Mastering the art of home flipping
Design-savvy investor moves in to renovate — and then moves out
Jennifer Kalinsky is not afraid of hard work, and she’s not afraid of moving.
Those qualities might just make her the perfect person to take on home flipping as a new challenge.
Fresh out of a divorce six years ago, Kalinsky, now 53, bought a spec home that was under construction and finished it out in a way she knew would sell quickly.
It was 4,500 square feet and had a big swimming pool and a big yard. After a year and a half there, it was time to sell.
She made money on it — her first flip — and bought a patio home in Uptown Park. It had 3,200 square feet on three floors and needed updating.
Even as she was moving in, she knew she wouldn’t be there long. She took on her next two projects in Bellaire, again making money in each home.
Her secrets to success aren’t secrets at all: She bought homes in great locations for good prices because they all needed updating. With each home project, she learned more about what sells, using design updates that are both classic and current.
Most importantly, with each new project, she found new subcontractors who could offer great ideas and deliver quality work on time.
Kalinsky is part of a growing number of people learning to be their own bosses: house flippers. She’s not a trained designer, architect or builder. Like others, she’s combining her life experience, common sense and learn-as-you-go knowledge for a new career.
A Houston native, she’s now living on the edge of Bellaire in a modestly finished 3,000-squarefoot home that’s just blocks
Jennifer Kalinsky “Leave your personality out of it. … Nothing quirky or too trendy.”
away from McMansions. The neighborhood flooded for the first time during Hurricane Harvey, and a number of older homes have already been torn down and others are on the market, likely to be sold for lot value.
“It’s kind of like a ghost town around here,” she said, noting that her home was a bit higher than many others and that all of the new homes going up are being elevated several feet.
The home was just weeks away from being ready for her to move into with her boyfriend and teenage daughter — she committed to staying here at least four years so her daughter wouldn’t have to move during high school — when it took on 8 inches of floodwater.
Its original wood floor was ruined, and doors and windows were damaged. Electrical work was required, and drywall work was called for as well.
While no one wants their home to flood, the damage — she had flood insurance — allowed Kalinsky to make changes she otherwise might not have.
The original flooring was narrow planks of red oak, and its orangey tones show through nearly any stain treatment. Being forced to replace it meant Kalinsky got the flooring she really wanted: larger format planks in a graytaupe palette.
Before the flooding, Kalinsky had already remedied things that dated the home: white walls and lighter colors replaced dark brown inside and out. Its lowpitched shingled roof was replaced with a more contemporary metal one.
Her goal for the home she’s lived in just three months was to create a contemporary farmhouse style, which currently is popular in home design. Search for it on Pinterest or just Google the term and you’ll find thousands of examples of homes with pale neutral colors, rustic-chic décor, barnstyle sliding doors and distressed furniture.
One thing Kalinsky learned quickly is that while her potential buyers may just be buying the structure, they’re drawn in by great landscaping and fall in love with furnishings — even if they’re not their own.
She’s certainly living in a home she loves, but understands that when a home is designed or decorated to be sold in a few years or so, it needs to appeal to others.
“Leave your personality out of it,” said Kalinsky of advice she’d give to others. “Nothing quirky or too trendy.”
Outside, dark wood siding and brick were painted white. Paired with the new gray metal roof and glossy black double doors, the home’s exterior went from old and frumpy to sleek and sophisticated.
Inside, the main living area got a new look when she removed the low ceiling and added tonguein-groove planks of wood to what became a vaulted ceiling.
Dated interior colors got a big boost with Sherwin-Williams’ Pure White paint, a great universal white for people worried about not getting undertones right.
A divider wall separated the kitchen and living room, and a long island that reached out to an exterior wall interrupted traffic flow.
That floor-to-ceiling wall was turned into a pony wall so that the cabinets could stay on the kitchen side and the new counter’s overhang could allow for barstools on the family-room side.
A previous owner had expanded the home, creating a large master suite on the back and an upstairs den and guest room that Kalinsky transformed into a second master suite. Updates in the master bath included a glass-enclosed shower, Carrara marble counters and lively — and not too expensive — black-andwhite tile flooring.
Kalinsky’s on-trend décor is light, casual and slightly rustic — and a mix of high and low. In her living room, an offwhite sofa and slipcovered chairs share space with a coffee table and distressed wood console.
She’s always dabbled in antiques, selling them at pop-ups and antique shows when she was raising her three daughters. A pair of tall antique shutters are propped up on each side of the console.
Years ago, she worked with interior designer Julie Dodson, of Dodson Interiors, to decorate her home when her children were young.
Since then, she gained confidence in her own taste — and decisions — and learned about both design and decorating with each move.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Kalinsky said. “And I’ve also done a lot of work on myself, and I’m proud of that.”
Her next project will likely be in an older highrise, which she’s already looking at.
“A lot of baby boomers are heading to high rises,” she said.