A Small Fixer-Upper Offers a Guide for Flippers
A designer shares a dozen ways to make an older house more appealing to buyers
Becky Harris
May 18, 2017
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
When a developer asked for his help in making this compact fixer-upper more appealing for resale, interior designer Carl Mattison immediately began imagining its next owner. Perhaps a young couple, or a single person. “Let’s call him a bachelor named Lenny, who has a dog named Kerby — Kerby with an ‘e,’” he says with a laugh. The designer then got to work changing the layout to reflect modern life and adding quality details that didn’t bust the budget.
“After” photos by Home Tour America
Houzz at a Glance
Location: East Atlanta neighborhood in Atlanta
Size: 1,001 square feet (93 square meters); two bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designer: Carl Mattison
The house, shown here, had been a rental for a long time and was in need of love. Mattison was called in to create an interior design scheme with enough special touches to make the home stand above the competition. The update offers 12 ideas for others getting ready to put a home on the market.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: East Atlanta neighborhood in Atlanta
Size: 1,001 square feet (93 square meters); two bedrooms, two bathrooms
Designer: Carl Mattison
The house, shown here, had been a rental for a long time and was in need of love. Mattison was called in to create an interior design scheme with enough special touches to make the home stand above the competition. The update offers 12 ideas for others getting ready to put a home on the market.
1. Add curb appeal. Fresh paint, new windows, custom window boxes and shutters, a welcoming blue door, new lighting and landscaping added scads of curb appeal. You may notice the house lost a window to the right — it is located in the shower stall of the master bedroom. It gained a new window in the bathroom on a more private wall to replace it. (You’ll see that in a moment.)
Paint colors for brick and shingles: Unusual Gray SW 7059; sashes and trim: Useful Gray SW 7050; front door: Festoon Aqua SW 0019; shutters and foundation: Urbane Bronze SW 7048, all Sherwin-Williams
Get more exterior color ideas and paint picks
Paint colors for brick and shingles: Unusual Gray SW 7059; sashes and trim: Useful Gray SW 7050; front door: Festoon Aqua SW 0019; shutters and foundation: Urbane Bronze SW 7048, all Sherwin-Williams
Get more exterior color ideas and paint picks
2. Open the layout. Before the remodel, the main living areas were broken up by a big fireplace that made for small rooms — a tiny kitchen, living room and family room that all felt dark and closed-off. Mattison recommended getting rid of the fireplace to give the space more of an upscale, open layout, shown here.
Click image to enlarge floor plan
Click image to enlarge floor plan
Inside, the console table serves as a drop zone, and that wall above it could be a TV wall if the new homeowners wish.
3. Use appealing flooring. While saving and refinishing beautiful old floors is desirable, the ones in this home were rotten beyond repair. This is a prefinished hardwood floor in a washed walnut. The darker tones are what many home buyers are looking for today, Mattison says.
4. Add luxe touches. “These kinds of modest postwar cottages were simple starter homes without many frills,” he says. “I wanted to give it more upscale details to make it stand out, like great millwork and lighting that accessorizes like jewelry. These are the details that make a house stand out ahead of the competition.”
Paint colors for walls (unless otherwise noted), ceilings and trim: Pure White SW 7005; doors: Dorian Gray SW 7017; gray walls: Gauntlet Gray SW 7019
3. Use appealing flooring. While saving and refinishing beautiful old floors is desirable, the ones in this home were rotten beyond repair. This is a prefinished hardwood floor in a washed walnut. The darker tones are what many home buyers are looking for today, Mattison says.
4. Add luxe touches. “These kinds of modest postwar cottages were simple starter homes without many frills,” he says. “I wanted to give it more upscale details to make it stand out, like great millwork and lighting that accessorizes like jewelry. These are the details that make a house stand out ahead of the competition.”
