EVERETT — Talk about a grand renovation.
Talk to Kippi and Greg Leonard.
On Jan. 18, the couple got the keys to the 1942 Cape Cod cottage on Grand Avenue.
“I walked in and went to town,” Kippi said.
That’s an understatement.
In two days, two floors of carpet were ripped out and an arsenal of Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace paint cans was at the ready.
Now, 10 weeks later, renovations are 90 percent complete for less than $20,000.
The couple did most of the work themselves. They documented it all on Instagram.
“I have been working seven days a week,” said Kippi, an artist and interior designer. “I have been trying to not kill myself and take a day off here and there but some projects you can’t stop once you get started. Basically, I painted every inch to the ground.”
She even painted the ground. She hand-stenciled the floor of her art studio in a black-and-white pattern. She also re-floored the bathrooms, tiled the walls and kitchen backsplash, restored fixtures and … the list goes on.
Greg does the heavy lifting.
“I’m the mule,” said Greg, general manager at Rodland Toyota in Everett. “I’m along for the ride. She has the brilliant touch.”
It is hard to believe the before and after pictures are of the same rooms in this house.
Kippi knew from the get-go it was her dream fixer-upper. “I walked in and I went, ‘I could see this house being revitalized. It feels so good in here. This feels like home,’ ” she said.
Greg felt it, too. “Immediately I could feel the history and character and that a lot of care went into the house,” he said. “It was a lovely home, but needed work.”
“The owners had lived there about 50 years,” Kippi said.
Like many houses occupied by the same people for decades, it was decorated in the period for their generation, with golden flocked wallpaper, window boxes with heavy drapes, pink shag carpet in the bathroom and dated fixtures.
The amount of work required to update it to their style didn’t deter Kippi. If anything, it excited her. “I know how to do a lot of the stuff,” said Kippi, who owned a flooring and design center for 18 years.
The two-story home was packed with perks: A main-floor master bedroom and big hallway bathroom. An upstairs bedroom with a view of the water. A full basement with wine cellar, sauna and workshop with power tools. A back yard with potting shed, courtyard and fountain — plus a lawn for their two dogs, a 160-pound Irish wolfhound and smaller sidekick.
It took the Leonards two years and a roundabout way to get to Grand Avenue. The couple moved here from Vancouver, Washington, for Greg’s job in early 2015.
“I drove up Grand and said, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is amazing,’ ” Kippi said. “When I drove the streets I heard angels singing. It was, ‘This is where you want to live.’ ”
Unable to find a place, the couple bought a 1990s home in Snohomish. It was nice, but they yearned to be in the northwest Everett neighborhood, so up it went for sale.
It was perfect timing for the cottage that came on the market on Grand Avenue. The rest is Instagram history.
The home renovation was featured on the hyper-local blog Live in Everett.
“I think it represents the positive momentum of people choosing to both happily live in Everett and also invest in Everett, which is huge for our local culture and community morale,” blog co-founder Garret Hunt said. “That’s the kind of good energy that will help Everett flourish even more.”
The couple wanted to blend the character of the home with their modern taste. The walls are all painted Chantilly Lace, punctuated by Kippi’s large canvas artwork. Rather than remove the flocked wallpaper in the dining room, she painted over it to add the patterned element to the walls. Chantilly Lace is also used on ceilings and trim, but in different sheens. Window grids are accented in black.
They tore out some cabinets and removed two doors. That’s it. The bones and walls of the home stayed intact.
The only surprises were good surprises. Under the carpet the wood floors were in nearly mint condition.
“The people who owned the home cared for it and did maintenance,” Kippi said. “Every time I do something we are building upon the good thing that was already here.”
She found she had more in common with her neighbors than a love of old houses.
“The neighbor across the street is named Kippy,” she said. “We were both named after the same person.”
Both are named for Kippy Lou Brinkman, who was Miss Washington 1965 and a former Miss America contestant.
“We love it here,” Kippi said. “We’re very excited to stop remodeling and start hanging out and get into the community.”
“Every day I come home and I’m amazed,” her husband said. “It is our grand adventure.”
A grand renovation
See more before and after pictures of Kippi and Greg Leonard’s Grand Avenue home on Instagram at www.instagram.com/a_grand_renovation.
Tips for DIYer success
By interior designer Kippi Leonard, special to The Herald
1. Make a plan.
Create a spreadsheet for the project. Do your homework and price everything out. It’s important to understand what you are taking on. Talk to people who have expertise then evaluate and understand your skillset. It’s very easy to say “I can do that!” until you start and realize you really can’t. Unexpected costs are stressful.
2. Don’t take on too much.
Our project is our entire home. I’ve been an interior designer and have done remodeling as a career for 20 years. I owned a flooring and design center for 18 years. I have drawn upon all that experience and yet have gotten completely overwhelmed on occasion. Start with a small space like a powder bathroom or a bedroom. A small success can give you confidence to take on the next room.
3. Paint.
My favorite game changer in a home.
Color is powerful. It evokes emotion. Having the right color in the right space for it changes everything. Color makes a house a home. It’s passionate, inviting, invigorating, dramatic, calming and it reflects the family who lives there.
It is the foundation. If you are on a budget and need a change — paint.
4. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Your home is an ever-changing expression of your life. We change and our home does as well. Don’t be dissatisfied with where your interior design is or where it’s lacking. I’ve spent my career hearing, “I’m just not happy with this room.”
My experience has taught me to encourage interior design as a process. Never arrive. Just be present and enjoy your home. Build the layers of design starting with the large pieces down to the small. Start with walls and floors and end with the accessories. Take your time.
5. Hire an interior designer for an hour consultation.
We are creatures of habit and see our home the way it currently is because we are “used to it that way.” When I meet with my clients, I hear, “I’ve never thought about that” all the time.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
