11 Money-Saving Remodeling Strategies from a Hollywood House Flipper - Remodelista
“Reuse, restore, recycle” is a familiar mantra, but 25 years back, Amanda Pays was one of the early adapters.
Voila!” Since then, over the course of dozens of remodels for her own family and clients–and in the past 12 months alone, three house flips–she’s figured out how to create made-to-last design without ever breaking the bank.
Photograph by Laure Joliet for Remodelista.
Amanda and her husband (and fellow in-the-trenches house fixer) Corbin Bernsen, in the kitchen of an LA flip house off Mulholland Drive that they overhauled in three months. (Read about how the two collaborate in our Expert Advice post Corbin Bernsen: Star Handyman.)
“Never buy new unless you really have to,” says Amanda. I also buy things like soap dishes and wall hooks when I travel.
1. Buy as much as possible at flea markets.
Our own kitchen has metal handles that we bought at the Rose Bowl: 50 of them for $25.”
Photograph by Camilla More.
“Along with liking antiques, I like the look of old wood. But reclaimed timber has gotten to be expensive and overused. A while back, Corbin and I noticed our builder’s old scaffolding boards–and he was happy to sell them to us for $10 a plank.
2. Build shelves from scaffolding wood.
We made several shelves (and brackets too) from each. They’re all over our house. We even used them as stair treads. Builders, I’ve found, are happy to sell their scaffolding or trade it for new boards.”
3. Use drop cloths for curtains and slipcovers.
“I have a default for window treatments: I always make Roman shades from cotton canvas drop cloths that I get at Koontz Hardware.
I like the ones that aren’t too yellow, but I’m not picky. The shades are incredibly simple–you can get them stitched at a dry cleaner that offers sewing. I also use drop cloths for slipcovers.”
4. Use pipes as curtain rods and towel rails.
Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
“I never go looking for rods–whether for curtains or towels or closets or handrails. I like the look of plumbing pipe, and I cap it off with standard cast-iron pipe flanges.” Corbin made this bedside shelf from scaffolding wood.
5. Find appliance bargains by buying on sale and in bulk.
“I don’t buy fancy appliances, but I do buy reliable, good-looking ones. For a long time, I went to Sears and got great deals by purchasing a lot of pieces at once and getting bulk discounts–sometimes as much as 30 percent off. Lately, I’ve been going to Costco and Home Depot–I watch online for sales and strike then. For flip houses...
Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
...I generally stick to a $5,000 budget for range, hood, fridge, and dishwasher. It breaks down as $1,500 for the range (I just bought two Ancona Gourmet Series 36-Inch Ranges at Costco), $600 for the hood (I buy the interior and then build it out), $2,000 for the fridge (I like the industrial handle on this Stainless Steel Maytag French Door Refrigerator from Home Depot), and $800 for the dishwasher (such as this Maytag from Home Depot).”
I don’t put washing machines and dryers in my flip houses, but at home I spend a bit more on them because I have a big family, so our machines have to be workhorses.
Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
“Koontz Hardware is my go-to spot for so many things: I find wall-mounted laundry faucets (great for kitchen and bathroom sinks), $99 chrome gooseneck faucets, old-fashioned galvanized steel garbage cans (for storing things like dog food), and, of course, piping, paint, and drop cloths.”
6. Shop at hardware stores.
The laundry room sink, a refinished vintage design, came from Square Deal Plumbing Supplies in LA.
“I use lighting of all sorts, old and new. Above R: Elsewhere in the house, she’s using Etsy seller Ind Lights’ $55 Brass and Steel Sconces.
7. Take a high/low approach to lighting.
“I love using natural stone, and I buy it affordably by shopping the way French chefs do–before planning anything, I see what’s available. I go to stone yards and fabricators in the San Fernando Valley and look for marble...
8. Source stone at remnant yards.
...soapstone, and quartz remnants and returns. I find pieces of Carrara left over from a kitchen island that cost $80 and are big enough for a bathroom sink counter. In kitchens, I often balance stone, such as on an island, with counters made of Caesarstone–it’s well priced, durable, and comes in a huge color palette.”
“I love placing outdoor things, like garden sinks and stone pavers, inside–they’re priced lower than indoor materials and beyond rugged. Plus they add a surprise element.”
9. Use outdoor materials indoors.
Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
Amanda and Corbin’s own master bath has a floor paved in Pennsylvania irregular blue flagstones (from Prime Masonry Materials), a vintage tub, and drop cloth Roman window shades.
Amanda turned a paneled wood box from a swap meet (see previous photo) into a his-and-hers laundry hamper in the master bath.
Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
10. Apply stealth color.
“Paint is well-known as the cheapest and quickest way to make over a room. It has the same impact as tile but is so much more affordable; and if you use semigloss or gloss, it’s washable. All the elements in your remodel–floors...
...walls, countertops, hardware, lighting–have to come together. Once they do, I go in at the end of every project and add paint statements: a borderline in a quiet room, a color around a window frame, a band of paint instead of a tiled backsplash, a stripe on the bottom of the front door–a bit of wow.”
Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.
The two-toned WC is one of Amanda’s signatures.
Photograph by Laure Joliet for Remodelista.
Picking out a grout shade for a flip house bathroom.
A yellow-painted punctuation point on Amanda’s flip house off Mulholland Drive.
11. Stay on budget by resisting random splurges.
“When you’re filling in the details for your remodel, you fall in love daily with unexpected things you suddenly think you can’t live without. But if you only have so much to spend–or are already deep in borrowed money–it’s important to set a budget and stick to it.
Pin your pricey find, or a take a picture, then walk away–and keep looking. I guarantee you’ll turn up something within your range that excites you just as much. Remodeling is a treasure hunt.”
Photograph by Laure Joliet for Remodelista.
After overhauling a house, many couples vow, “Never again,” but Amanda and Corbin say, “What’s next?”