Paint colors for walls (unless otherwise noted), ceilings and trim: Pure White SW 7005; doors: Dorian Gray SW 7017; gray walls: Gauntlet Gray SW 7019
Now you can see right through to the backyard from the front yard, with lots of light coming in from the new windows and a back door that leads to a deck.
5. Define spaces. In an open space like this, it’s especially important for a potential homeowner to see how the furniture layout will work. The living area is defined by the rug and ceiling fan, and the dining nook is defined by the cabinet wall, millwork and lighting. “You can never underestimate lighting in a project like this. It can really make the difference,” he says.
Wire basket light: Shades of Light; sconce over sink: Restoration Hardware; dinette light: Cost Plus World Market. See more lighting products
Wire basket light: Shades of Light; sconce over sink: Restoration Hardware; dinette light: Cost Plus World Market. See more lighting products
6. Find a style that will resonate with potential homeowners. The hip neighborhood of East Atlanta is popular among singles and young families due to its restaurants, clubs and funky shopping village, so that was at the forefront of Mattison’s vision of what “Kerby” and “Lenny” would be searching for in a home. “I was going for what I call ‘soft industrial’ in here,” the designer says. Details such as the wire basket pendant light, metal cafe table and white gearwheel mirror nod to industrial but are refined over rusty.
While the color scheme is neutral, a rich gray gives it a luxe feeling and is versatile enough to appeal to many potential homeowners. So do elegant touches such as a 3D beveled backsplash, brass hardware, thoughtful lighting choices and floor-to-ceiling paneling. “All of this wainscoting makes the house feel like a little jewel,” he says. “It puts you ahead of what else is on the market.”
3 Stunning White-and-Gray Kitchens
While the color scheme is neutral, a rich gray gives it a luxe feeling and is versatile enough to appeal to many potential homeowners. So do elegant touches such as a 3D beveled backsplash, brass hardware, thoughtful lighting choices and floor-to-ceiling paneling. “All of this wainscoting makes the house feel like a little jewel,” he says. “It puts you ahead of what else is on the market.”
3 Stunning White-and-Gray Kitchens
7. Mix metals. While the stainless steel appliances and chrome faucet are more industrial, brass cabinet hardware balances them out with warm touches. The texture of the backsplash helps bounce the light around. The trim at the top of the cabinets, painted in the same color, makes the ceilings seem higher.
Tile: Convex Birch, Sobu
Tile: Convex Birch, Sobu
8. Create cohesion. Matching the wall color in the seating area with the cabinets helps blend the kitchen into the compact space.
To save on the budget, Mattison used ready-made cabinets in a stock color. “You don’t have to go custom to have nice cabinets. These are off the shelf, but they come with dovetailed soft-close drawers,” he says.
Cabinets: Shaker Gray, Renovation Center
To save on the budget, Mattison used ready-made cabinets in a stock color. “You don’t have to go custom to have nice cabinets. These are off the shelf, but they come with dovetailed soft-close drawers,” he says.
Cabinets: Shaker Gray, Renovation Center
9. Show versatility. Mattison staged the second bedroom as an office. Adding a convertible sofa or daybed could turn the space into a multifunctional guest bedroom-home office.
Walls: Unusual Gray, SW 7059; trim: Pure White SW 7005, both Sherwin-Williams
Walls: Unusual Gray, SW 7059; trim: Pure White SW 7005, both Sherwin-Williams
10. Include special touches in a bath. This full bathroom, located off the laundry room, serves as the powder room and guest bathroom. “A lot of people don’t pay enough attention to the second bathroom and tile the whole surround the same,” Mattison says. “The mini brick mosaic tile along the back shower wall makes it feel more high-end.” Inexpensive subway tile is a budget saver, and the faucets and the round metal mirror add special touches.
Mirror: CB2; tile: Sobu; faucets: Kingsley Collection, Moen
Mirror: CB2; tile: Sobu; faucets: Kingsley Collection, Moen
11. Use a statement headboard. A tufted cobalt wingback headboard gives the bed a strong presence and, along with the artwork, brings in some color. More of the elegant wall paneling anchors the headboard wall and provides cohesion with the rest of the house. A special chandelier adds texture and the soft industrial look overhead.
