From Newlyweds to Newly Remodeled

HGTV’S “STAY OR SELL”: SEASON 1, EPISODE 1

Did you miss this “Stay or Sell” episode? No worries, we’ve got you covered!

Or maybe you watched, but want to see this mid-century beauty in more detail? Boom. We’ve got you covered there, too!

No matter the reason, we’re glad you’re here.

I’m writing for a couple of reasons. I want to document the crazy, fun process we go through with clients regularly when buying, selling, and renovating; it’s a roller coaster of emotions, and incredibly rewarding. And, as you may have seen on “Stay or Sell,” each story is different and completely unique from one another.

So, in the interest of multi-tasking, I will:

#1- post a blog summarizing each Stay or Sell episode project in case you need a good ole fashioned recap anddd…

#2- talk about the awesome process of real estate and renovation along the way.

So with that being said….these are my clients… and these are their stories…. DUN! DUN!

….if you didn’t read that in the Law and Order intro voice I have strongly failed.

Meet The Leungs.

Meet Christina and Albert, Minneapolis newlyweds looking for more space and functionality in their home as they are wanting to grow and start a family. They are currently living in the Robbinsdale neighborhood, a northwest suburb of Minneapolis. Although they love their neighbors, convenient location, and mid-century charm, they want to find a home that covers everything on their wishlist. So they came to us for help! “Should we stay in our current home and renovate, or should we sell and start over completely?”

Well, my friends, you’ve come to the right place... nothing a little rock, paper, scissors can’t handle.

The Leung’s Wish List:

1. Attached two-car garage

2. More square footage than current home

3. Master bedroom with ensuite bath

4. Three bedrooms on the same floor

5. Mid-century architectural features

To incorporate everything on their wishlist at their current place, a renovation would include adding more house onto their existing footprint, which would be quite the stretch (I mean this both figuratively and literally), considering the size of their lot. They also live on a busy street right next to the freeway, which they find convenient; however, this proximity doesn’t typically hold great resale value. Plus, after checking comparable home sales nearby, the money that would be put into the renovation would be hard to get back in resale value later.

Note: These are all important factors to consider when you’re thinking about renovating, buying, or selling!

Meet the Mid-Century Gem.

(Before our design team gave it some love)

Once the Leungs laid their eyes on this baby, it was time to say “SEE YA” to their old house and check in to their new forever home...after a little renovation action, of course! With construction costs, we were at the top of their budget. However, since the home is located in Bloomington, a major hot spot for Minneapolis real estate, every dollar invested in updates would increase its worth. The only major demo items were gutting the kitchen and bathrooms completely, and knocking down walls that were separating the kitchen, dining and living room (see below). Opening everything up would create more drama -you know, the good kind of drama- and you’ll be able to see that beautiful vaulted ceiling and fireplace from multiple angles.

One beautiful fireplace from every angle possible, please!

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THE DESIGN

Since Christina and Albert were vocal about their love of mid-mod, we wanted to incorporate those characteristics in a bold way as part of the overall design concept. Since mid-century mod is high on my crush list, this was going to be pretty darn easy to pull off.

We went with a very dark gray, almost charcoal, exterior paired with black windows and a Fox-y orange door for a show-stopping, dynamic curb appeal.

As for the interior, we wanted to do everything we could to brighten the dark timber and create an ethereal, light & airy feeling. Now don’t get me wrong, we are all about preserving original elements in a home when it makes sense with the overall goal, but in this case the wood planking throughout was acting like dark, heavy weights overhead, and the beams were not feasible to stain lighter, so white walls and ceiling was the way to go! Painting everything a uniform color emphasized the original elements in the home even more, including a stand-out stone fireplace and those killer slate floors in the front foyer. The mix of old and new blended beautifully and the transformation made a HUGE difference.

Once everything became light, bright, and beautiful, it was time to introduce color. The Leungs gave us a lot of creative freedom with their home decor plan, and we gathered that they were drawn to deep greens, pale blues, and mustard yellow. Not only are these some of my favorite colors of all time, but they can act like neutrals, so you can apply them boldly (in which I fully intended on doing). I wanted to liberally add color, textures, and natural elements to balance the clean slate of white walls and ceilings. Luckily I live in a community FILLED with incredible creative artists & makers that helped me bring my vision to life.

I immediately thought of Mercury Mosaics, a local handmade tile company in the Twin Cities that we had previously worked with to make our Eichler Palms kitchen in Palm Springs come to life. They have rich, bold colors and outside-the-box shapes that I knew would be dreamy in this project. It was a perfect opportunity to spark some mid-century flare that was sure to knock the Leungs’ socks off. After collaborating with badass owner, Mercedes Austin, we locked down a custom shower wall feature and kitchen backsplash design that was basically going to make a grown man cry (Brad,obviously).

When it came to styling for this project, I knew:

#1- there needed to be A LOT of greenery (there were even built-in flower boxes in a few places from the era it was built!)

AND

#2- I wanted to breathe some strong MN pride into it by curating tons of art from some of my favorite local artists around the Twin Cities.

Wool +Timber created a larger-than-life custom fiber wall hanging (pictured on the bottom left), which was a statement piece that anchored the dining room and introduced natural texture and helped to define our whole color scheme. And where would we be without incorporating a masterpiece (or two or seven) from my friend and insanely talented artist, Colleen Elizabeth, who paints on canvas like it’s nobody's business (peep the original floral canvas on the bottom right). Other locals featured in this project were Ashley Mary Art, Golden Age Design, and Illume Candles.

Last but not least, Brad and I wanted to do something special for this sweet couple since they had just gotten married. I had gotten to know them and their playful sides through this whole process, and knew they weren’t afraid of funky things (because only good things come with the adjective, “funky,” duh). I remembered Christina and Albert had a cute song that was pivotal to their relationship, and then it hit me. I had been eager to commission Ne-Art, another Minneapolis-based company, to make a custom neon sign for a while. What better than the lyrics from their special song?? It was the perfect opportunity to bring a meaningful piece into their living room that would function as a bright, colorful reminder of their wedding day.

*cue happy tears

And that’s a wrap, folks!

We are so grateful we were able to be a part of the Leungs’ journey to find and create their dream home. All the funky decor, dazzling artwork, jaw-dropping tile etc. aside, this home supports their growing family for years to come in a way that their former place couldn’t. At the end of the “reveal” tour, when Christina said her ‘mouth hurt from smiling so much’ I knew we had nailed it, and more importantly that they could picture themselves happy here. Although renovations and house hunting can be daunting, the end result is always worth it. It also helps when you’re working with two incredibly funny, and precious people who made it even more of a blast!