MICHAEL (35) & LESLIE (36)

Home: 1926 Brick Tudor

Layout: 3 Bedrooms, 2 Full Bathrooms & 3 Half Bathrooms

Square Footage: 3,500 SQFT

Approximate Budget: $60K

RESTORATION NEEDS

1. Kitchen

2. Deck on addition in the rear of the home

3. Flooring

Michael and Leslie met and fell in love in Florida, however, Leslie is a born and raised Detroit girl. In 2016 Michael and Leslie decided to move to Detroit to be closer to Leslie’s family, to get married, and to start new jobs. All in the same year! Leslie was raised in a historical Victorian home so when the young couple was looking for their new, “old” home, they knew they wanted a historical home with charm and character. From the moment Leslie and Michael stepped into their home they fell in love. They are only the fourth owners of this charming Tudor and are still in touch with the previous owner, a sweet and gentle elderly woman who still visits and keeps tabs on the house.

A year and a half ago Leslie’s mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. It’s been incredibly difficult for Leslie and her family to watch her mother slowly lose herself to the degenerative disease. Leslie and Michael are realizing a difficult truth: life is fleeting and not guaranteed. The ability to make memories with their friends and families in their historic home is being squandered by exhaustively long and difficult restoration issues. Although Michael and Leslie addressed issues with electrical and did as much plastering as they could themselves, they have reached an impasse with their restoration skillsets. They’ve had issues finding contractors, and the contractors that they do find can’t do the work for six months or a year and half out. Michael and Leslie aren’t willing to press pause on their life for that long.

Kitchen: Both Michael and Leslie love to drink wine, cook, laugh and dance together in their kitchen. Sadly, they haven’t been able to do that for a long time. Their cramped and dated kitchen only comfortably allows for one person to be in the space at one time. What should be the heart of their home is instead a place of frustration and turmoil. In their opinion the kitchen needs a complete re-haul. There are currently seven doors that lead in and out of the kitchen. It’s a puzzling waste of space and it’s completely inefficient. The cabinets can’t be open when the dishwasher is open, the overhead lighting is ugly and inefficient. There isn’t enough counter or cabinet space. Michael and Leslie can’t take on a kitchen by themselves and they’re unsure of how to even begin. Contractors are quoting them up to a year and a half of time for the work. That’s more time than they are willing to sacrifice without the quality time of being with friends and family. What’s more, both Leslie and Michael want to keep the kitchen as historically accurate as possible. They need some serious help if they are to create a functional, period kitchen in a reasonable amount of time. 

Deck: The home has an addition on the back of the house that would be the perfect space for an adjoining deck to the existing second floor deck. They love being able to spend time with family and friends outside, and by adding a deck to the addition would significantly increase their outdoor space. This would also involve fixing the second floor dusting patio that is all but falling down and needs to be completely redone.

Flooring: Leslie and Michael believe that there is beautiful hardwood under the current cream carpet and parquet flooring on the 1st and 2nd floor. There are different colored parquet floors on each level and they want to remove the dated and ugly floors to return the home its original, beautiful flooring. As of now the floors are hideous and difficult to keep clean. They’re not functional nor aesthetically pleasing.

2nd Floor Bathroom: The 2nd floor Jack and Jill bathroom has peeling paint, old fixtures and a disgusting shower that no one is willing to use. They would love to turn this space into a true master bathroom.

Den: Michael and Leslie’s “den” area is far from a comfortable place that they can hang out and spend time in. The space needs insulation, a new ceiling as well as heat and AC. They spend a lot of time in this room and would love to get it updated and restored into an inviting space that they want to spend time in. 

Leslie and Michael don’t want to waste any more time stuck with the limitations of their historical home. They moved to Detroit to make lasting, quality memories with their loved ones. What was supposed to have been a home full of smiling faces has instead been full of problems and frustration. Michael and Leslie don’t want to wait over a year to see their dream home, nor do they have the time with Leslie’s mother’s disease. The time is now. They need Nicole’s help, not only for her expertise in contracting, but for her care in historical houses. Both Leslie and Michael believe that they have a special, older home that they don’t want to modernize or bulldoze. Their home celebrates 100 years in 2026, and they hope to celebrate its centennial living comfortably in the house!