There's no doubt that the best part of house flipping are the BEFORE & AFTERS.

There is something so satisfying about seeing the BEFORE & AFTER comparisons, especially if it's been shot from the same angle. After doing a few homes and making the mistake of not shooting the correct angles, I've learned my lesson. This time, we did a better job of anticipating the most profound design changes. The only ones which aren't represented are the areas that were completed gutted and reconfigured.

Please join us to see what we did to bring this amazing house to life.

The exterior:

WHAT WE DID:
• From a layout standpoint, we added a fourth bedroom: This bedroom fit just perfectly in front of the circular driveway. We mimicked the carport by adding a flat roof which helped the overall Mid-Century Modern (MCM) vibe.
• Stone on the front of the carport: We faced this in El Dorado Ledgestone which broke up the wooden siding and brought some texture and added interest to the front of the house.
• Removal of Birch Trees: This was tragic as I was in love with these trees. The first one apparently fell before we bought this house. The second one fell down shortly after we got the house and the third one needed to be removed before it fell on the neighbor's house!
• Exterior Paint: We painted the entire house, trim and all, in Behr Mined Coal.

CARPORT

WHAT WE DID:
• Removal of vertical wooden strips: I actually loved these but they were rotten and needed to be taken down. Once they came down, these insane 80-year palm trees became the heros. Once we lived with them for awhile, we couldn't cover them back up again.
• Front Door: We really wanted this front door to pop. After much discussion, not to mention votes from our bloggers, we decided on Benjamin Moore Lemon Freeze. It was bright, and a little acidic, which contrasted nicely with the chalkiness of the exterior color. Here's the blog if you want to see the other options on door colors.

WHAT WE DID:
• Carport underside: This was one of the first things we discussed when we toured the house. We really wanted to bring attention to this super low, futuristic carport. So, we faced with...get this...bender board. Seriously, the inexpensive stuff that people use to make their kidney-shaped lawns and borders around flower boxes. It's redwood but is super thin so it's much more economical than regular solid redwood siding.
• We replaced the entire driveway. This was an enormous undertaking, not to mention cost, but it was really busted up. We infused a charcoal gray into the cement mix and gave it a sand finish. So, if a driveway can be beautiful, this one is.

The Interior

DINING ROOM TOWARDS KITCHEN

WHAT WE DID: Our overall goal here was to create more of an open floor plan.
• We took down the walls separating the kitchen from the hallway and dining room.
• Removed the soffits from the entire hallway starting from the entry way (look at the right side of the "before" ceiling). Lance was dead set on removing this. I wasn't sure it was going to be worth the cost and effort. But, he was right. Removing it made the whole entry/dining room and kitchen feel significantly larger.
• The flooring we chose was installed throughout the house so it naturally enlarged the space.

DINING ROOM TOWARDS ENTRY.

WHAT WE DID:
• We removed the built-in cabinet on the left and replaced with this fabulous wooden 60's grid feature which used to be in the wall of the kitchen (see above). This was probably the single best decision we made. Not only were we able to recycle one of the original custom design features of the home but also brightened and opened the entire entry way.

KITCHEN

WHAT WE DID: This kitchen was one of the darkest rooms in the house so this was a complete gut!
• We tore out the center cabinetry and the wall separating the kitchen from the hallway and dining room.
• Added modern cabinetry with quartz countertops and a 7-ft island with Chef's stove and built-in pull out microwave.
• We built the fridge into the wall (it used to be in the middle of this room) and added a large pantry.

MANCAVE

WHAT WE DID: This was the source of much debate as the walls were original mahogany-paneled and we didn't want to remove them but wanted to update it.
• Painted the structure of the bookshelves and walls Naval, but kept the solid Mahogany shelving
• Replaced the windows with double-pane, compliant windows.
• We added a full bathroom
• Updated flooring with carpet.

MASTER BEDROOM

WHAT WE DID: It's hard to see from this BEFORE/AFTER but we increased the room by 7.5 feet which allowed us to create an entire master suite with walk-in closet and gorgeous master bathroom.
• Added a wall of windows facing the beautiful back canyon
• Added french doors and redesigned the private master garden

MASTER BATHROOM

WHAT WE DID: Everything!
This is a terrible BEFORE/AFTER because it was a complete gut and absolutely reconfigured.
• 6-ft. custom double floating vanity made of Cherry wood with white Quartz countertop
• Tea for Two tub undermounted with waterfall Quartz top and sides
• Glass-enclosed shower with dark gray slate flooring
• Basalt water feature outside vertical window
• Hidden toilet (thank god!)

Outside: Backyard

COURTYARD

WHAT WE DID: In expanding the master bedroom 7.5 feet, we changed the dynamic of this courtyard. We ended up with a very large wall so,...
• we designed and built a green wall to break up the wall
• kept the original aggregate pavers but replaced the cement with Mondo Grass
• replaced the sliding glass doors with glass curtains that fully opened 8 feet wide.
We also replaced the aluminum sliding windows facing the courtyard with frameless glass curtains.

BACKYARD

WHAT WE DID: The least amount of work and the most transformation
• We removed the white trash storage shed
• Added steps and a path from the new deck down to the lower landing
• Added a gas fire pit
• Landscaped the area outside the master bedroom and the entire slope