Home styles in Loveland range from very old to brand-spankin’ new, from custom to cookie-cutter. But what if your preferences fall somewhere in between? What if you desire a modern home at a cookie-cutter price?
One option is to buy what you can afford and renovate, like homebuyers John and Gabrielle Reese did when they purchased an older house on Hickory Woods Golf Course in the winter of 2015.
While the brick structure, big backyard and beautiful, open view of the golf course were what ultimately drew the Reeses in when they purchased the house, they also knew they’d eventually renovate its interior. And renovate they did.
A few rooms simply got a new paint job; others had the walls removed entirely. In fact, over the course of the 5 years they lived there, they completed a full remodel of the 2,200-square-foot house, including converting the first floor’s old-school, closed-off layout into a more modern, open-concept one.
Luckily, the renovations proved to be well worth it. “The renovations added considerably to the ultimate sales price,” says the Reeses’ realtor, Ellie Kowalchik of Move2Loveland. “While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly, I’d conservatively estimate the selling price would’ve been at least $30,000 less without the floor plan improvements alone—not to mention the updated kitchen and baths.”
The Reeses took us through their reno, breaking down the transformation—from boring house to brilliant one.
1. Winter 2015: The couple tackled the easiest things first, starting with wallpaper removal and painting the upstairs bedrooms.
2. Early-to-mid 2017: They replaced all the second-floor carpet and bumped out the front door entryway to create a more open space.
3. Winter 2017: They demoed the first floor down to the studs, knocking down kitchen walls as well as the living room’s, along with the half-bath that was originally between them. Then they tore down the wall between the dining room and the kitchen to create a full open concept.
To add more light, they expanded the back door from 6 to 9 feet, and widened two windows in the kitchen at the back of the house. They moved the laundry to a closet on the second floor, and the original laundry/mudroom space was expanded to add a full first-floor bath.
4. Early 2018: With the drywall work finished on the first floor, they then installed bamboo flooring throughout.
5. Fall 2018: After spending a few months with plywood countertops, the Reeses installed new kitchen cabinets, countertops, appliances, fireplace built-ins, and a mantle with a marble herringbone tile pattern for the fireplace surround.
6. Late 2018/early 2019: The master bathroom remodel was next, relocating the toilet to expand the vanity from single to double. They removed the bathtub to create space for a larger walk-in shower and frameless glass shower door.
7. Late 2019/early 2020: The final two rooms, the mudroom/bathroom on the first floor and the second-floor hall bath, were completed. The old mudroom area was converted to make room for both a compact mudroom and a full bath, then the floor was tiled with faux-wood planking all the way through both areas, including the shower. John built the bench in the mudroom to complete the space.
On the second-floor bathroom, they replaced the sheet vinyl flooring with luxury vinyl planking, and updated the vanity, mirror and light fixture, too.
Ellie Kowalchik, Move2Team.com | 513.697.SELL
