An arched opening to the kitchen was enlarged to open up the main living space. Brown discovered the kitchen table at the Rosebowl Flea Market in Pasadena, California. The rug and vintage stools are from Verve Home Furnishings. In the living room the sofa is from West Elm. Brown’s father found the vintage, free-form wood coffee table in California.
In 2015, interior designer Kelly Brown made the choice to commit to Richmond.
She’d been here since 2008, but had kept “one foot in California, and one foot in Virginia,” she says, unwilling to let go of either location. The one thing Brown knew for sure: “I didn’t want to be a crazy cat lady, living alone in an apartment.”
At the encouragement of her hairstylist, Brown read “You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life” by Jen Sincero … and decided to buy a house.
It wasn’t easy. The housing market was filled with buyers looking to turn a profit by purchasing homes in need of attention, applying basic updates and selling at much higher prices. Brown didn’t want a house renovated that way — “It’s like putting lipstick on a pig,” she says — but she didn’t have a lot of cash.
“I didn’t want to be a crazy cat lady, living alone in an apartment.” —Kelly Brown
Working closely with her realtor, Kevin Daley, and lending agent Richard Day with PrimeLending, Brown zeroed in on a 1,500-square-foot Maplewood Avenue bungalow, facing City Stadium. The house — and Brown — qualified for an FHA 203(k) loan, which requires less of a down payment and helps cover the cost of renovating older homes. Brown also took advantage of an energy-efficient mortgage, which provided additional funds to insulate the attic and didn’t count against her primary mortgage lending ceiling. Once Brown’s bid — 30 percent more than the asking price — was accepted (in part, because she promised to occupy the house herself), it was time to get to work.
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White paint and minimal furnishings transformed Brown’s home office from dark to dynamic. Karl Harkness with IronOak made the desktop, the giraffe lamp is by Jonathan Adler, and carpet tiles by FLOR, and the chairs are vintage finds.
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In the bath the mirror and artwork are vintage, the floating vanity is Ikea, the faucet by Delta.
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Brown saved fragments of drawings by kids who lived in the house decades ago, uncovered during the renovation.
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A floating white lacquer media cabinet anchors the living room.
While her contractor tackled much-needed roof repairs, Brown enlisted friends to help her remove the chimney that stood in the way of her vision. With the chimney gone, Brown was able to reconfigure the kitchen so an arched opening to the living room could be expanded, giving the main floor of the house a whole new feel. There were also changes behind the kitchen, where a half bath was removed to make way for a laundry nook. At the rear of the house, Brown converted a bedroom closet to a full bathroom, creating a separate space perfect for Airbnb rentals. (See R•Home’s “A Home Away From Home,” March 2018.)
“Initially, I was kind of overwhelmed,” she says, “but I was determined.”
Brown put in long hours with friends and family — her best friend moved from New York for five months to help, and her father came from Seattle for more than a month — and covered expenses with credit cards.
“I used the [credit] cards with the full knowledge that I could refinance the house and pay the debt once the improvements were made, because my house would gain value,” she says, noting that she carefully considered which fixes were immediate and which could wait. Planning the plumbing and electrical systems at the outset is essential, she notes, while new appliances and decorative lighting can come later. For example, the eye-catching Ikea hanging lamp in the kitchen is a stark contrast to the simple dome light in the living room.
“I know I want a ceiling fan there,” she says. “That light is totally fine for the time being. Do I want to replace it eventually? Absolutely.”
“There is a delicate marriage between the bones and structure of a house and how you’re going to live in it.” —Kelly Brown
Brown’s experience as an interior designer working on projects that included renovations was useful, but she readily admits she didn’t know everything. She made friends with staff at local home improvement stores and, when she could, hired contractors she’d worked with before. She admits that one mishap, the mislaying of tile in the mudroom and the new bathroom, was due to her trusting a contractor she didn’t know well. “Lesson learned. Be very careful who you hire,” she says. “Call around, and look at their work. And stay in the house while they’re working, so you can supervise.”
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Lacking closet space, Brown created a wall of open clothing storage in the master bedroom.
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Karl Harkness of IronOak made the counter in the laundry; the black hexagonal floor tiles are by Ceramic Technics Ltd.
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Miniature chairs from Class and Trash are displayed in an arched niche in the hallway.
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A coat of white paint and enlarged windows bring light into the bedroom. The sconces are vintage, and the pink rug is from Home Goods.
While Brown has other plans for the house — perhaps creating another bedroom and bathroom upstairs — she is happy with the space she’s created, and she’s proud to be adding to the history of an older, established city neighborhood. “I am a minimalist at heart,” she says. “There is a delicate marriage between the bones and structure of a house and how you’re going to live in it.”
“There are so many terrible flips [in home buying and selling],” she adds. “I wish more listing and selling agents would see that a regular loan is no better or worse than a cash offer. There’s always a risk to give us a chance.”
