positives: bright and sunny corner condo in tempe was close to all local amenities within a friendly community.
this two bedroom, one bath corner condo was on an upper floor with private entrance and parking, not a neighbor, underneath. southern exposure meant it was bathed in sunlight throughout the day. tall vaulted ceilings were in the living room, dining room and master bedroom. neighbors in the condo community were friendly and personable.
challenges: owner lived in europe and needed to wait for the current renter to move out before putting the condo on the market.
the condo owner was ready to sell. the recent tenant had rented the unit for the last three years through september 2021.
the property management company quickly discovered, after the tenant vacated, that the unit was left in deplorable condition: absolutely filthy from top to bottom, holes punched in several of the doors, carpet damaged beyond repair and damage to walls, cover plates and cabinets, among other things.
the owner had limited cash upfront to remedy the damage done to go to market. adding to the challenge, necessary contractors were not available for the simplest of work until early spring 2022.
upon my initial photo + video tape walk-thru for the owner and listing agent, i discovered dirty and grimy walls every direction i turned.
the front room carpet was destroyed (it had only been replaced a few years earlier) and holes littered many of the interior doors and walls. cover plates were filthy and in some places, barely attached and in pieces.
in the kitchen, the upper cabinets were missing a door, the stove was entirely covered in a thick layer of grease, and something dark and vile had spilled and been left inside the fridge.
in the bathroom, the sink faucet had some how been split in half, and evidence of the tenants previous pet (dog? cat??) was all along the edges of all the condo floors, walls and window sills.
in a word, the entire unit was disgusting.
and yet, once i had gotten past my initial aversion, i could quickly see the condo’s potential with a vigorous deep clean, new paint and carpet, and light and airy window coverings.
both the listing agent and i felt absolutely terrible for the condo owner. yet the condition of the unit left us unsure of whether it made more sense to sell “as-is” to an investor at a fire sale price.
together, we brainstormed about potential ways to work magic on a very limited budget and within a short timeframe. in the end we agreed to go for the challenge, keeping the budget as tight as possible. anything over would get invoiced at close of escrow.
because i had been my own general contractor on my home renovations, we agreed that i would act as defacto general contractor on elm.
i would also channel my love of interior painting by giving all the walls (and a couple small ceiling areas) a new slick of paint.
i felt strongly that the kitchen cabinets needed a transformation as well.
it was a large focal point of the unit and would stick out like a sore thumb if the other walls were refreshed but the kitchen walls (and cabinets!) were left as found.
i love bright and bold colors, but instinctively knew this property needed a zen color scheme. i chose “quiet moments” for the walls and “sea salt” for the kitchen cabinets, both from benjamin moore using their aura paint line.
[disclaimer: not a paid ad] i’ve been painting my interior home walls for decades and love aura for it’s paint w/primer formulation, low voc’s, and it’s excellent coverage, durability and scrubability. (i’ve tried other paints over the years only to be repeatedly disappointed.)
this brand is more expensive, yet worth it: i was able to cover all the walls in this 782 sq. ft. unit (minus the bathroom and laundry room) using just two gallons of paint in an eggshell finish and i had paint leftover.
for the bathroom i only need a quart of benjamin moore “palladian blue” in aura with a satin finish, and had paint to spare once finished. (the laundry room was left as is.)
“quiet moments” went on marshmallow white, and then dried down to a pale blue/gray. depending on the light in the space, it changed color - from either pale blue to a mineral gray-green.
the “sea salt” color on the kitchen cabinets helped the dated cream formica countertops not stand out, disappearing into the surroundings, while lightening up the overall space in general.
as with “quiet moments”, there was so much natural light in the condo that the darker sand color of “sea salt” was only evident at sundown with the overhead soft white kitchen lighting and the shadows they cast within the room. all other times it appeared a rich and creamy off-white color.
i quickly got down to business: paint and supplies were purchased, a cleaning service brought in to tackle the kitchen appliances, and the listing agents regular handyman was able to give us a day and a half of his crew labor to tackle a lengthy punch list of items outside my skill set. because there was so much that needed to be addressed (the metaphor of an unraveling sweater comes to mind) we whittled the list down to what was only absolutely necessary to get it on the market and legitimately move-in ready.
aside from the handyman’s punch list, everything else i did myself.
this involved scrubbing down walls, doors, trim work and vents before i could even start painting them. i painted the kitchen cabinets in shifts. early on i had decided the upper kitchen cabinet with the missing door would become contemporary open shelving. leftover wood i had from a personal home project got utilized as new raw wood shelves.
(fun fact: the glasses and plates on the shelf used for staging came from the dishwasher, clean, but left behind by the departing tenant!)
i removed all the old, stained, dirty and disintegrating window blinds and replaced them with white semi-sheer curtains and netted sheers. for the kitchen window, i created and stitched up a custom window covering using waverly sunbrella fabric, complimented with aqua tassel trim. ceiling fans were wiped down, the bathroom sported fresh paint, and the damaged doors had been amazingly restored by the handyman’s talented crew.
the handyman had a carpet guy, and being mindful of the condo owners budget constraints, i picked the least expensive carpet but in a lighter color combination and paired it with a nicer, thicker carpet pad. (we got a great deal on mohawk pet pro memory foam.)
in a stroke of unbelievable luck, the carpet installer was able to get all the carpet installed days earlier than originally estimated.
within twelve (long) days, i transformed this condo from ugly duckling disaster to beautiful swan.
when i’d first visited the condo for the video walk-thru, mr. dearie had accompanied me and couldn’t get out of the space fast enough. i had only started videoing the kitchen when he motioned to me, off camera, that he’d wait for me to finish, from outside.
yet seeing the final mls listing photos, he admitted the transformation was incredible.
“if i saw this listing, it definitely looks like something we’d want to take a closer look at!”
exactly the effect i hoped for.