You’re getting the very first look at the Dallas home we’re about to tear apart. We’ve always documented new construction… but now we’re diving into a full renovation, and this house is packed with strange 80s decisions and layout choices that make zero sense. This is the full before walkthrough before we start demo.
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QUESTION — What’s the first thing you would change in this house?
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⏰ Timecodes ⏰
0:00 – Intro + Why We’re Renovating
0:42 – Main Living Area Walkthrough
1:55 – Office, Dining Room & Layout Issues
3:18 – Primary Bedroom
4:42 – Primary Bathroom
5:56 – 67 Windows + Garages
7:15 – Bonus Room, Guest Suite & Jack-and-Jill
8:36 – Kitchen Plans + Fireplace Decision Help
9:52 – Backyard, Pool, Truck Parking & Secret Garden
11:10 – Outro + What’s Coming Next!
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Tell them, you’re getting the first look at a house that we’re about to rip to shreds. Okay, so if you know our story, we’re usually new construction. We documented our new construction house from the beginning to end. But now, since we live in Dallas, Texas, we’re forced to do this renovation, so you’re the first to see it. Now, don’t judge. We have a lot of work to do. I think that’s the point. Let’s challenge. I already know everyone’s going to say how much they love this open concept. This is the definition of open concept. I don’t think it gets any more open concept than this. All right, let me know your first initial reaction as soon as you walk into this main area. Are you a fan or do you absolutely hate this right now? Let us know in the comments. I’m dying to see what everyone’s initial reaction is. So, we’re just going to show you from the front and walk all the way through. All right. So, do the turn, Kippy. And then if you look off to the right, that’s the dining room, obviously. And then as you turn to the left, this is going to be Kippy’s office. She already has big plans for the fireplace. And you can see there’s plenty of room there. And then these double doors. Lots of possibilities here. We’re kind of unsure how we’re going to pull this off, but um just walk in here. And I already know what you’re going to say. The first thing that has to go is this right here. Yes, I agree. Why does it have to go? Cuz it just ruins the flow of the I don’t even have a good answer, but like I do. So, the original homeowner said that they liked to have it because they like to keep it separate. However, when I am standing on that second floor, I cannot stand to see the top of this. Um, and I think it’ll just be really cool to open up the whole thing, make it even more open concept. Right. I agree. So, right now we’re just going to do the initial tour to just give you a rundown. So, I guess we’ll go primary. Yeah, sure. All right. Wait till you see the primary. You are going to rip us to shreds here. Bathroom. She’s a little This is not primary bathroom. This is halt bathroom. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, shower. Lots of cracking in the floor. Here’s the primary. Just kidding. This is like a We’re going to use it for like storage, I think. It’s just so small. I guess it’s supposed to be a guest room, but I don’t know. You put like a twin in here or something if you want to punish somebody. Kippy, hurry up. Let’s show primary. It’s just too good to Okay, here she is. We have lots of questions. First is this bumpout. Why is it here? We’ll show you on the outside. It makes zero sense what’s here. And then actually, I’m just going to get right to it. Kippy, point up there. Okay, come on. Let’s go. Exactly what you think it is. They’re dying to know. Freaking sweet carpet staircase. It’s open to the living room. There is zero divide. So, you can hear everyone snoring on this side when you’re here in the living room. I don’t know what we’re going to do with this area up here, but I do know the first thing we’re going to do, which is block off this side. We, this was our debate in the very beginning was like, do we put a wall here or do we put a wall here? But then I’m thinking, why would you get rid of this railing for that? But let me know if you disagree cuz I think that’s the best move is that wall. Yeah, that’s a hard one. Lots of bookshelves. Look. And then of course, yeah, this sweet carpeting on top of that bumpout. Are we keeping it? And could we put Oh my god, she’s stout. So, this is where I This is where I was thinking I could put a mattress and then I could just sleep here. So, if we decide to keep this now that I know you can get over there, you’re going to vacuum that, right? We need some shag carpeting. All right. That is weird. Okay, you get over there. No, it’s never happening. Here’s my favorite part, and I’ve never seen it before. It is a luxurious blinds in the shower. Go on, get in there. I’m good. I can see it from here. So, yes, we have lots of exciting things that are going to happen in this primary bathroom. I love the vault, though. That’s pretty cool. And then here’s the closet. As you can imagine, we have plenty to work with here. Get all the storage action going. I don’t know, maybe we can um get with a company that can get all of get us all set up with some good storage. Mhm. Anyone? Anyone? So, if you guys haven’t noticed yet, this house is windows galore. How many windows, Kippy? There are currently 67 windows in this house and every single one of them needs to be replaced. Yeah, you can see they’re all white and fogged up. So, right off of the living room, we have a beverage bar, but since Kippy can’t drink anymore because she’s a Lush, we’re going to have to turn it into a coffee bar. And then right off of the kitchen, laundry. And then this is my favorite part, the garage. So