Flip 7 Reveal

Just 3 weeks ago, I purchased Flip 7. I purchased this adorable ranch from an elderly couple that had loved it well. In 3 weeks I have purchased, flipped, and got the home under contract to a new buyer. It’s been a fast and very, very furious process.

Only minor, cosmetic updates were needed. The previous owners had put on a metal roof, update the windows/AC/furnace in the last 5ish years. They had also updated the appliances. Since they had tackled the big ticket items, I was able to avoid most big ticket items.

The exterior just needed some TLC. I gave the blonde brick a fresh coat of paint, put new mulch in the existing flower bed, and had the sidewalks powerwashed. I also painted the front door with some leftover paint from Flip 5’s sunroom ceiling. What originally looked like a tired house now has some charming curb appeal.

The main area of the home had original hardwoods. While not in perfect condition, I opted not to have them refinished. Unlike many homes of similar age, the kitchen and living room has an open-concept layout– which makes my job easier! So I updated the walls with my favorite gray paint, ripped up the carpet, and replaced with budget-friendly sheet vinyl.

Flip 7 is a smaller home- less than 1200 square feet. It’s at a very entry level price point, so I didn’t go all out on the finishes. I knew my audience of potential buyers, as well as what is normal for this particular area. Would I normally put sheet vinyl in a flip? No. But in this house, I think it was the best choice.

Although the kitchen is small, I think it had a lot of charm originally. I just wanted to enhance the original charm– like that brick peninsula! Using the same color scheme as I did in the kitchen at Flip 4’s kitchen, I chose a monochromatic gray for the cabinets and walls. I ditched the dated cabinet pulls for some modern, affordable ones I found on Amazon. Rather than having two types of flooring that make the already small space feel smaller, I had the sheet vinyl carried throughout the entire space in hopes of making it feel larger.

For reasons unknown, they had carpet in the eat-in kitchen area. And obviously, it was filthy! PSA- Carpet in or around a kitchen is always a bad idea! But luckily, it’s also an easy fix! And I wanted to create a little more character in the small kitchen. The brick peninsula went a long way to create character, but I wanted to pack some punch in the design, and I knew a really affordable way to do that!

Faux shiplap is available at Home Depot. You may recall I used the barnwood shiplap at Flip 4 in the master bathroom. This time I chose the preprimed normal shiplap, but I gave it a coat of Coventry Gray paint. And the best part? I didn’t have to peel off any of that striped wallpaper! I nailed the shiplap right over the wallpaper! Win!

Honestly I didn’t have to do much to the kitchen to make it shine. It was in good shape. The countertops weren’t my first choice, but they were in good shape, so I kept them. With some fresh paint, new hardware, and an updated [thrifted] light, the room transformed!

The kitchen didn’t originally have a backsplash, and I didn’t have a budget for one, so I had to get super creative. I’ve done DIY backsplashes before, but I didn’t have a few hundred to spend. So I got creative! I purchased some peel & stick brick pattern wallpaper at Target for $30, and I had it installed in a few hours. It was the easiest thing to install– way better than the old school wallpaper! And you can’t beat a $30 backsplash!

One of my favorite transformations in this house was the main bathroom. A little cosmetic work, and it completely transformed! I had leftover tile from the One Room Challenge, and rather than replicating the herringbone pattern, I chose a standard brick pattern and used the same grout. Since the vanity was solid wood and in good shape, I kept it and updated it with some Coventry Gray paint and brass knobs. I replaced the mirror with a Target score and an affordable brass faucet from Home Depot, and I finished it off with a light from Amazon. The bathroom looks so much brighter now! I love this affordable transformation!

Even though this is a smaller house, one of the really nice features is that it has two living areas. The main living room is one, but the additional sunroom living area is perfect to function as a game room or media room! Again, just a little TLC transformed the room!

If the floors look familiar, it’s because they’re the same floors from Flip 4! We bought the entire bulk for a huge discount when we purchased the flooring for Flip 4. We were able to get three houses out of that one purchase!

The 3rd room was so bizarre! It was a dungeon with the dark, knotty pine paneling, and there was absolutely no light in the room. And even though it clearly functioned as a bedroom, we couldn’t officially call it a bedroom since it lacked a closet.

But boy can paint do wonders! Rather than doing a traditional paint job on the paneling, I had my painter do a whitewash. I wanted to keep the rustic feel the knotty pine brought to the room, but I also wanted to brighten up the space. The whitewash was a perfect compromise. With minimal staging, I was able to portray this smaller room as an ideal office. And since this space doesn’t have central heat/air vents in it (and was impossible to add), I brought in a portable electric fireplace I got on Wayfair to add heat to the room. I opted to keep the AC unit in the wall so that the space can now be heated & cooled.

The last order of business in this room was to make it a bedroom! So I knocked out the shelves and had a closet built in its place. It’s not a huge closet, but it’s a closet! And, of course, I always add a barn door.

And the additional two bedrooms got a little paint and new carpet, and they were looking sharp!

I know you’re judging me right now. Yes, I did in fact cover up hardwoods with carpet. It’s a mortal design sin, but the hardwoods were in too bad of shape to keep, and at this price point, it didn’t make sense financially to have them restored. So I put carpet over them…and then begged the design gods to spare me bad karma!

But honestly, my most favorite transformation in this house is the little powder room off the 2nd living area. It was so bizarre previously. It had carpet. It had zero outlets. It had zero light switches. It had a shelf on the wall that extended halfway over the toilet, so you had to sit at an angle on the toilet so you didn’t hit your head. It was just so, so weird. I’ve been dying to try a board & batten DIY project for a long time, and I thought this small room was the perfect place to try– and it was a flipping success! So easy & affordable…and I did it all myself! I picked up a space saver toilet, a clearance vanity, a new mirror & light, and slapped some paint on the walls, and this room was done!

I think I may do more board & batten! I’m hooked!

I think this is the most precious little house. I hope the buyer loves it…and I hope nothing bad happens to the contract in place! That’s always my fear with flipping– buyers are so, so fickle.

And just like that, I have 7 flips in the book. I never imagined I’d have this many. Life is funny like that, right? Each one brings hurdles, headaches & curse words. But each one has brought me another level of financial independence– and for that, I’m grateful!