Walls: Unusual Gray, SW 7059; trim: Pure White SW 7005, both Sherwin-Williams
Walls: Unusual Gray, SW 7059; trim: Pure White SW 7005, both Sherwin-Williams
12. Make a tight bathroom feel bigger. Mattison made the compact master bathroom feel bigger by using two tricks. The first was tiling from floor to ceiling with oversize (5-by-13-inch) gray subway tile.
The second was maxing out the shower and using a clear glass surround. “A lot of developers will automatically put a tub-shower combo in both bathrooms in a house like this, but I tell them, ‘No! If you already have a bathtub in one bathroom, create a really great shower in the other bathroom!’” he says.
6 Bathrooms That Said Goodbye to the Tub
6 Bathrooms That Said Goodbye to the Tub
Two swanky brass mirrors and sconces with an antique industrial look add loads of personality and amplify the natural light.
Sconces: Restoration Hardware; mirrors: CB2; tile: Pop 5-by-13-inch subway, Specialty Tile; faucets: Kingsley Collection, Moen. More bath products
Tell us: Have you bought a house recently? Tell us what details made the difference in the Comments below.
More Tips for Selling Your House
Crowd-Pleasing Paint Colors for Staging Your Home
The Real Scents That Will Help You Sell Your House
Selling? How to Make Your House Look Great in Photos
Sconces: Restoration Hardware; mirrors: CB2; tile: Pop 5-by-13-inch subway, Specialty Tile; faucets: Kingsley Collection, Moen. More bath products
Tell us: Have you bought a house recently? Tell us what details made the difference in the Comments below.
More Tips for Selling Your House
Crowd-Pleasing Paint Colors for Staging Your Home
The Real Scents That Will Help You Sell Your House
Selling? How to Make Your House Look Great in Photos
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Where can I purchase the floor to ceiling paneling that is in the Kitchen and Master bedroom ?
@Debbie Dashiells Rohleder: If you click on the photo of the bedroom, look to the right at the Q&A. Your questions was asked and answered there.
To make it easy, this is the answer given by the designer: Carl Mattison Design:
These are made from 1" x 4" MDF strips, which are sold @ both "big box" home improvement stores. There are DIY instructions online, try searching "board & batten accent wall".
Hope that helps you..... :)
@tuckerdc and others: In order to avoid dusting frequently whether millwork or furniture, one needs to play detective and figure out what causes all that dust to accumulate in your home. Once you have that figured out, you can then correct the problems.
In many situations, most dust occurs because people buy cheap HVAC filters or don't change them out frequently enough. The dust is then circulated through your entire house with all that air being exchanged upstairs and downstairs, basement and attic.
Ventilation system has motors that aren't strong enough to pull out the moisture, grease, pollen and allergens. Correct that and the dust decreases.
Use vacuums with a HEPA filter. Change your linens often, brush your dogs/cats outdoors or in a confined space such as a bathroom. Use doormats - but don't get the cutesy type, get the good rubber mats. Yeah, they cost more but will scrape off all that dirt within those crannies of the tennis shoes. Fabric and paper will send loose fibers around a room. So put clothing/linens/towels away in a closet. Recycle mags and other papers or shred them and put them on a compost pile. Make sure your air purifier also has a HEPA filter. If you don't have one, consider buying one for your house or at least the dustiest room in your home.
Keep windows closed, but if you are like me and enjoy the fresh air of the countryside, then do a dust plan. I have 5 rooms/areas in my house, so each day I dust one. Carpets love dust and collect it without you knowing it. Carpets hold onto that dust until you or a pet steps on it. Then it releases dust into the air. Consider less carpeting and more hard surfaces which are easier to clean and keep dust from taking over.