you got your twocar here and then a separate garage here that I can use for all my goodies without getting in the way of Kippy’s where she parks her car. She’s very particular about keeping her area clean where the car is. She looks nice and sweet, particular, but she’s aggressive. All I want in a garage is a car, nothing else. She’s a freak. Um, and it turns out back in the 80s, cuz this house was built in the 80s, they built under stair storage. Look at that. Okay, we’re definitely going to keep this carpeting on the stairs. Okay, bonus. Mhm. We have ideas for Murphy beds that are going to come off the wall. All sorts of stuff. So, if you’re not subscribed, definitely subscribe now because I’m going to be leaning heavily on everybody in the comments to help us make some of these design decisions. But, uh, yeah, it’s going to be incredible. So, uh, bonus room, and then off into here is going to be a separate bedroom that has their own bathroom. It’s almost just like its own little suite area, linen closet. And what’s cool about this one is the windows suck. They’re kind of foggy, but you’re overlooking right into the pool, which is nice. So, you can see me sunbathing in my weenie bikini walk-in closet. And this is cool. So you have like the catwalk that goes around and all these little yellow notes. Kippy, she’s already got wall sconces figured out. Look at all these windows, man. Crazy. All right, so this is a Jack and Jill. So this leads to a bedroom. This leads to a bedroom. You come in here and now we have bedroom closet. One sink into the Jack and Jill. And then this sink’s a little bit larger. And then back over here brings you out to the main living area. And that’s what Kippy was talking about it sticking out. And it drives you crazy when you’re kind of like looking down. So as we look down, we’re thinking just pushing the whole kitchen over to where if you can see that door over there almost butdding up to the door. And that will allow the kitchen to be centered on the living room area where the fireplace is. And boy, do we need some help. Like, okay, while we’re here, let’s just talk about it. Fireplace. What are we going to do with the fireplace? Kippy hates the color. She wants to change it. So, we just need all the ideas. How are we going to do this? And then also the wood paneling. Obviously going to get painted. But what about these beams overhead? Love them, but we kind of want to keep that natural color, just not the old shiny. I don’t know. any tips you guys have to repurpose these and make them look good without painting them. We want to keep that wood look. So, please help us. Okay, so we’ll go back down and then check out the outside real quick. This is the fastest house tour on earth. And the whole idea being that we just want to give you a quick rundown and then follow on videos. We’re going to be very specific on how we’re tackling each task and project. After you, my lady. primary bedroom door and then that is a door to that first hall bathroom that we saw. Are we giving people exact instructions on how to rob us? Um, probably, but bring it. Okay, so here’s the rundown of the outside. So, we have our pool after we had an inspection. Everything’s looking pretty good out here. Nothing really too crazy that’s going to need attention other than this siding and the windows, of course. It kind of it’s a lot when you start looking at it. So, um, what I’m what we’re going to do is we’re going to share all financials. So, anything that we spend, you’re going to see it as we go along. So, again, make sure you’re subscribed so you’re seeing all the progress as we move along. So, backyard awesome tree. Okay, I just got to say this real quick. Kippy’s going to fight me on it. But, dude, we are going to actually put a stand here to jump off into the pool because look how deep it is. I don’t know if you can tell, but that pool is extremely deep. So, I need to feel young again. So, we need stuff like that in the yard. Okay. So, coming out here, this is the driveway. And you have the two-car garage. Stink. Stinky. The onecar garage. And this is my favorite part. We have yet to find this at any house that we’ve looked at. This area right here, cuz I need a place to park my truck. It’s too tall to fit in like a regular garage. So, I don’t know. We got to do something with this gas pipe because it’s definitely in the way. But, uh, this little spot right here is going to be nice. And I’m going to have to go battle the HOA to let me put an overhang or something to park it under. One more spot in the backyard that I think you’re going to like. Probably. It will be one of my favorites. It’s the secret garden, which I have always wanted my whole life. So, here is there’s the living room. This is the kitchen window, which is probably it’s gonna have some modifications, no doubt about, but yeah, it’s overlooking all this amazing like courtyard. What do you think, Kippy? I know you got something brewing. No, I love it. I’m thinking um rose bushes and stuff like that. The only only only downside is HVAC units. Oo, I didn’t think about that. When they kick on that’ll be kind of annoying, but it’ll still be pretty out here. Never mind. Let’s Let’s get rid of it. I know. piece of Are we locked out? Probably. Yeah, we got to go around. All right. Well, hey, that’s it. Kippus is freezing to death. So, we’re going to go ahead and end this. But make sure you’re subscribed, following along because we’re going to share everything. Everything that we’re doing, all the financial stuff, so you can see all the ups and downs. I’m going to guess there’s going to be a lot of downs, but we’re going to share it all and uh hopefully it’ll help you guys. And we really need your help making decisions along the way. So yeah, we’ll see you on the next one.
