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Lately, things have been tough for “Windy City Rehab” star Alison Victoria. As if she didn’t already have enough on her plate with high-stress Chicago flips, she and business partner Donovan Eckhardt have been making headlines for their legal troubles. Now, in Season 2 of the show, viewers get to see the drama between Victoria and Eckhardt unfold.
In the episode “Bridgeport or Bust,” the two are still working together, but tensions are sky-high. Victoria decides to renovate a home in the Bridgeport neighborhood. However, Eckhardt knows that this tiny home will fetch only a small profit.
As a result, Eckhardt ends up dramatically walking away midproject, leaving Victoria to finish the renovation herself. So can she?
Read on to find out whether Victoria pulls it off, and learn some smart tactics you might be inspired to try in your own home, too.
Make a big shower seem bigger with the right tile
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In this small home, there’s little room for mistakes. So Victoria has to make sure that she uses her budget, and the space, wisely.
One way she does this is by giving this small house a big master shower. Victoria knows that buyers love large showers, so she prioritizes shower space, borrowing from the rest of the bathroom.
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Then, she makes this already large shower, with double shower heads, seem even bigger by installing chic black tile with an arrow design, which brings the eye up.
“I knew going to the ceiling with the tile was going to really make an impact,” Victoria says when the tile is installed. “It feels cathedral-like.”
The result is a gorgeous shower buyers will love—and a smart use of space.
The right colors can make a kitchen seem spacious
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This home’s living space is all about the big kitchen, so it’s important that it look great. With a custom hood and French doors leading to the family room, the space has a lot of great details. But perhaps Victoria’s best style decision is the cabinet color.
“I went with a soft green color, because it gives the kitchen a more neutral look,” Victoria says, pointing out that this light tone will feel inviting.
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Of course, Victoria is right on her paint color choice. The subtle green keeps the kitchen feeling bright and big while still making the space feel unique. It has the airy feel of a white kitchen, but with more personality.
Focus on the yard to make a small home feel larger
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Victoria knows that this home is small, but luckily, the backyard is huge. So she decides to bring attention outside by adding a mini putting green.
“It’s just something totally different, and I think different is good,” Victoria says.
The putting green is a fun, inexpensive way to pull attention to the large yard. It also gives the home extra personality. After all, it’s almost certainly the only house on the block with its own golf course!
Use the space under the stairs
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Victoria knows that she needs to use all the space in this small home in order for the home to be fully functional. So she gets smart with the empty space under the stairs, adding pantry storage as well as a coffee bar.
This storage and dry bar already add major value, but their perfection comes from Victoria’s intentional design.
“We brought in the paint color from the fireplace and also the stain from the floor,” Victoria says.
In the end, the pantry and coffee bar look perfect in the living space. And they help this small house function a bit better.
A stained-glass detail will add classic charm
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While Victoria spends much of her renovation budget trying to make this house seem larger, she also wants to help it regain some of its vintage charm.
She gets the idea to create an elegant transom, which features the house number, out of stained glass.
“That transom has to be something cool,” she says when designing the stained-glass window. “I want something new that looks old.”
Once installed, the transom looks beautiful. Victoria loves it, saying that it “looks like it’s been there forever.”
How does this ‘Windy City Rehab’ end up?
While renovating a small home should be a straightforward endeavor for Victoria, this project is fraught with drama—and ends up costing much more than Victoria imagined.
Victoria had bought the property for $260,000, and while she had expected to spend $400,000 on renovations, it ends up costing $515,000 to get this house finished. She ends up selling it for $790,000, which means she’s left with just $15,000.
It’s a small profit, but Victoria proves that she’s able to finish this renovation on her own.
The post Is Alison Victoria of ‘Windy City Rehab’ a Better House Flipper Alone? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
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