Storybook Ghostwriter Edition

Welcome to a special edition of Storybook homes. If you have been following Storybook Homes for any amount of time you know that my Dad ALWAYS comes to town to help me on at least 1 special project per renovation. 

Here he is helping me with a feature headboard wall at Bruce.

Ta dah!

He built a vanity top for Oliver:

And helped me with the pine shiplap at Donaghey.

 

Here are some action shots of him working on some special trim projects at Caldwell.

And the fruits of his labor:

He built the master vanity at the cinder block house:

And here he is working on one of the most tedious jobs to date- the wood wrapped entry wall at Lee Street.

Those are just a few pics that prove, not only is he an incredible Dad that sacrificially gives up his time and joints (climbing ladders and crawling on the floor is tough on an old man) to help make his daughter's design dreams come true, BUT ALSO, that he has some serious carpentry skilz. 

Sooooooo when Dad announced that he thought he might like to try his hand at flipping I was pumped and confident that he would do an incredible job. Plus, I was looking forward to being able to help him for a change in appreciation for the many times he has helped me. 

It took him almost a year to find a property to flip near his home in Harrison, Arkansas that met his criteria for price and degree of renovation needed; but late last summer with the help of his favorite realtor, Laura Ragland with Weichert Realtors, he found a house that checked most of his boxes.  

35 Mimosa Drive in Harrison Arkansas

The house was structurally sound, just in need of some cosmetic updates.  Plus it was a great size, in an established neighborhood, close to schools, and had recently undergone a major price drop after sitting on the market for awhile. Laura was able to negotiate a price that was in Dad's comfort zone and by July of last year he and his oldest grandson were swinging sledge hammers at the old floor plan. 

Because Dad forgot to get "before" pics before diving into demolition, (Like father like daughter) I borrowed some pics off the old realtor listing to give you a brief "before" tour:

When you walked in the front door you entered into a closed off formal living room:

On the other side of that left wall was a small dining room:

Through that cased opening you can see the kitchen...

Beyond the kitchen was a nice size gathering or family room:

On the other side of this classic ranch style house there was/is a long hall

with 2 kid bedrooms (no good pics of bedrooms) and a guest bath:

 And a master suite:

Complete with single sink vanity and fiberglass shower:

BUT now......

When you walk in the front door you are greeted with a Dad signature feature wall:

And that formal living room has been opened up to the kitchen:

And speaking of the Kitchen.... What a transformation!!!  

 

Dad borrowed some space from the old dining room to expand the kitchen and converted the rest of the old dining Room into a Laundry/Pantry room. This was a genius use of space, if you ask me, because the old Laundry was located in the garage. 

Here is a view of the new gathering room:

And now down the hall.... don't you just love a freshly painted house and those new hardwood floors.

The guest bathroom was overhauled:

And the bedrooms were refreshed with new carpet, fan, and paint. 

The master suite received a total makeover. 

And the old master bathroom was expanded to include a large walk-in shower, double vanity and private potty room.

What do you think?!?! Did he do a great job or what!!

I'm so proud of him that I thought he deserved to have his very own Storybook Homes For Sale sign.

If you love it too, you should call the number above because according to Dad this was his first and last flip so there won't be another opportunity to own a Ghostwriter edition SBH in Harrison again!

Yep, I wish I could tell you that Dad fell in love with the reno biz but that is not how this story ends.  The job took triple the time he thought and (as is ALWAYS the case for me) went quite a bit over budget.  That, along with the everyday surprises and frustrations that come with renovating a home, led to his decision that flipping homes is just not how he wants to spend his retirement years.

Whether you are in the market for a new home or not, please stop by Dad's Open House this Sunday, February 24, 2019 from 2pm-4pm to pat him on the back and tell him what a great job he did. 

OPEN HOUSE

35 Mimosa Drive

Harrison, AR

February 24, 2019

2pm - 4pm

Apparently, it's been too long.

It turns out, when you try to juggle more than one project at a time, it doesn't leave much time for storytelling, which is kind of a big deal when the crux of your business model is telling stories..... well that, and renovating really neat homes, but then again I didn't name this business "Really Neat Homes" now did I.  See the problem? Lucky for me, we are less than a week away from the New Year when I will once again reprioritize, reorganize and resolute* every facet of my life in an attempt to become the very best version of myself, so I'm sure I will figure out how to fit some writing time in then.

       *res·o·lute   /ˈrezəˌl(y)o͞ot/   verb.  The act of Niki making a resolution to correct every poor or less than ideal habit in her life. Historically, most will be debunked by the end of the first week BUT that fact will not deter her from believing that this year will be different. 

But until then, I'll give you a quick update:

On the current home front:

Let's just say, on most days our Little House on Duncan Street looks more like the home of Sanford and Son than the Ingalls family.  Although we have all been doing a pretty good job with our weekly chores the place always seems messy, cluttered, and a tad bit smelly. In an effort to not add additional "stuff" to our small space I refrained from decking our halls this year for Christmas. Instead of dragging out the 30 boxes of Christmas decor we simply set out our Nativity scene and a pencil slim Christmas tree decorated with 1 sorry strand of Christmas lights, our 25-day advent bags, and any Christmas cards that we received.

I told myself that by simplifying our Christmas decor it would help us really focus on the "reason for the season" but I'll be honest the whole family agrees it just didn't feel like Christmas this year. I truly believe this noticeable dip in Christmas Spirit was due solely to a glitter and garland deficiency. Therefore, Christmas decor has been added to the ever-growing list of things our "little house" has taught us to not take for granted in our future home along with a dishwasher, microwave, gas range and a greater potty to body ratio.

Speaking of our future home, let's check in on Carl Stuart.

Things seem to be moving at a snail's pace but a lot has happened since the last time I updated this blog.  I believe the last picture I posted on here was this one:

I am happy to report we are now fully roofed and cladded.

Still quite a bit to do on the exterior but you can kinda see what we are going for here.

On the inside, drywall has defined and transformed the space.  It's amazing how much bigger a space feels when you raise the roof.

Here was the kitchen and living room space before:

And now that same space:

We are hoping David, our flooring guy, will wrap up tiling this week so he can start installing those piles of acclimated hardwood flooring by next week.  There is still a ton to do but I'm crossing my fingers that we will be moving in by the end of February.

But the real exciting news has been happening over on Davis Street:

Last week the framing (led by G-star construction) started. Framing is always sooo exciting because in a matter of hours the entire space can be transformed. It is wild to watch a space go from this (+ slab):

To this by the end of one day:

Inside, it looked like a 2x4 jungle while the framing crew put up a gazillion temporary walls to support the roof while they installed 24" laminated beams that spanned the length of the house to open up the space.

But now the old girl feels brand new with her wide open floorplan.

The first phase of framing will be wrapping up by the end of this week, therefore, the electrical, mechanical, and plumbing teams should be moving in by the end of next week.

via GIPHY

Things are getting exciting.....

That's all I have time to tell ya right now. I sure hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I look forward to visiting with you more in the New Year!