Good Bones: The Tiny House on the Fringe
It's another brave rescue when Mina and Karen commit to renovating a miniscule 730-square-foot house that's in serious disrepair and located on the outskirts of a transitioning neighborhood. To appeal to young urban pioneers, they go with a solid open-concept floor plan and a few offbeat flourishes.


Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Photo By: Mary Ann Carter/Getty Images
Purple Haze
Balance and Context
Statement Kitchen
Cool Palette
Designing Within Parameters
The Kennington Street House, Before
"There's a house in there? I don't see a house," said Karen when she first laid eyes on the next project house. "It looks like you bought some shrubbery."
Mina purchased the distressed property from the city for $5000. Not only was the yard monumentally overgrown, but the tiny shotgun-style house had multiple issues — including a large hole in the porch roof, copious amounts of trash inside and a rotting floor. Every window was broken out and a section of the foundation was being "supported" by (!) a rusted car jack.
The Kennington Street House, After
Backyard, Before
The home is located on the outskirts of downtown in an area that is still transitioning. "This is on the edge of Bates-Hendricks," said Mina, "so I want to make it a little bit funky, but soft funky. That's what it's asking for — to be a little bit edgy."
Backyard, After
At the back of the house, the roofline was modified to allow for a dormer that would provide greater ceiling height for the upstairs bonus room. An old shed roof was removed from the back of the house, and a new deck added with a water feature, outdoor furniture and a bistro table set. The ground was levelled and new sod planted. The rear deck was left sans railing to help give the total backyard a grander sense of space.
"It's not how far your feet can go," said Karen, "it's how far your eye can go that makes a space feel big. And without a railing, there's nothing to stop your eye, so the space feels huge."
Holy Moly!
Living Room, Before
Living Room/Kitchen, After
Living Room/Kitchen, After
Kitchen, Before
Kitchen, After
Before
After
Hallway, After
Hallway, After
Downstairs Bath, After
Master Suite, After
Master Suite, After
Master Bath, After
Master Bath, Detail
Attic, Before
The house had an unfinished attic, but the clearance at the top of the stairs too low to create a safe entry point. The renovation plan called for removal of the brick chimney and addition of a new dormer at the top of the stairs to create more headroom and safe access.
Karen was thrilled to find that a portion of attic wall had original car-siding wood paneling that was in relatively good condition.
Attic Bonus Room, After
Adding the dormer increased the ceiling height and made room for this nook which Mina and Karen adapted with French mattress cushions to fashion a day bed — so the room could potentially serve as a guest room.
Karen repurposed the original wood car-siding to create a feature wall, giving it a purplish finish that still allows the wood grain to show through. She also created an ombre effect — with darker shade at the bottom and lighter towards the top — using varying dilutions of paint with addition of of fabric dye to increase the color intensity.
'Car siding' is a term used for a type of wood paneling in which the adjacent boards are joined together with v-shaped tongue-and-groove joint along the edges to form a tight fit.
Attic Bonus Room, After
Hidden Treasures
The Reveal
The Reveal
—Justin
The Reveal
—Mina
—Karen
Afterword
Mina and Karen purchased the house for $5000 then spent $155,000 for renovations, including some unexpected costs associated with framing and foundation issues. With a total outlay of $160,000, they were able to list and sell the house for $195,000 — for proceeds of around $35,000.
If you enjoyed this Good Bones renovation, we think you'd probably also like this one:
The Tiny Victorian on Woodlawn Avenue
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