A few months ago, we acquired a property that was built in the 1880s. It was in rough shape but (oh my heart!) I just loved it. While walking through it, I couldn’t stop staring at the 12ft ceilings and all of the beautiful natural light. Even though it had been let go, it had good bones! I’m excited that The Winnie Project is our first house flip that we are tackling together as a husband and wife duo!
The Before
Here are some pictures before we started demo. As you can tell, the house was in rough shape. So much so, that we found little critters making themselves right at home. With the house being built in the 1880s, the floor plan needed some reworking and everything needed updating.
Here are some specific issues we knew we needed to prioritize.
- There was only one tiny bathroom located behind the kitchen on the main level. Not great considering all 3 bedrooms are upstairs.
- The laundry room was inconveniently placed in the unfinished basement.
- There were non-structural walls in the living and dining room that made it feel tight and enclosed.
- The electrical outlets were old and located in the baseboards.
- All of the walls needed a good repair and repaint.
- New floors were needed throughout.
With our to-do list, we set out with a great team to start tackling the project!
The Floor Plan
We decided to add a second bathroom upstairs. With the age of the home, there is no requirement for designated closet space. We took the two closets between two of the bedrooms to make a jack-and-jill bathroom. As much as we would have loved to keep the closets, we decided a bathroom would be a better use of space for this house flip.
The tiny bathroom behind the kitchen is going to become a power room and laundry combo. We made this decision for ease. Getting down into the basement on a regular basis is just not practical with the layout of this home. Our hope is that everything can be done on the upper and main levels (with the basement being bonus storage space).
We also chose to remove the walls between the entry and living room, living room and dining room and hallway and dining room. Check out the original floor plan below!
The Design
Starting a house flip project can feel intimidating because all of the design decisions have to be made pretty quickly. One of my favourite ways to start dreaming up a new space is to pick a specific design style. In order to do so, I love to take inspiration from the age of the home. The Winnie was built during the Victorian Era. And can I just say? Victorian + Modern together = dreamy!
Take a look at some of the inspiration pictures to see what I envision when I think of a modern victorian home!
The Finishes
For the Victorian side of the design, we will incorporate gold fixtures and finishes. We would also love to add a bold colour (like dark blue or green) in an unexpected place. I love how the victorian style is not afraid of a pop of colour! In addition, we will be adding back in wide baseboards. We were hoping to save the old baseboard but it was basically all unsalvageable.
For the modern side, we will use black fixtures and finishes to compliment the gold. The whole home with be painted white to brighten it up. We will have medium-toned wood flooring throughout.
The kitchen will compliment both styles with classic white subway tile and quartz countertop. Take a look at some of the details I’m thinking of!
I’m not sure if we will be staging our house flip BUT! If I get the green light you better believe I’ll be hitting up every thrift store in town! Thinking about it gives me a thrill of excitement! Go check out my blog post all about thrifting home decor. It is one of my favourite fun things to do!
Where We Are At
We are currently wrapping up demo and beginning to put the house back together! This coming week will be exciting as drywall finishes and flooring gets started!
What do you think? I will be sure to give you the full tour once everything is completed! In the meantime, check out the progress here under The Winnie highlight!
Thank you so much for following along for the ride!
