JULIE (41) & CHRIS (48)

Home: 1901 Victorian

Layout: 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms

Square Footage: 3,758 square feet

Approximate Budget: $75,000 - $95,000

RESTORATION NEEDS

1. Kitchen, Dining Room & Powder Room

2. Master Suite

3. Basement Floor

As a native Detroit gal and coming from a long line of DIYer’s in her family, Julie has always had a soft spot for historical homes. Julie bought her dream home in 2012 with the plan to do the work on the house herself with the help of husband Chris. To give a little background, Julie’s dream home would be most people’s nightmare. It was a historical home with great features, but also dirty, dilapidated, and falling apart. However, she didn’t see it that way! When Julie purchased the house it was full of trash, mold, and junk! After years of doing the work themselves, Chris and Julie have arrived at the end of their know-how. They have taken the house as far as they can, and they need help to take it to the next step.

So far Chris and Julie have put on a new roof, installed a new sewer, a new HVAC system and have gutted and cleaned up the home as much as possible. At this point, the home is essentially gutted and looks and feels like an empty (albeit dirty and hole-ridden) canvas. In order to make the home livable they need help with the heavy lifting of designing and building spaces, something that they can’t do on their own. They need a general contractor. Unfortunately, they’ve been burned in the past by GC’s who literally fall asleep on the job and haven’t been able to find someone that they trust to help them do the work. 

In the meantime, the couple has been living in a cramped apartment above Chris’ music recording studio. Although they’ve made the apartment and studio as warm and welcoming as they can, it’s not a house that meets the needs of their lifestyle. There is no work/life separation. The kitchen is small and cramped.  They can’t cook a proper meal. There is no privacy for Chris and Julie. They feel like they need to finally live their lives in a proper home. They want to cook in a real kitchen. Sleep in a real bedroom. Use their backyard. They’ve invested the time, money and effort into their historical home they just need help taking it across the finish line. 

First Floor Kitchen/Powder Room/Dining Area: Currently the kitchen is essentially a gutted and bare space that has exposed beams and an open floor plan. The floors are mismatched hardwoods and vinyl. Depending on the quality of the flooring, they may need all new flooring, trim and plaster work. The windows on the first floor are intact but they’re a mess and need real help.  No lighting or plastering has been done. It’s a box and a shell, that needs an entire kitchen design. The kitchen is next to what they are envisioning to be a powder room. They want a small bathroom that can be easily accessed in this space. They also want a first-floor dining area for hosting their friends and fellow musicians. 

Master Suite: To move in, Chris and Julie need a place to sleep and a functioning bathroom. They want to convert two adjoining bedrooms into a master suite. Currently the two bedrooms are connected by a Jack and Jill. The idea is to convert one of these bedrooms into a master bathroom that is connected to the master bedroom. Currently there is not much to either of these rooms. There are no ceilings, no insulation, no lighting. It needs to be designed and built from the ground up! 

Basement: The brick foundation happens to be in great shape and the basement area has a lot of potential for an incredible hangout and workstation for both Chris and Julie. They want to bury the drains in the floor and make the floor feel inviting and homelike. As of now, the basement is two inches of concrete over the original brick floor and it’s deteriorated over time. The paint is chipping off. Currently the basement is gloomy, wet and scary. Chris likes to solder and tinker on musical instruments and they both like to can and ferment foods. They’d like a workstation to work on their various projects. Additionally, they would love a hang-out and jam area with a bar for when their friends and family come to visit.

Chris and Julie are tired of living in a cramped studio apartment. What was fun and novel six years ago is no longer the bohemian lifestyle they imagine for themselves. They’re desperate to not go another year without making progress on their home. They feel like they’re life has been put on pause until they can finally renovate their home, but in order to do that, they urgently need Nicole’s help!