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The Pink House Remodel: Chapter 1

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Where do I begin? This past two months have been a complete whirlwind with selling our house, remodeling our temporary home, moving and closing on our new house! When I last updated you here on the blog, we had sold our house and we were figuring out where to go next. We had been keeping a close eye on the market in our area and looking for another house to remodel. Since it was around the holidays, there wasn’t much on the market, not to mention there were no deals. And of course with what we do, we love/need a good deal. My husband suggested that we look outside our “bubble” at other areas for an opportunity. It made me slightly nervous because do we really want to drive very far to get the kids to all of their activities? But then, we looked at this one…


And we knew. She was it. Well, she was it or her sister down the block. My husband preferred the sister. I preferred her. Guess who won?  We closed on the “pink house” (she’s an interesting shade of mauve) on 1/17/17 (my lucky numbers) and immediately started demo. In the meantime, we needed a place to live, so we decided the timing was good to kick out the renters (just kidding… they were month to month and we gave them fair warning) and move into our little rental house while we renovate the “pink house”. We decided that we are going to sell the rental (we’ve owned it for 11 years) when the new house is ready, so we did a quick update before we moved in and it turned out super cute! (You may have seen a few pics on instagram) I’ll share the details when we have it photographed to sell. So, we will move into the house we are renovating once it’s ready (hoping for late March), but get this… I don’t think we are going to be there very long. It’s going to be a good 20-25 minute drive to school/sports/friends and well, that just doesn’t sound like much fun. So, we may be there a year or two, or maybe shorter. Or, maybe we’ll love the house and the area so much out there that we will stay. You just never know with us!


Not only is the “pink house” a lovely shade of mauve, but so is the diagonal ombre bathroom tile, sinks and bathtub! Wow! I promise these will be the best before and after photos of the whole house. Just wait! This fireplace wall is going to be spectacular too. I just have to figure out what to do with it.


So, for the past few weeks, I have been looking for all of my inspiration and ideas. SO MUCH pressure. Yes, it’s super fun to pick out everything little thing for your dream home but it’s lot of work and stress too! Decisions, decisions. So here is my inspiration board…

image sources: bathroom vanities |  exterior  |  wood shelf  |  staircase 1  | staircase 2  |  bathroom 1  |  bathroom 2  |  fireplace 1  |  fireplace 2

I’m obsessed. 

Mediterranean Style House Exterior - Black and WhiteThe first decision? Exterior paint. We’re taking the “pink house” and turning it into the “white house” and I’m so happy! I was debating about going with black or dark brown trim at the roof line, and we decided on brown, just to keep it flowing with the rest of the Arizona brown style homes in the area. I will have the front door and garage doors painted dark, as well. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the HOA thinks this is a good idea, too!

I am super excited to share this journey with you! Would you guys like to see more of the before images and the entire remodel process? Let me know in the comments what you want to see/know and I’ll be sure to share more!

February 15, 2017

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  1. Nikki Sharma says:

    So excited for you Kim! Can’t wait to see you weave your magic on this typical AZ house! I met you while you were selling your previous house and am really looking forward to when you will be ready to design my house. 🙂 🙂 Congratulations and good luck!

  2. Tina Dahl says:

    I know “she” will turn out so fabulous! I cannot wait to see the magic happen when you remodel this already gorgeous home….save for the mauve and pink! Have so much fun!!! XOXO

  3. ELISE LANEY says:

    Kim, I would love to see the WHOLE project! The before, during, and after will be so exciting to see. 🙂

  4. Laura says:

    So exciting Kim!!! Love reading about your remodeling! So much fun! I absolutely love your new website too!! It is fantastic!!

  5. Jill Hosac says:

    So fun, and not without some stress here and there;) I’m with ya there. Check out Iron Ore for the trim. We’ve done it on a few homes now, with white body. Very French chateau, modern! Sure whatever you do will look awesome.

  6. valori p says:

    It’s difficult to be a black and white decor girl in a neighborhood of typical Arizona brown exteriors! Excited to follow your progress!

  7. Lina says:

    Az sure likes its drywall shelves and niches doesn’t it!? We demo-ed our whole fireplace wall and shelves last week to redo it in wood molding. So excited. Congrats on the new home! Everything you do is beautiful.

  8. Joanna says:

    We built a house with similar colors this year and I love it. Beautiful inspiration board!

  9. Carie says:

    You must post before and after pics please ??. I’m waiting for you guys to get your own flip or flop show on HGTV. I love love love Chip and Joanna Gaines show. You are next up ??.

  10. Stephanie, says:

    Where is it? I wanna see it in real life!!!! 🙂

  11. Candi says:

    Please post all the stages as you go! I love watching the transformations. I remember when you had your first house off of Val Vista. Jackson home I believe. You’re so talented and have the “magic” touch. It will be stunning no doubt.

  12. Monica says:

    Absolutely! We too landed an outdated (1999 ) house this past June and have a list of projects! Hoping to find more inspiration. Our fireplace looks like yours currently too but we are a 1 story with super vaulted ceilings…

  13. Trisha says:

    Yes! We want to follow along on the journey. Love your style Kim!

  14. Candace says:

    Yes! You have a great eye. Love hearing about what you do.

  15. Caley says:

    This is so exciting – although I don’t know how you do it, moving so often?!
    I would love to see all the before and after and full reno process – I love home posts x

  16. Amy says:

    Yes please – all the pictures!!

  17. Ann says:

    Any and all before/after pictures you share will be amazing, so please share often! I just love your taste and style!

  18. Good choice in covering the pink paint. I’ve never much liked pink houses.

  19. Jessica Pfutzenreuter says:

    My husband and I live right down the street from your new “pink house”. We always ride our beach cruisers with our 2yo past the house and love the new colors you picked (very similar to what we plan to do)! We are currently doing a 2 year live-in flip and will be looking for a new home in our same neighborhood soon! I’m excited younger families with kids are moving into ACE.

    I know your super busy, but i was wondering if you could tell me how the paint approval process with the HOA went? I don’t want to paint our house one of the 7 brown shades on the approved palette, so I don’t know if we should “ask for permission” or “beg for forgiveness”. Haha

    • Kim says:

      Hi Jessica! That is so great! You’ll have to stop by if you see me there. The paint approval process went beautifully with HOA. I provided inspiration images so they could visualize what I wanted to do!

  20. Don Phlegm says:

    I would like to build this house in Coldspring Tx. Can I buy the plans from the owner ?

    • Kim says:

      Hi Don,
      This was a custom home built in 1990. Unfortunately we do not have the plans from the original owner! So sorry!

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