DIY Del Ray: Small-Space Fixer Shines on the Home Tour

The 2012 Del Ray House and Garden Tour wouldn’t be complete without one of those classic Del Ray duplexes, now would it? You know the ones—boxy brick exterior, bedrooms the size of closets, a galley kitchen with hardly enough space for one cook and a whole lot of “vintage charm.”

Well, that’s how you could describe this house about four years ago. Thanks to the DIY determination of its owners, this house has gone from dated to simply delightful.

When the owners bought the fixer-upper in 2008, they knew they had a lot of work ahead of them. They made some immediate cosmetic changes such as paint, wallpaper and carpet removal and new windows. In one room, they painstakenly stripped two layers of paint caked over wallpaper—a task made much worse in the swampy summer heat.

The owners also replaced the cabinets and appliances in the kitchen and scraped five layers of linoleum (and its tar-like adhesive) off the floor. The kitchen refresh was only a temporary fix.

Two years later, they bumped out the back of the house to add a beautiful open eat-in kitchen. The addition fits with the scale of the house and it’s by no means huge, but the use of space (including some unexpected nooks and crannies) makes so much more sense. Just wait until you see inside.

A large portion of the renovation was done by the owners and they took tremendous care to make sure the house was green. This 1,000-square foot home has four rain barrels along the side yard and there are plans to add a fifth. That’s a whole lot of water conservation!

This is definitely a house you don’t want to miss on the May 19 House and Garden Tour. Buy your tickets today by visiting the Del Ray Citizens Association website or stopping by on the Mt. Vernon Avenue. You can also purchase tickets for the tour this weekend at the Del Ray Farmers' Market.

For more sneak previews of the House and Garden Tour, visit http://www.diydelray.com.