Rhoda Vickers’ father, Albert, built her first house 30 years ago. When she purchased a foreclosure in Marietta in 2012, it was another family effort to renovate the interiors and freshen up the exterior.
“He jumped right in there with me on this renovation. I could not have done it without them,” Rhoda said. “It’s just been a fun journey to have my parents share in all this, too.”
Working with her dad, now 85 and a retired pastor, and mother, Iris, she filled the redo with new pieces, such as IKEA cabinets and furniture, accessories and artwork she’s picked up at yard sells and thrift shops over the years.
“I’ve always been a thrifter and a bargain hunter,” she said.
Snapshot
Resident: Rhoda Vickers, who blogs at southernhospitalityblog.com
Location: Kennesaw
Size: About 2,000 square feet, three bedrooms, two baths
Year built: 1979
Year bought: 2012
Architecture: Cottage style
Renovations: Vickers worked with her parents, Albert and Iris Vickers, to redo the foreclosure over six months. She added a new front porch to give the home a cottage-style look, and repainted the exterior. They gutted the kitchen and installed IKEA cabinets, subway tile backsplash and granite countertops, on a $9,000 budget. New flooring and new paint were added, along with molding and a new furnace and HVAC system. She finished and improved the laundry room/mudroom and finished the old screened porch. She and her father provided much of the labor, but experts assisted with certain plumbing, flooring, electrical, painting, landscaping and kitchen installation work.
Cost of renovations: About $40,000. As a blogger, she received some assistance, including a landscaping plan by Georgia garden designer Carmen Johnston, and installation of plants from the Southern Living Plant Collection.
Interior design style: Transitional, mix of traditional and some modern. "Most of my furniture is more traditional, but I definitely don't like an old lady look where everything is matchy-matchy," she said. "To me, the mix of modern and traditional is just a really good look."
Favorite furniture: Two French antiques — a dining room buffet and armoire in the master bedroom — from Scott Antique Markets.
Resources: Furniture from Ethan Allen, Stanford Furniture, Taylor King, Bernhardt, La-Z-Boy, Scott Antique Markets, HomeGoods, Havertys, Pier 1 Imports, Target, J.C. Penney, wayfair.com, IKEA, Richardson Bros., Lowe's; light fixtures from Ballard Designs
Paint colors: Sherwin-Williams' Moderate White (main paint color), Windsor Greige (master bedroom); Quietude (master bathroom); Rainwashed (porch ceilings); Valspar's Fired Earth (stairs, doors); Fennel by Pratt & Lambert, mixed by Sherwin-Williams (office, kitchen, screened porch)
