Forty years earlier, this duplex was purchased for 30k. The owner was ready to cash out: buy a new home with half of his earning and pocket the other half. Both the interior and exterior were in significant disrepair and completely packed with the owner’s personal artwork among many other things.
Despite being completely packed, the home had beautiful original features. The focus was to keep the authentic charm as much as possible and reuse whatever was salvageable; existing wood floors were cleaned up and refinished, the fireplaces were updated, large glass windows, skylights, and vaulted ceilings were highlighted, classic built-ins and trim throughout were repaired, and the clawfoot tub reglazed. Additional bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry were included by digging out the dirt basements on each side.
Because the property already had two separate addresses, it was easily split into two separate homes with individual lot descriptions, allowing us to sell them as two individual assets. In the end, both units had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, with laundry rooms, sizable backyards, and garage parking with alley access.
The retro stove found a home, too! It was bought by an individual who uses it in his vacation rentals (see pic).
