Bargain Mansions

Well, let's get after it.

All over Kansas City, there are neglected mansions

that can be bought for a bargain.

The worse they start, the better they end.

It just takes a little imagination

and a whole lot of hard work

to bring these tired houses back to life.

This is fabulous.

Oh, wow.

With my dad, Ward, by my side,

It's so beautiful. I like it.

We're helping clients design and transform these houses...

- I'm in heaven. -

I love it!

...into stunning forever homes.

I'm in South Leawood, which is about as far south

as you can go in the metro Kansas City area.

And the houses out here are in great neighborhoods

and people stay here a really long time and they don't sell.

So, when you find one that's a good deal,

you've gotta scoop it up.

I'm not surprised this homeowner found this one

and decided to take it on.

The problem is Christie bought this house,

got into the demo and is just overwhelmed.

So, I'm coming in to help Christie

with her house and get it over the finish line.

Hey, Christie, how's it going?

Hey, how are you?

Good. It's so good to see you.

You, too.

Oh, my gosh, I can't wait to see this.

- I'm so excited. - Right?

My name is Christie Glenn and I live in Overland Park, Kansas.

I was born and raised here.

I have driven by this house for years.

Loved it. Thought it was amazing.

My vision of, like, the perfect home.

My husband passed away and my daughters,

Logan and Grace and I just wanted a fresh start.

So, I was wanting to do something

that would make them feel that we were in a new place

with a new outlook on life.

So, this house came on the market.

I fell in love with it, they fell in love with it.

The timing was great.

So, when we first walked in the house,

it was very, very choppy,

and so the first thing I wanted to do was open it up.

Once I did that, I kind of got overwhelmed

and wasn't sure of how to lay everything out.

So, having Tamara come in and help with all that

is very important to me.

Can't wait to see what she does with it.

The outside of the house is really pretty.

I love the outside and that's what drew me to it originally.

This home is a four-bedroom, four-bath

traditional stone house built in 1973.

It's 4,600 square feet over two levels.

Christie purchased the house for about $720,000,

which is a great price for a neighborhood

where most homes are well into the 900s.

And she set aside a budget of $300,000 for renovations.

Tell me, what are you thinking for the house?

Wanting it to be light.

So, we just need to come up with a color palette.

There's a lot of colors going on here.

I would like it to be one color,

and then maybe highlighting the shutters with a different color.

Okay. All of this landscaping done.

I can imagine lots of great plants out here.

- It's going to be fantastic. - Yeah.

I'm excited to see what's inside.

- Let's go take a peek. - Okay.

Oh, my gosh.

The outside is stunning, but this is exciting.

It is awesome.

There's so much potential here.

The first floor of this house has a living room, a kitchen,

and an informal dining room plus a mudroom off the garage.

I love this intentional space right here.

This feels really nice and comfortable.

It looks like you've vaulted this already.

Yes, it was low ceiling,

and we just wanted it to be open.

This is a perfect spot

- for a beautiful entryway light. - Yes.

Right here, this feels like a cozy little sitting area.

I mean, great wall for a statement piece of art.

I just want it to be comfortable and cozy.

So, that's what I'm thinking in here.

Oh, my gosh, the floors are great!

- I hope we can refinish these... - Yeah.

...and do it throughout the entire area.

It'll look gorgeous.

- Yeah, absolutely. - Okay, so what about in here?

These are new headers, it looks like.

- So, we took out walls... - 'Kay.

- ...so, we had to bring these huge beams in... - Yes.

- ...to support... - Everything.

We've completely opened it up.

So much better.

This is an amazing space.

- I'm guessing this is kitchen. - Absolutely.

Family area, it's really dark in here,

but I'm envisioning a lot of light

coming into this space, big fireplace.

So, it looks like you've taken the fireplace out.

The original one wasn't really the taste that I'm going for.

What I would like to do is just do

a really pretty mantel.

I just want it to be something

for the holidays we can decorate.

We always like to have a fire going,

- so, I want this to be kind of a focus point. - Mmm-hmm. Okay.

If we're taking all this out, let's start from scratch

and not have a hearth that's built up...

- Absolutely. I agree. - ...take it all the way to the floor

and make it just as big of a firebox as you can.

Love that.

I like the flow through 'cause, I mean,

you're going to be sitting here watching shows, sitting by the fire,

but then you've got the kitchen right off it,

so, while you're fixing dinner...

Right, so, I'm not removed.

Yeah, you're still a part of everything.

Assuming a big Island.

Yes, big island to entertain with,

but I don't want anything in it.

Great workspace for prep, all that kind of stuff

- and just sitting, hanging out. - Yes.

So, I mean, you can easily get...

...four, maybe even five seats here.

- Yes. - Who is it you're cooking for?

My mom is Italian.

She cooked nonstop for everybody.

If you came to our house, you had to eat.

- So I kind of want to be the same way. - Right.

That's how I have instilled it with my girls.

- And that's what we do. - And they cook with you.

- Yeah. - That's so fun.

So, let's talk about the placement of everything.

We've got this whole back wall, that's huge.

- We're thinking maybe a sink there. - Yes.

I would love my kitchen sink under the window.

We have a huge backyard, so, I want to be able to look out, see that.

Man, with the plywood covering the windows on the back,

- it is super dark in here right now. - Yes.

I can't wait to pull that off

and put a new window and see that beautiful backyard.

And other than that,

I'm up for whatever your thoughts are.

We'll start in the entryway by refinishing

the Brazilian cherry floors throughout.

In the living room, we'll give the fireplace a stucco treatment

that will go all the way up to the ceiling,

and we'll finish it off with a new mantel.

For the kitchen, we'll rack the two walls

with custom cabinets topped with Italian marble countertops.

Then we'll place a large island

in the center of the room and top it off

with two elegant gold pendant lights.

Let's talk about this beautiful mud space.

- Absolutely. - This is huge.

Yes, we added that, actually.

Yeah, it's awesome.

Like, for such a big house to not have a mud space.

So many people coming in and out,

you don't want all the clutter out there.

- You want to bring it in here. - Right.

Have you ever thought about using this

as the mud space on one side,

like a little mini office on the other?

That would be a great idea.

- Absolutely. - Let's see the dining room.

This is where I envision the kitchen table

because it's obviously right off of the kitchen.

- Right. - Easy access.

- So casual dining. - Very casual.

And then this is extra cool.

Okay. I absolutely adore this.

- Okay. Awesome. - I love it.

I think it's got so much charm,

- just a conversation piece. I think it's precious. - I love that.

You've envisioned yourself here your whole life,

so let's make it your dream.

We have $200,000 for phase one of this project,

which includes the main living areas

plus the exterior of this property.

My plan is to get it done in eight weeks.

Oh, that's a pretty window.

I'm here with my contractor, John.

Since Christie has already demoed the house,

our first project will be getting

the new window installed in the kitchen.

I am so excited to see this actually in place.

Oh, we're hitting some rock over here.

Do you need me... give me a knife.

What's he running, dry wall?

Yeah.