Despite being run down and abandoned, when Trey and Abby Brothers first saw the falling down brick manor in North Carolina, they knew it was their forever home.
Abby, 33, and her husband Trey, 35, transformed the old mansion into an incredible, modern home – adding a massive $745,000 of value to their once dilapidated house.
The couple, who share two children, purchased the rundown property for $155,000 in June 2018 after spotting it online.
They spent nine months completely renovating the mansion and moved in right before the birth of their son in December 2020.
The mansion, which was built in 1913, had sat untouched for over 30 years, and they knew it would take a lot of hard work to repair it.
‘When we saw the home in person we knew it was our home, but it looked so sad and dilapidated,’ Abby, a registered nurse, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
‘Many people told us we were crazy for buying a home of this size that needed that much work,’ she admitted.
The huge 6,000-square-foot space is located in Aberdeen, North Carolina. The colonial revival brick manor boasts six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a large foyer with a grand staircase, as well as a kitchen that opens up to the dining room, a study, a living room, and a large attic.
The house was originally built for a family, and the Brothers wanted to keep it that way.
‘We wanted to restore our home into just that – a home,’ Abby said.
However, the task ahead of them was a huge undertaking with everything needing to be updated. The plumbing, electricity, windows, and walls were all from 1913.
‘There was no central air conditioning, which is crucial for the hot North Carolina summers. There was radiator heat, but it was extremely difficult to heat the home, so this was also replaced and the radiators removed,’ Abby explained.
The couple shared their DIY journey on Instagram (@turningthepagemansion), where they now have over 24,500 followers.
There was also a lot of damage to the property after years of disuse, with some rooms completely unusable.
‘[The house] had many leaks in the roof, which led to serious water damage, the worst being in the dining room,’ the mom-of-two recalled.
‘We couldn’t walk into the dining room completely because the floor had given way and was in the basement, therefore this entire side of the home required new floor joist and flooring and the roof was repaired and replaced,’ she added.
With the help of family and friends, the couple did as much of the renovations by themselves as possible.
‘We helped with the demo and we also had our hand in every project, in some form or fashion,’ she said.
‘Trey refinished the terrazzo floors in the bathrooms and made the concrete countertops in the kitchen/pantry,’ she continued.
‘Trey, his mom, and stepdad laid all of the tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms, with the exception of one bathroom. My family and I laid the tile and that was enough tile laying for me, but we have done all of the interior painting ourselves.
In total, they spent $268,494 on renovations, with the property now worth $900,000.
The family is thrilled with their ‘warm and cozy’ home, despite still having some work to do.
‘Our home is priceless to us. We loved our home when it was falling apart, but that love has grown even more,’ Abby gushed.
‘Because we live here, we see all of the flaws, but to know how far our home has come, the flaws can be overlooked,’ the mom said proudly.
The family is excited to spend Christmas in the home, and they decorated the sprawling space with four large trees and two small ones.
‘We have put lights up the staircases, in the windows, and even around the porch,’ the mom said.
‘When the holidays are over we have some more work to do, but for now, we’re just enjoying the festive season as a family.’
