Today we feature a Phoenix home that has gone through several transformations (one bad, one good).
Here’s the house when it sold in 2004. Looking good. Well cared for.
And how it looked in 2011. Neglected. An investor bought it from the bank for $66,000.
It was spruced up and sold in 2012 for $175,000.
Front porch in 2012.
The back yard was a garden paradise in 2004.
How it looks in 2012. Not as nice as 2004, but…
This is what they had to work with in 2011.
And now in 2012.
Another view of the back porch in 2012.
The kitchen from 2004 and 2011. Avocado green appliances!
The kitchen in 2012.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Melykin // Apr 14, 2012 at 3:42 pm
It was a really nice place in 2004, even with the green stove and sink. You could see someone really loved that garden and spent a lot of time caring for it. I hope the people who sold it in 2004 moved far away so they didn’t have to see what happened to their lovely garden.
2 TLynn // Apr 14, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Is it me or do all the kitchens in renovated houses look the same? Stainless steel, granite, Stainless steel, granite…..
3 Picky // Apr 14, 2012 at 5:56 pm
@Melykin - I agree. I hope the former owners never saw what has happened.
@TLynn - It isn’t just you. Bet the power companies love these renovators. Got to have lots of lights on day and night just to be able to see. The colors just suck up the light.
@ Leif - What happened to the window over the kitchen sink? And who thought Halloween Orange bricks were the way to go on the patio?
This one had real potential but it looks too much like Design on a Dime. $175,000? Really?!
4 Murphy // Apr 14, 2012 at 8:13 pm
The 2004 back yard shows how great you can make it look with container gardening.
5 ELF // Apr 14, 2012 at 8:40 pm
TLynn, I agree. I think the “before” kitchen had a neat retro look. Some of us like that MUCH better than yet more stainless steel and granite. Give me some character!
6 cregazw // Apr 14, 2012 at 10:37 pm
I like the outside now. I do miss the window awning. Could have changed the fabric color to update it. Also the front window by door should have been a tad more dramatic. It looks smaller and just a very simple bedroom window. So that’s a ‘miss’ for me. Not sure I’m a fan of the Orange walkway in backyard. Also those Pigmy Palms against back sunroom are Never going to fit there when they grow up. Pretty now, but will have to be removed in 6 years.
Overall Nice.
7 Mac // Apr 15, 2012 at 7:54 pm
I’d push that blindingly-white new portable kitchen island off a cliff first thing. Need to tone it down a few watts.
8 Matt C // Apr 15, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Sure, it looks new, but that’s it. No character to that home at all. They should have blended some of its existing charm and just spruced it up a bit.
9 Jozef // Apr 15, 2012 at 8:45 pm
I prefer the 2004 look, both inside and out. Now it just looks like any other cookie cutter house.
10 Nancy // Apr 16, 2012 at 3:41 pm
I’m in agreement with other posters here that granite and stainless are boring, and IMHO is now a decorating cliche. I’m restoring a Mid Century home, and would love to have those avocado appliances to work with! They are period accurate for the house, and with some well chosen modern elements it could look both trendy but with personality and a cool vintage vibe. What it to blame for all this cookie cutter remodeling? Cable home improvement shows or national “big box” stores?
11 mimi // Apr 17, 2012 at 7:18 am
Nancy, I agree! The only problem here though, is old and clean=antique charm, old and dirty=teardown material, unfortunately. Hopefully they donated that stuff to the restore. And yes, I think H&G TV is paid for by advertisers to plop down needless expensive upgrades.
12 mimi // Apr 17, 2012 at 7:21 am
I’m going to chime in again to say that probably avocodo green appliances were the unnecessary upgrades back then.
13 Mary // Jun 14, 2012 at 12:42 pm
The house is tacky and cheap looking. The front of the house is ugly now. It is so plain, and the red chairs, eww. Are they plastic? And do they want you to follow the orange brick road? Tacky! I hate stainless steel appliances. I had a refrigerator like that one, I was so happy when it quit. They are hard to keep clean, and keep smudges off of. You have to polish it all the time. What’s up with that cart in the kitchen? It looks out of place. Did they let a clueless teenager renovate this place? I hate it!
14 Greeney // Feb 14, 2013 at 9:18 pm
It looked gorgeous in 2004 with the awnings and the hedge. The outside looks horrible now. It’s barren and cheap looking. They replaced the windows with smaller plainer ones and killed all plant life. It should be a crime to do ugly rents.
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