My 1914 Bungalow
Built in 1914 ~ Renovated in 2017 until Present Day
During the spring of 2017, I was working on The Harris Home which was right beside the cutest little bungalow that had seen better days. I'm always on the look-out for investment properties, especially in Hampton Heights, so I knew the property had gone through the foreclosure process and would soon be up for sale. So, I watched and waited until one day I noticed a crew clearing out the house. After convincing them to let me take a peek inside, I was immediately smitten. Even with all of the trash and bad smells, severely outdated kitchen and bathroom, strange lay-out, and the back porch ceiling falling in, I knew I was interested in purchasing the house.
At the time, I had only been in my (then) current home for a little under two years, so I really had no intentions of moving again so quickly. However, by the time I got to the back of the house, and then saw the jungle of a back yard, I knew this was going to be my next home. Here's why...
1. First, I loved the back yard and the size of the lot. Working in the yard is like therapy for me and I always like to have room for my dogs to run and play. Even with the overgrown lot, I could immediately see the potential. Immediately I had the back yard cleared and then seeded, added a fence for the dogs, and then had a new concrete parking pad poured in front of the garage. Over the next few years I worked on landscaping, updating the exterior of the garage to match the main house and added a pergola, and converted the smaller storage building into my office. I spend the most amount of time here.
2. Second, even though the back porch was completely dilapidated, it was still in a position to hold a great screened-in porch along the back of the house. I love screened porches and had never had the opportunity to add one to any of my previous personal homes so this was a big selling point for me.
3. And last but not least, I knew it would be a smart financial decision. Because it was a foreclosure, I was able to purchase the house at a really low price and because I didn't go completely overboard during the renovation, it has turned out to be a good investment. In an effort to make this the last stop for a while (I've been known to house hop over the years), I did go ahead and make a couple of upgrades including adding stairs to the spacious attic with plans on converting it to livable space down the road and building a new addition to the back of the house (where the screened porch is now).
The trade-off in doing a lot of the work on my own, along with the help of some of my family, is that it took a little longer to complete. I work on my own home in between other projects so that's just how it goes. I moved in on December 1, 2017 because I had all of the necessities: one working bathroom, heat/air, refinished hardwood floors, a refrigerator, and a fenced in back yard for the dogs. Everything else is optional for me. The house is essentially completed(as of January 2021 although I'll always have a project, or two, in the works but this is hands down my favorite house and renovation project. But of course, I always say that.
To see what project I'm working on next, be sure to follow along on social media, especially IG stories.
My 1914 Bungalow Gallery
Here's a more in-depth look at some of the spaces!
The Family Room
The Exterior
Master Bathroom
She Shed Office
