Beth and Barrett Grant love home projects and decided to buy a home with DIY potential.
To have the budget for those projects, their agent, Justin A. Moates with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, negotiated a deal that was $25,000 under asking price for a mid-century ranch home in west Buckhead. Their neighborhood, known as Fernleaf Park, is located near west Midtown, which includes shopping and dining in the Westside Provisions District and boutiques along Chattahoochee Avenue.
Beth, who works for marketing at Chick-fil-A, and Barrett, who works in insurance and wealth management for Fuller and Co., chatted about buying the three-bedroom home and their tips for being homeowners and DIYers.
Q: What was your search like?
Barrett: The most difficult thing was finding a home that met our criteria (including three bedrooms, two baths, a yard and deck, in a strong school district on Atlanta's westside). I would say 90 percent of the things we had on our list we have in our home now.
Beth: It went faster than we thought it would. We looked for only about two months. The other challenge was both working full time and not being able in the middle of the day to go look at a house.
Q: What did you change about the house?
Barrett: After we closed in October, all the way until Thanksgiving, we would come here every day after work and work from 5:30 until about 1 at night. We re-did the floors, we tore out walls, we took down wallpaper and painted. We put in new light fixtures and new cabinets. One of the big projects we did was making a living room bar to achieve our goal of having a more open floor plan. All of that was because of Beth's mom and dad helping us. We can't look anywhere in our house without seeing something that's different because of what we've done. It gives you a sense of pride and ownership in your home.
Q: Did you call in professionals for any projects?
Barrett: We had some guys paint and we did have some guys help us with the floors. But we did a lot of the structural stuff (with Beth's dad's oversight and assistance).
Beth: We pulled all of the existing floor up and (they) helped us refinish the floors.
Q: What is a favorite feature in the home?
Beth: The bar area. It overlooks the living room and we can see the TV. We eat dinner here and watch TV after work. It makes the room look totally different.
Q: What is the style of the interiors?
Beth: It has more of a cottage feel. There were a couple of areas where there was fabric on the wall, and in the ceiling, and we replaced that with bead board. I enjoyed the way it turned out. Another detail I enjoy in the home is a coffee table we DIY'ed to make it look more rustic.
Q: What advice would you give for first-time buyers?
Barrett: Save early and save often.
At a Glance
Barrett and Beth Grant’s home, which was built in 1960, has three bedrooms and two bathrooms and is about 1,300 square feet. They purchased the home in October 2015, assisted by Justin A. Moates with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. Homes in the neighborhood known as Fernleaf Park range from the $400,000s-$800,000s.
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