A Home to Love | Season 2 Episode 3

Elly Elliot fell in love with a historic home in downtown Rogers and placed an offer on the house before her husband, Philip, even had a chance to see it. Together since college, Phillip was shocked that “rule following, by the book, Elly” had done something so impulsive, but Elly just had a feeling that this was going to be their forever home and could already see their family growing old there. She loved the home’s historic character and all of the original details – from the tin ceiling in the kitchen to the original hardwood floors throughout the home. And, the location was perfect – close to downtown restaurants and shops, as well as the school where Elly teaches.
Once Phillip finally did see the home, he wasn’t impressed. He thought it was simply too old and outdated. But, out of love for his wife and a desire to make her happy, they bought the house hoping that they would eventually be able to realize Elly’s vision.
After many nights worrying about the leaking roof, the mediocre curb appeal and the dysfunctional kitchen, Elly brought Dave and I in to make this house their dream home. We knew there were several footprint changes that needed to happen in order for it to serve them better: relocating the kitchen, creating a new laundry room and moving the nursery.
Exterior
BEFORE: A 1902 home in need of a new roof and restored front porch.
Although it was love at first sight for Elly, the same was not true for Phillip! Dave and I were determined to make him fall in love with this home — starting with a heavy dose of curb appeal. We removed the carport that Philip disliked, opened up the side room that they never used and restored the original wrap around portion of the front porch. We replaced the leaky roof and I chose a light green-gray paint to brighten up the siding while maintaining the historic look and feel of the home.
AFTER: A charming historic home with a gorgeous wrap-around porch.
Sources
Pendant Light | Kichler
Porch Fan | Kichler
Landscaping | John Zito Landscaping LLC
Exterior Siding Paint Color | Farrow and Ball French Gray #18
Exterior Trim Paint Color | Farrow and Ball Joa’s White #226
Kitchen
BEFORE: A guest bedroom.
One of the requests Philip had was to make the floor plan more open throughout. He dreamt of an open living room, dining room and kitchen where they could see their son playing in the living room if they were cooking in the kitchen. The current kitchen was tucked off of the main rooms and poorly laid out – it was impossible for Elly and Philip to cook together in the small space and you couldn’t even open the fridge without hitting the oven.
Elly had a fantastic idea to move the kitchen into what was currently a guest bedroom. The room was right off of the dining room and allowed us to create a fully open concept space while giving them a large, bright kitchen full of gorgeous natural light. The guest bedroom had been an addition to the original home and we found the original exterior siding when we opened up the wall separating it from the dining room. We salvaged it to repurpose into a gift — keep reading to find out what Dave built with it!
Because the room wasn’t a part of the original house, the basement stopped at the start of the new kitchen and we weren’t able to access plumbing without really cutting into the budget. We problem-solved by creating a peninsula for the sink that was still accessible from the basement (so we could run plumbing beneath).
One of Elly’s favorite things in the house was the tin ceiling in the kitchen. We had planned to move the tin into the new kitchen but ran into an issue when we tried to remove the tiles. We found out they were not tin tiles at all – they were actually stamped acoustic tiles. So, we ordered new tiles and then finished off the kitchen with Elly’s requested white cabinets with a touch of subtle color on the island.
AFTER: A bright and open new kitchen.
Sources
Kitchen Sconces | Kichler
Cabinetry & Range Hood | Premier Wood Concepts – Link
Countertops | Black honed granite
Appliances | Metro Appliances
Kitchen Accessories | Euna Mae’s
Floral and Plants | Shop All Things Kindred
Cabinet Paint Color | Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17
Island Paint Color | Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
Dining & Hidden Laundry
BEFORE: A cute dining room and laundry room in the basement.
The Elliotts were schlepping their laundry and dogs daily up and down a treacherous staircase to the basement. By relocating the kitchen into the former guest room, we were able to utilize a portion of the new space to give them the laundry room of their dreams! Phillip promised to do more laundry if we were able to make a new space on the main level, so I even added custom fishing rod storage just for him. Lastly, the new built-in kennels for the dogs blend seamlessly into the custom cabinetry and the gorgeous hand-painted wallpaper finishes off the space.
