#10: The Barney Project
Norfolk, Virginia
It’s unbelievable to think that our Barney Project flip house is actually our 10th Virginia Beach investment property since starting our business full time. I truly feel like 10 is a big mile stone: double digits! We had a few more house projects prior to moving to Virginia Beach and starting the business but it feels more right…righter… the most right… CORRECT to begin counting our houses post our Virginia move. So from now on I want to start each title of a project with the it’s corresponding flip number.
Barney was a clean and simple house flip. We had a few reasons for staying on a strict budget and also very safe in our design decisions. The most important reason being the area where the house was located. It wasn’t the most prestigious of areas in Norfolk (even though there are brand new construction houses all around the Barney House) and that being said, the ARV (after repair value) wasn’t extremely high. We didn’t want any funny business once it hit the market… meaning we wanted it to sell fast. It took a little over a week to accept an offer (let’s hope the contract does not fall through) which was very reassuring that we chose the correct number for which to put it up on the market.
Starting with the entrance, the house opened up with a fun herringbone pattern entryway. Herringbone is one of my favorite ways to give a house character with very minimal extra cost (just a few more square feet of tile because there is more waste with this pattern). This tile is linked here from Floor & Decor and we used it in The Seaboard 2.0 house as well. It comes in at $1.79 a square foot and gives a wonderful feeling of earthy, almost concrete vibes to the space. Plus the grey is wonderfully neutral.
We chose brush nickel fixtures like this chandelier in the dining room to play another safe card in this house. The overall house colors were mainly grey and white to again remain neutral.
The kitchen cabinets where white to save money and the simple brushed nickel knobs gave the finishing touch to them. I wanted a little more character in the backsplash because the colors and vibes of this house were so neutral that I chose this beveled subway tile from Floor & Decor to add more texture to the walls.
Open shelves are and will always be an amazing character adding and money saving touch to kitchen spaces like corners and above wet bars. You can always play around with the type of brackets you use since there are so many different options and colors. Check out Billy and Ren’s Kitchenette for how we used open shelves and NO upper cabinets for some design inspiration. We also used the same laminate floor in this Barney Project house that we did in Ren and Billy’s project.
Speaking of design inspiration, remember when I said this house was neutral? Well, half way through the design process I couldn’t take it anymore and came across this tile from Floor & Decor and had to install it in our flip. It was too pretty to pass off and also this house needed a “stand out feature.”
When Sean and I were interviewed for Bigger Pockets Rookie Podcast (honestly it still feels like a dream), we talked about our 3 design risk rules. We like to take 3 design risks in our flips in order to stand out to buyers during their home searches and house viewings. Sometimes home buyers feel like they are viewing neutral and bland house after neutral and bland house. We’re finding that when you go out on a limb in a WISE manner, it does pay off and you may sell your house faster. Check out our full Bigger Pockets interview here.
I did not want to forget to mention that the tub and shower were glazed to look brand new. Check out this blog on reglazing to save money in flip house projects (or in your own home!).
I mentioned above that this is the second time we used this light wood laminate floor in a project and we will most likely use a similar one again because we love it so much. I believe the floor is discontinued but here is a link for one similar with a good price point.
It truly is a humbling experience to think that we finally reached double digits with our full time house flips. Two years ago we never would have believed we’d be loving this journey THIS much and creating what we have! WE are blessed beyond measure and I humbly write about our victories to turn our gratitude to where it belongs ^! Thank you again for sticking with us on this journey. We’re humbled by your love and support always!
Ann | DESIGN