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Her grandpa’s abandoned family home gets ultimate makeover. Step inside to see the transformation
The house was first built by her grandfather with his bare hands. Unfortunately, it was falling apart after having been abandoned for 10 years, but now it's unrecognizable.
D.G. Sciortino
10.21.20

HGTV’s show Fixer Upper starring husband and wife real estate flippers Joanna and Chip Gaines is wildly popular.

That’s because their home transformations are simply astonishing.

The homes they fix up look almost unrecognizable after the Gaines’ are through with it.

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And that goes double for the Sterling and Casey Zan’s 2,000 acre Texas ranch that had been abandoned for about 10 years.

The house was owned by Sterling’s grandfather Paw Paw who left her the house so it would be kept in the family.

He had built the home with his own two hands and made sure many memories were made there.

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The house was in disrepair and inhabited by lots of creatures including snakes in the ceiling and Pete the Opposum when the Gaines’ had at it.

They also had massive amounts of demolition to do.

Everything in the finished house is completely brand new except for the home’s tin roof.

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“We left the original roof, I just think there’s a piece of that history that’s still there,” Joanna told the Zans.

In addition to completely repainting the home and creating new landscaping, the porch was moved so that it’s directly in front and center of the home.

This old porch was on the side of the home space and was incorporated into the home’s kitchen to make it larger in the renovation.

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The home was outfitted with windows that were given black framing on the exterior to really stand out against the white to cream-colored painted home adorned with natural wood colored beams and shutters.

The existing open concept floor plan of the living room was kept.

The home was filled with modern furnishings in all neutral, earthy colors that have a “southwestern cozy cabin feel.”

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The trim was done in cedar while the flooring was done in pine and everything from windows, doors, lighting fixtures and hardware was all brand new.

Joanna did, however, keep two original things from the home.

Curtains that Paw Paw made were turned into pillows and a table he built, where many holiday meals were eaten, was refinished.

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The table serves as a focal point in the living room which opens up into the dining room and then the kitchen.

The kitchen was outfitted in a rock backsplash, brick red floor tiles, a copper vent and sink, with exposed beams to give the space a homey feel. The countertops look like they were done in concrete and the cabinets are a dark wooden color.

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The master bedroom was given a crisp and clean makeover with a wood and stucco accent wall and light wooden framed windows. The original hardwood floors were salvaged and the walls were painted white.

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The master bathroom was given a huge glass-encased shower, his and her marble sinks, pale-colored cabinetry, and grey tile keeping with the neutral colored theme throughout the home.

The Zans were pretty impressed by the transformation their home underwent.

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“I’m so dumbfounded by how much Chip and Joanna changed this place compared to what it looked like before,” the Zans said. “This is unreal.”

And the Gaines’ couldn’t have been happier to help keep a family heirloom alive.

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“This project was really special to us and we just really wanted to tell you guys we were honored to be apart of your project and hope that we honored your heritage and your family and this land,” Chip told the Zans. “And we hope we’ve left this place obviously better than we found it so we wanted to be the first to welcome you guys home.”

Check out the home makeover in the video below.

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