Flip Flip Flippity Flip

We just sold our biggest flip to date. I am slowly getting all the design details on here, but I thought I would share the last few jumps we’ve done over the years.

15th Kitchen.jpg — Knee deep in babies…

We didn’t do a ton on this house. I was knee deep in babies and business. We added some trim to the existing cabinets to make them look shaker and painted them white. We opened the kitchen a little bit with a pass thru bar area. We installed new windows, stained the concrete floor and put dark brown carpet in the bedrooms (had to get rid of the smoke smell), added some crown molding and cabinets for storage. We refinished the pool, and added a fence. Primarily it was functional changes for our growing family.
Bought at 270K in 2008, Sold at 296K in 2011.

Coronado my love…

We were still knee deep in babies when we made this move, and we started fostering here. We mostly made the outside functional. Ripped out this nasty Palo Verde (I’m a level 10 allergic to Palos) and planted a tree that changes colors *swoon* along with some fruit trees to make a little orchard in the front yard. We added a new pool, patio and playset. Inside we didn’t do much besides paint, but we did add a hospital level air filtering system to help me with said allergies. (This is when my autoimmune disease went spiraling so I needed any help I could get with triggers.)
Bought at 148K in 2011, Sold at 310K (deal to friends) in 2015

11th ave bathroom.jpg — The first big jump…

I spotted this great huge house in Central Phoenix. It was an anomaly of a home and we needed more space as we were up to 7 kids with fostering. The whole house needed an update. We redid all of the floors, the master bathroom, painted oak cabinets and stair railings, made an extra bedroom, redid the fireplace, painted, added iron to the loft area for safety for the kids, redid the small outdoor space and front yard.
Bought at 380K in 2013, Sold at 528K in 2017

IMG_1475+2.jpg — Our biggest flip to date…

This home was going to be our forever home, but it ended up being our biggest flip instead. We spent two years remodeling the inside of the main house, and then adding on a 1400 square foot addition, pool and workshop. I will share more of the details in another post.
Bought at 361K in 2017, Sold at 730K in 2020

We did do some other flips in between these houses, we just didn’t live in them. We also pulled money out of our Coronado House, and our big flip to purchase our two Airbnb’s. I didn’t share all of the financials, obviously renovations and pools cost a lot of money. If this interests you, and you want to know more, contact me! I’d love to share what you’re most interested about!

What now?

For now we are renting. It’s weird. I dislike it. We’re waiting for a home to open that we can jump on. We are also in process of building a duplex for sale in downtown Phoenix. There’s a lot of balls up in the air for us right now. This whole shut down doesn't help with our big plans, but we are pressing forward, and trying to strengthen our family.

Creative Residential Breeze Block

I spent a good deal of my childhood in Palm Springs, California. It was the retirement spot for Old Hollywood. We would see screen stars in the Costco. One time when I was 3 years old, I got away from my mom in the Mall, and Frank Sinatra brought me back, telling my mom that I had the most beautiful blue eyes. For those of you who did not style their hair with Aquanet hairspray, Frank Sinatra was a famous singer/actor, part of the “Rat Pack” and was known as “Ol’ Blue Eyes”.

I loved everything about the desert. I loved my people. I loved the mountains. I loved the pools. And I loved the architecture. I had no idea what a gift it was to be immersed in such great Mid-Century Modern architects. My favorite home had 12 foot ceilings, with walls of glass, and a stream that ran through the living room into the foyer and along the exterior corridoor entrance (my first experience with energy efficient design).

It made a lasting impression on my taste. When we bought an atomic ranch, I felt I had to incorporate as much of that mid century goodness I could in it. A local Phoenix company makes breeze blocks and a vision popped in my head to peak into the old house from the addition, with a faux window.

‘Phoenix’ Breeze Block from https://ourblockco.com

We framed the house for a window, and drywalled the inside of the space. Then we installed LED lighting strips around the back of window frame. We built a block wall, and framed it with steel, so we can access the LED lighting when needed.

Steel sides were made by http://www.joshmakes.com

A sleek airplane inspired look for the faucet from @Wayfair

ocotillo snyder remodel 003_edited-1.JPG

I used the block design to make a similar pattern on the floor with mini hexes from https://www.tileshop.com

Lastly, I had to add in a classic light for the space. Since this bathroom sat under the vaulted area made by the scissor trusses on the addition, I was able to string a pendant in the room. The home came with some vintage crystal glass lights in it, so adding more mid century/Old Hollywood into this atomic ranch felt right. We also did some creative moving around of the old two tone brass and chrome door handles to keep all the hallway doors matching throughout the old home, and new remodel.

Midcentury Modern Bathroom and Entry * Disney Inspired

This bathroom started with two eye turning features. Sexy black lights from Sazerac Stitches and a blue vanity from Wayfair. The rest of the room was designed to be mostly neutral, and hint at that Disney love. I sent a few fun options for the floor, some of which broke the budget, so we ended up with this diagonal penny design and WOW does it pop. The client was a little unsure of it, but now it’s her favorite part! I knew she would love it when I took a trip to Disneyland and saw a similar fun tile in California Adventure.

Since we came in under budget on the kitchen and bathrooms, we were able to tackle one more area in the home- the entryway! We stole our inspiration from New Orleans Square at Disneyland. You might recognize these slate tiles look very similar to the ground as you wait for the best ride in the park- Pirates of the Caribbean. ;) The old entry way bothered me so much. I hated the way they decided to lay the tile. With the new tile, I decided to start the tiles on the diagonal, which made the angle of the entryway feel much better. The pop of teal ties all the clients fun color throughout the house.

Midcentury Modern Kitchen and Great Room * Disney Inspired

I don’t always get to design something that I love, but this client had so many shared loves that I really had fun seeing the space come together. We removed walls and a drop ceiling. We had to move the HVAC to new locations in the ceiling, and we closed up the third entrance into the great room to make a walk in pantry. Every element, from the black hexagon tiles to the Michelle Black Wallpaper to the Shades of Light pendants, was a delight to design.

Great Room Before

Dining room After

Coffee and Wine bar flank the fireplace

Coffee Bar

Cocktail Bar

Three entryways into the great room

Sealed up entry turned into Pantry

Enclosed kitchen before

Moved HVAC, plumbing and electric.

Tear down this wall and drop ceiling

Created a peninsula and opened it up

Remove wall ovens and pantry

Install new vent hood and range

Much different look

We played with the design before finalizing.

SO BOXY REMODEL ME PLEASE

Large island

Pantry

So open and bright now

Added pendants to the new island

Painted the brick fireplace

Black hex tile

Southwest Traditional

In this home remodel, we tore out the wall that separated the traditional ranch floorplan and opened the space up! When I arrived for our design consultation appointment, they were preparing for an epic camping trip and everything was pulled on their dining table from the shed. One thing that is always missing inside the older homes is storage space! I showed them how I could pull in a huge amount of storage space- enough for their camping gear and then some- while maintaining a good open flow. Since they wanted to keep this front room for dining, we added a large pantry closet with deep shelves. On the backside of the new pantry, we installed a bar area, where her fine china is now displayed. This room can easily convert to living space in the future by removing the dining light.