'Good Bones' Season 5 Episode 3: Mom-daughter duo turns an old townhouse into a gorgeous Chelsea-esque flat
Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen Laine bought a duplex-turned-townhome in Old Southside, Indianapolis, which they intend to renovate and sell. They decide on remodeling the left half of the house for the time being, hoping to sell it first so they can use the profits from the sale to renovate the right side. They want to give the home a full-blown Chelsea flat theme with an eclectic feel to resemble the posh New York neighborhood.
The duplex is quaint and devoid of a front yard. This could essentially be the perfect incentive for a prospective buyer to close in on a deal for the house since the exterior would call for zero maintenance fees. Mina and Karen purchased the 1,100 square foot Palmer townhouse for $30,000, comprising three bedrooms, one bathroom and a kitchen. The 'Two Chicks and a Hammer' duo do a quick sweep of the house, examining the details and figuring out what needs to be done away with and what requires refurbishing. While it previously boasted a comfy city vibe, the plan is to transform the left side of the house head to toe into a sophisticated flat right off of the streets of New York.
Major changes to the exterior of the house would include a new coat of paint, while on the inside they plan to take down some of the walls to create an open floor plan on the first floor. Furthermore, they will swap the dining room and kitchen and combine two of the mediocre sized bedrooms on the first floor to make the master suite, complete with a large closet and bathroom. The renovation costs will come up to $125,000, bringing the total investment to $155,000. Mina hopes to list the refurbished house on the market for $180,000, leaving them with a profit of $25,000. The demolition crew takes over as they work according to the drawn-up plans and figure out how to fit a big city style into a small townhouse.
As it turns out, the oak floors that the mother-daughter duo previously intended on saving actually have some damage. They decide to replace the first floor entirely and install a new click and lock flooring. The oak floors on the second-floor look intact and in good condition, so they install a new click and lock flooring over it. The exterior walls of the house are bathed in a gorgeous Tiffany blue shade with complimentary white trims and a darker blue accent for the porch ceiling. For curb appeal, since the house has no front yard, they add some fake shrubs to the pedestrian lining, to give it a faux front-yard look. Karen takes on a DIY project turning a large skeletal door with artistic grills that she finds in the house into a garden feature, making a water fountain for the patio area.
While demolishing the house and checking for the electrical and water lines, the team is faced with an impediment. The sewer line connection on the outside of the house needs to be replaced, which will take the estimated renovation budget up a notch. Nevertheless, it all works out in the end with Mina's brother Thad finding an affordable solution to the problem. The Chelsea flat vibe evokes the theme from the high-end New York neighborhood, well known for its art galleries and eclectic feel, which is exactly what Karen hopes to channel in this home. To get that artsy and elegant finish, they add details with Carrara marble and different pops of color, patterns and textures. All in all, they make sure that they use up every single square inch of the space like a typical New York apartment, both in the exterior and interior. The final renovation costs amounted to $160,000, which brought the total investment to $190,000. Mina listed the remodeled house for $215,000 on the market.
The episode also gives us a sneak-peek into Mina's personal life. Jack is starting to crawl, which is a precious moment for her as a mother. And while her first-born is growing up healthy and rather quickly, Mina and her husband have been trying for baby number two. After months of trying (Mina chronicled her struggle with infertility on her Instagram), the couple decided to seek medical help with conceiving. Mina and Steve approach an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic to discuss her options.