Ben and Erin Napier’s Latest Home Town Transformation Was Once an Abandoned $25,000 Craftsman Bungalow

Helen’s House is a welcoming retreat for women transitioning to a new chapter in their lives after facing some difficult challenges, but the house itself has seen its own rebirth, too. Lisa and Mike approached Ben and Erin Napier to help them find a property for their not-for-profit, and, after touring a couple options, they chose the Sherman House, a 1930s craftsman bungalow, listed for $25,000, that had been left vacant since the 1990s.

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Ben Napier was thrilled with Mike and Lisa’s choice. The Sherman House, although abandoned, was well built, and a lot of the demo needed was already complete. This meant he and Erin could focus the majority of the $75,000 renovation budget on updating the home’s exterior and transforming the interior into a cozy, uplifting and inspiring space.

The Napiers invested $30,000 in the exterior renovation of the home. This covered a fresh coat of paint, repairing the brick, landscaping, installing air conditioning and a railing for the front porch. Erin relied on her knowledge of colour psychology from school to guide the majority of her decorating choices for the renovation, starting with a cheerful and welcoming coral for the front door.

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Kitchens, which typically break the budget during a reno, was a space where Erin was able to flex her creative muscles to make a space that could be functional and stylish for a young family, while still respecting Mike and Lisa’s need to keep reno costs low. To create the look of a lux marble countertop, Erin opted for large laminate squares, and for the backsplash, she used peel-and-stick vinyl with a plexiglass shield in a sweet lemon print. Along with Erin’s design work, Ben improved the insulation and electrical work, and together they spent $23,000 making the kitchen primed and ready for a family in need.

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Mike and Lisa were floored when they toured the renovated home, which they renamed Helen’s House in honour of Lisa’s mother, but it was the floors themselves that gave the couple pause. The original floors showed the years of wear and tear that the much-loved house had earned, and while most new owners would attempt to cover up those “scars,” Lisa and Mike felt they were symbolic of the history and rebirth the women moving through this transition house were experiencing. They saw so much beauty in Ben and Erin’s renovated home, scars and all.

Erin wanted the living room to feel like a warm, welcoming hug for the families that would soon call it home. She relied on her knowledge of colour psychology to guide her choices, and opted for playful hues of butter yellow, mint green and coral in the living room. To stay on budget, Erin and Ben made careful choices, like painting the fireplace instead of trying to recover the original brick, and repurposing old pieces of furniture, like the armchairs Erin discovered in Lisa’s warehouse, and had reupholstered in an upbeat floral fabric. The overall look and feel is light, happy and inspiring. As Lisa put it, Erin totally captured the heart of their project.

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The home’s front door opens right into the living room, without a proper entryway, so Ben knew this busy family space would need something that could provide storage for coats, shoes and bags. After deciding to replace the old front door, Ben repurposed it into this DIY bench, with hooks for kids’ coats, and space underneath for baskets to store the odds and ends that collect by the front door of a family home (don’t pretend like you don’t know what we’re talking about!).

Erin really wanted the master bedroom to mimic the home’s welcoming and peaceful vibe, and offer a private space for a mother recovering from trauma. She used the same coral colour featured on the front door, and incorporated feminine accents, like the floral bedspread, and bohemian curtains, to create a room that any woman would dream of.

Erin layered beautiful, warm textures to give the entire home a rich, elegant feel, without overspending. Pieces like throws, rugs, curtains and blinds are essential for pulling a space together, and don’t have to break the bank if you’re careful and shop thoughtfully.

Mike and Lisa were brought to tears when they toured Helen’s House. Knowing that this space would provide a safe haven for women and children transitioning out of trauma made it all the more important to create a home that felt warm, welcoming and loved. With their dedication to honouring history, while always thinking to the future, Ben and Erin were the perfect pair to turn this forgotten $25,000 bungalow into a $100,000 renovated dream home.