My New Home: Frequent movers tackle $602,000 ‘fixer-upper’ in Germantown
Leigh (left) and Phillip Allen, with sons Cole, 5, and Phillip Nelson (right), 7, have lived in seven homes during their 13 years of marriage.
Phillip and Leigh Allen love a good project.
In 13 years of marriage, the couple has lived in seven houses. They buy a house, fix it up, sell it and move on. But they don’t consider themselves flippers — they just thrive on change.
The estate-size lot in Germantown’s The Highlands subdivision was a big attraction for the Allens.
Remodeling the kitchen was Leigh’s favorite part of the home makeover. Cabinets built to the ceiling maximize storage.
The dining room has an expandable table for entertaining and features portraits of sons, Phillip Nelson and Cole.
A carpenter installed built-in shelves in Phillip’s home office.
Throughout the home, hardwood floors, including those in the master suite, were refinished and walls were painted.
Seven year-old Phillip Nelson’s room has a green motif and features a painting of the family’s dog that passed away after 17 years.
Five year-old Cole’s room has a nautical motif.
“When we get a new house, he gets the itch to move,” Leigh said of Phillip, a regional account manager for women’s health care company Hologic Inc.
That itch struck most recently in late 2009, when the Allens decided to put their former home in Collierville’s Halle Plantation neighborhood on the market and begin the search for something new. This time, the Germantown natives thought, they’d go back to their roots.
“We wanted to be in Germantown on at least an acre,” Phillip said. “That narrowed things down considerably.”
The Allens had always loved The Highlands, a subdivision with estate-size homes on large lots off Johnson Road in east Germantown. Phillip, a runner, watched during runs in the area for signs to appear in yards, and over the course of six months, the couple viewed about three homes.
It was while doing “a drive-by,” Leigh said, that the Allens came across a flier for a house that seemed to have everything they were looking for. It was in The Highlands, in their price range and it had good bones, but it needed some updating.
The Allens, who represented themselves in the purchase of the house, contacted listing agent Alta Simpson of Marx-Bensdorf Realtors, who helped them complete the transaction. The Allens bought the five-bedroom, 31/2 -bath house in October 2009 for $602,000, then spent nine months turning it into their dream home.
It was “the biggest project we’ve ever tackled,” said Leigh, who’s kept a project binder for each home the couple has purchased and renovated. Stuffed with sales fliers, magazine concept photos, paint chips and finish specs, the binder documents the couple’s search, purchase and renovation process.
The couple brought in a contractor friend to view the house, but ultimately, Leigh decided to tackle the job of general contractor herself.
“I started getting different estimates,” she said. “I got at least two for everything, if not three, and went with the people I felt most comfortable working with. I used to be a teacher, but I’m a stay-at-home mom now. That afforded me the time to do it, and it also saved me $30,000, at least.”
The revamp was comprehensive — the Allens replaced everything from fixtures and cabinetry to windows and doors. Leigh used the concept photos she’d been collecting to create an entirely new kitchen, and she worked with a cabinet maker on new built-ins and millwork throughout the house.
“I had a really good carpenter,” she said. “I had these crazy ideas in my head, and he made them real.”
The Allens hired a painter for the interior and exterior and had the hardwood floors, which run throughout both levels of the house, refinished.
A center table graces the wide entry, which opens to Phillip’s home office on one side and a formal dining room with rich, deep brown walls on the other. In the office, Leigh had the carpenter add an entire wall of built-in bookshelves.
After its overhaul, the kitchen features stainless steel professional appliances and a pair of pendant fixtures that hang above an island with a dark finish and a honed-granite top. The rest of the cabinetry has a creamy glazed finish, with upper cabinets extending to the ceiling for added storage.
A breakfast area has space for a round table with four chairs, and between it and the backyard, Leigh had the carpenter convert a former closet into a mudroom with a built-in bench and shelving unit.
Throughout the house, contemporary art blends effortlessly with traditional rugs and furnishings. In the living room, Leigh had the fireplace refinished with a limestone surround, then brought in a faux finisher to create a mantelpiece that resembles the natural stone. Three sets of French doors open to a courtyard-style backyard complete with a pool, poolhouse, pergola, L-shaped covered patio and an outdoor room with a fireplace.
The downstairs master suite features a king-size bed with a loveseat at its foot, as well as a separate sitting room. In the master bath, two vanity areas are separated by a walk-in shower.
Upstairs is a craft room for Leigh and the couple’s two sons, Phillip Nelson, 7, and Cole, 5. The boys’ rooms are also upstairs, Phillip Nelson’s deep green with a built-in desk, and Cole’s deep blue with a sailing motif. The boys’ bath features slate tile around the entry to its walk-in shower.
The Allens were able to use furniture they already had throughout most of the house.
“We really didn’t need much,” Leigh said. “We needed an entry table, we need new barstools and the children were outgrowing some of their furniture, so we bought a couple of dressers for them.”
All that remains on the family’s list of projects is to replace the home’s front doors, make some pool repairs and do some landscaping. Leigh also plans to add window treatments throughout the house.
“I love fabric and can’t wait till I get the green light to do it,” she said.
Her favorite feature of the house, though, is its new kitchen. Phillip, for his part, loves the home’s audio equipment, which includes a sound system that plays satellite radio on demand throughout the house.
The Allens, in their usual form, don’t expect to remain in this house for the long haul, but now that it’s nearly finished, they do plan to enjoy it for a while.
“We’re in the neighborhood we want to be in,” Leigh said, noting the home’s proximity to parks, a horse farm and other amenities. “I can just see the boys with their fishing poles on their bikes.”
Plus, she said, they’re five minutes from the boys’ school, two minutes from a grocery store.
“We’re right in the middle of everywhere we need to be,” she said.
