like home when I walked in the door.”

And with that, an offer was placed and accepted on the house we have been carefully renovating since August.

How did this come about? Roughly two weeks ago, we placed a Coming Soon sign in the front yard that contained contact information and a QR code linking to this website. We also invited interested parties to contact us on the Feb. 2 Facebook posting. On Friday, Feb. 12, we had preview appointments with those who had contacted us, and on Saturday the house was under contract.

In addition to checking all the soon-to-be-owner’s wants and wishes boxes, he will be living within six blocks of his work. How great. A walk to work, a home that satisfies his wants and a great neighborhood to boot. We are glad to be a part of helping him live his best life.

Over the next six weeks, we will be completing the project punch list. Look for us to post a project page with details and photos once we finish.

So that we can work as safely and efficiently as possible, and because our plans sometime change mid-construction, we wait until we are close to completion before putting out our Coming Soon signs and inviting interested parties in to look.

So that we can work as safely and efficiently as possible, and because our plans sometime change mid-construction, we wait until we are close to completion before putting out our Coming Soon signs and inviting interested parties in to look.

The heart of the home...

Where the family gathers, meals are prepared, messes are made and cleaned up. Where the party usually gravitates. We take all these considerations of the heart when we plan a kitchen. Then we factor in the practical needs. Are there enough drawers? Is there task lighting? Is there enough counter space? Is there enough clearance for all the doors and drawers to open? Is the working triangle in place? (Don’t know this term? Check this link from Architectural Digest article about its importance. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/kitchen-triangle-best-way-to-design-a-kitchen)

And then we work to make it pretty, because as with most things, you eat it with your eyes first.

The open concept floor plan enables you to see the kitchen from the main living areas. Because of this, we have spent a bunch of time checking alignments. Are the stove and island centered in the opening?Are the upper cabinets balanced on either side of the sink. How do we treat the end of the island? So many things to hold in balance.

Of the many kitchens we have renovated, this one may be the best. The flow is great, the space is balanced and functional, and yes it will whet your appetite when completed. Take a look.



An office, a man cave, a studio?

Great. A home in midtown with a detached two car garage. Even better, this garage has a room behind it that can serve a number of purposes. Previously, it was used as a worship space for a home church. The priest who still lives in the neighborhood has told us that as many as 20 people regularly gathered in the room. (We love getting to know the neighbors!)

The space measures 8’ x 20’, adding another 160 sq. ft. of living space to the approximately 2,400 sq. ft. in the house itself. Our first thoughts were that it would make a super, separate private office area. Who doesn’t want one in the time of Covid? Then again, it would be a great media room, a recording or video studio or perhaps gaming center. Who knows?

Interested in making this home yours? With all the needed Covid precautions, we will be handling the sales process for this home a bit differently. If you, or someone you know, is interested is purchasing this home, we will start scheduling appointments for pre-qualified buyers next week. Text John at 901/569-021 with your questions or to set up a time.

Out back

One thing COVID has shown us — outdoor living space is a priority. Being able to mix and mingle with friends in open air is now an important part of our normal. This thought guided our decisions for the back patio. Click through the gallery below to see how the work progressed.

Scrub-a-dub-dub...

This home has three tubs!

On the main floor we have refurbished the existing bath with new tile, a new vanity and toilet. We have reconfigured the space so that the storage areas are more accessible. The accent tile in the bath surround ties all the textures and colors together.

By moving a wall and closing a doorway, we repurposed a small, walk-through bed room and created a master suite with its own bath and a large closet, along with a half bath accessible to the kitchen and back entry. For the master bath, we used a glass and marble accent tile that coordinates with the new double vanity. The space feels great — balanced, uncluttered and welcoming. We hope it will be a place where the new owners can wash (or soak) their cares away at the end of a long day.

The small half bath, located just off the kitchen, occupies a space formerly used for a pantry. It will be great for guests when entertaining either inside or out. Because it is tucked away, it feels very private, even though it is very conveniently located.

Upstairs, we added a full bath that is in keeping with the industrial feel of the newly created loft. It has wonderful window light. Located at the top of the stairs, it feels separate from the main living area.

Altogether this home has a bath for every body! (Pun intended.)