26 Comments
🙋♂Want more home building tips and ideas? They’re organized in a checklist here: https://builderbrigade.com
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too much openness for me.
Nora fan of the open concept floor plans.
Primary 🙄
You should consider reconfiguring the space.
It's difficult to get an overview of the exact layout, but instead of a wall between living room and the master, build a ceiling/floor as you don't need that tall ceilings in a bedroom and you get a lot of extra square ft. that can used for a new room and/or you can keep it open to the living room to keep it connected. The bonus room area overlooking the pool could be combined to one big master suite with big bathroom and closets. It's nice to have the master bedroom for the parents to be by itself and not up against the kids rooms etc.
I have under stairs storage and my house was built in 1910. 😊
Oh no, you really have an HOA? How will that affect your plans? Do they need to approve your renovation?
Yikes, wish you the best
FYI the proper terminology is master bathroom/bedroom not primary master bathroom/bedroom
So excited to watch the transformation!
I like it! But it also looks like a lot of work with updating it. Its a lot of dark wood.
I kinda hate this house
Love the house
First impression: a basketball court and a colonial style home had a baby.
The foyer is pretty, but the front door is tiny.
It'll take a lot to fix that kitchen. The refrigerator and half of the cabinets are in that peninsula wall and you've got a doorway to the dining room taking up the wall space on the remaining wall. It looks like your only realistic option is to lose those floor to ceiling windows between the kitchen cabinets and the exterior door, as you suggest. While you're at it, you probably want to double the width of the island, as the cooktop is taking up half of what's there already, and you'll want to put some stools on the great room side of the island.
Don't paint the wood! While it's out of fashion right now, wood will undoubtedly make a come-back. Lighten it up by either bleaching it, or knock down the "shine" by sanding it and applying a matte finish clear urethane.
You can put wood, tile, marble, granite, or faux stone over the brick of the fireplace. Not a terrible project, but you'll need to put anchors on the brick to hold whatever you're putting over it. I have an old colonial where they plastered the brick down to the mantle. The mantle has wood sides that go to the ground, so very little brick is visible. With all the wood you have on that wall, you could probably do a large picture framed wood panel to cover the upper area down to the mantle.
That is some expensive woodwork. Maybe live w. it for a while first. The last thing you want is to demo and then end up regretting it later.
Absolutely hate it! It makes me think of a church with that wood paneling.
I hate the house. Enjoy the grind. 😂😂
Sand, strip, or degloss the wood trim. Dont paint. That's the best part of the house. Those are some FUGLYwindows ! I love windows but those openings look like an office building. I would reduce the openings where there is no brick exerior andopt for a double or triple doube hung instead of the wall o glass. Close in some of those railings- it looks like an 1860s brothel.
As long as structural checks out, and no cracks or rot. Good buy. Dallas has some interesting architecture. Maybe the wood gallery will take all the stain grade off your hands.
Lime wash, or slurry the brick fireplace
This house looks like a sad money pit.
Plenty of places to build if you're willing to go outside the city. We built our dream home in Frisco in 2019, and our son & DIL are building in Celina right now.
Love it. So many opportunities. All those windows are great. You both have a great canvas to work with. Well done.
This house is so cool. Definitely needs work, but this place is going to be epic! As someone who has been in a similar position with my house, my biggest suggestion will be to resist the temptation to ditch all of the darker wood elements. I've been introducing dark wood into my home and everyone absolutely loves it. You can certainly overdo it, but there's a place for it. I tend to go with a darker espresso color. Last year I replaced all of my interior doors with solid wood stained doors. The surrounding casing is all painted white, but then I have door-matching trim (like chair rail) coming into it. It looks absolutely stunning. I also have wood beams contrasted with the bright white ceiling.
I’m from Dallas, and I’m trying to figure out where this could be. It reminds me of some 1980’s houses in the South garland area. You’ve got your work cut out for you. I’m sure it will be great.