When we opened up the old basement staircase area to create a practical hallway for the Elliotts, we had to remove the built-in that was added at some point in the place of the original hallway. Instead of demolishing it completely, we planned to salvage the doors and relocate them into the new built-in entrance of the laundry room, but they were in bad shape and weren’t able to be repurposed. This happens sometimes with old houses and we just had to go with plan B and create a new built-in bookshelf with a doggie door. The new bookshelf is a nice focal point in the dining room and gives a nod to the original character of the house and also hides the laundry room off of the main space.
AFTER: A gorgeous dining room with hidden laundry space on the main floor.
Sources
Dining Room Chandelier | Kichler
Laundry Room Sconces | Kichler
Laundry Room Flushmount | Kichler
Laundry Room Cabinetry | Premier Wood Concepts – Link
Laundry Room Wallpaper | Kelly Ventura
Laundry Room Cabinet Paint Color | Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
Living Room
BEFORE: A dark, cramped room.
The biggest changes in the living room were painting the walls to brighten up the space, removing the extra entrance to the main bedroom and then opening up the too-low faux arches separating the room from the dining. Philip and Elly both asked for the archway to be opened up because it was extremely low and made the space feel cramped.
AFTER: A bright and warm gathering space.
Sources
Living Room Fan | Kichler
Furniture | Howse
Wall Paint Color | Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17
Main Bedroom & Bathroom
BEFORE: A room with too many doors and not enough closet space.
With a door on all four walls, there wasn’t any privacy in the Elliott’s existing master suite. We were able to eliminate their main entrance and utilize the door that had been behind the headboard wall as their new entrance. By carving out space in their too-big master bathroom, we allowed for a nice size walk in closet and a beautiful new bathroom.
AFTER: A main suite retreat.
Sources
Chandelier | Kichler
Closet Flushmount | Kichler
Bathroom Vanity Lights | Kichler
Bathroom Pendant | Kichler
Furniture | Howse
Wall Paint Color | Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17
Toddler Bedroom & Bathroom
BEFORE: The existing kitchen.
We moved Elly and Philip’s son’s bedroom from the front of the house to the new space across the hall from their main bedroom. This gave him privacy and also allowed him to have access to the previously unused guest bathroom. I love how adorable and cozy this toddler bedroom turned out! My very favorite things in here are the handmade wooden toys Dave created out of the original exterior siding we had discovered when opening up the kitchen wall. Philip and Witt love to fish, so Dave made a working fishing pole with little fish to catch, a pull along elephant and an adorable one-of-a-kind rocking sheep (modeled after the sheep on our farm). This was my favorite detail of the whole project. These toys will be family heirlooms and contain a piece of the history of the Elliot’s home.
AFTER: An adorable toddler bedroom and hall bath.
Sources
Bedroom Chandelier | Kichler
Bed, Dresser and Rug | Little Seeds Kids
Chair | Howse
Accessories | Freckled Hen Farmhouse
Bedroom Wall Paint Color | Benjamin Moore Gray Owl
Bathroom Flushmount | Kichler
Bathroom Vanity Light | Kichler
Office
BEFORE: A nursery with a fireplace.
The Elliot’s used the front room as their son’s nursery because it was connected to their bedroom. However, it wasn’t the ideal choice for a nursery because it also contained an exterior door and a fireplace. After we moved the entry to the main bedroom and created a new hallway off the dining room, we were able to move their son’s bedroom to where the kitchen had been. This made Elly and Philip’s son’s room across the hall from their bedroom and allowed us to make the front bedroom into a cozy office for their family. You didn’t get to see this space on the show but I love how it was transformed with just a few simple changes!
AFTER: A cozy office space.
Sources
Sconces | Kichler
Wall Paint Color | Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
I hope you enjoyed this tour of the Elliot’s beautiful Victorian home! One of my favorite things about this season is the diversity of the homes we get to work on. Join us this coming Tuesday night at 9/8c on HGTV as we transform a run-down cabin in the woods in a modern lakeside retreat for a family of four. You don’t want to miss this one!
See you Tuesday!
Jenny