LEAF HOUSE
The Challenge
Bring this aging home back to life, revitalise the neighbourhood around it, and raise property values.
Purchase price $132,000, 16th June 1993. Valued at $148 sq ft.
Selling price $279,500, 1st November 1996. Valued at $313 sq ft.
This house suffered from a flat front, so shadows were created with fishscale shingles, and the shaded porch was added for California sun. Misshapen trees were gradually restored and finally lawns and borders added. I built the fencing and gates myself with each pale spaced by hand to fit perfectly, adding wood trim and copper leaves to the windows. Paths were created from scrap concrete broken out of another area on site, and irrigation ran through the driveway gate for a planter. Inside, I handpainted and lettered walls, made wallpaper ornaments by hand, and stained and enameled doors and antique flooring with blacks and metallics.
INVESTMENT PROPERTY
Barb’s Comments
This project delighted me because every aspect of it was in my hands. The landscaping, exterior and interiors—even the vegetables in the garden and furnishings could all be compatible with one single vision. The project ended by featuring so many unusual artistic touches that there was nothing else like it anywhere, and its value soared.