Amanda Matthews is a calligrapher who had been living in San Antonio for seven years, but was now ready to move back home to Mississippi. "This is my place," she said of her hometown. "I'm very ready to come back. Something about this season in my life just said 'It's time to go home.'" She was looking for a vintage home with sizeable living space, lots of light, room for a studio and — perhaps most importantly — a really nice front porch.

The Polk House was built in 1934 and has three bedrooms, two baths and is 1700 square feet. The list price is $85,000. It has some of the aspects that Amanda was looking for, but iy's missing one main ingredient: a front porch.

With Amanda's renovation budget of $65,000, Ben and Erin were able to make Amanda's porch dreams come true with an all-new new facade that included a full, deep porch with new columns and railing. "My dreams for my house [include] a front porch, obviously," Amanda said. "When you have a front porch, when you have a place to sit and enjoy, it invites people in."

The living room, with a wall in close proximity to the front door made the space feel shallow and tight. The original wood floors, however, were in good condition.