Less is more for one growing family
Couple buys and renovates duplex after opting out of 4,000-square-foot home
EXCELSIOR, MINN.— Lyndsie and E.J. Adams are the reverse growing family: they moved from a spacious home to a smaller semi-detached house.
“We decided to downsize at a time when our family and careers were growing,” said Lyndsie, mom to 2year-old Archer.
“Our home was 4,000 square feet, and we only used about a third of it. It felt like I had to walk half a mile to grab a diaper.”
E.J. had read the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which inspired them to seek an investment property that would let them live in one half and rent out the other. Lyndsie, a fulltime marketing manager and parttime interior designer, could restyle the spaces.
After looking at 10 properties in six months, their real-estate agent found a side-by-side duplex built in 1960, surrounded by a wooded lot on a dead-end street, and within a walk of downtown.
“We were inside for three minutes,” Lyndsie said, “and I was ready to make an offer.”
Among the selling points were beautiful hardwood floors and space to add a bedroom and family room in the walkout basement.
“It had so much potential, and we could see that it had been taken care of over the years,” E.J. added.
The couple offered $330,000 on the $300,000 list price — which was accepted — and agreed one of the current owners could continue to live in his side of the duplex and pay them rent.
After selling their big home, the Adamses started their $80,000 duplex reno by removing worn carpet and refinishing hardwood floors, as well as installing new electrical and energy-efficient windows.
Lyndsie reconfigured the main floor, placing the new kitchen in the former family room.
The couple removed the original, massive two-sided wood-burning brick fireplace between the living and family rooms, gaining about 40 square feet in the living room.
For the kitchen’s black-and-white colour scheme, Lyndsie chose durable Dekton on the island and countertops and white appliances, to better blend with the cabinets and oversized subway-tile backsplash.
When you walk in the front entry, your eye is drawn to the star-patterned tile on the island front, rather than a huge stainless-steel refrigerator, she noted.
The stitched leather “saddle-back” chairs for casual meals add warmth and contrast with the modern straight lines.
In the adjacent dining room, Lyndsie removed the dark panelling and covered the walls with white paint, accented with a large mirror. “Light from the new French doors bounces off the mirror and makes the space feel larger,” she said.
The other interiors are “fresh, fun and modern,” Lyndsie said. She painted the walls gallery white as a backdrop to vibrant jewel tones and pale pastels in furniture, artwork and accessories.