330 Homes Fall 2021

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The Hales bought this home in 2018 and transformed it into an affordable family Airbnb over nine months. They added it to Airbnb’s Frontline program that offers housing to COVID-19 first responders at a deep discount. “I truly enjoy it,” Aaron says. “My mother and McKayla are very creative at turning an unloved home into something really special. I’m more of the numbers guy. I make sure it’s within the budget.” The goal was to maintain the Dutch colonial’s 1919 charm while adding modern amenities and style. McKayla and Carol kept historic features like crown molding, 12-inch-wide baseboards and built-ins. “They don’t do this in homes anymore — this beautiful woodwork. It’s really sturdy hardwood,” McKayla says. “We wanted to keep these features because it is original to the house.” The wide array of paint colors on the walls and ceilings didn’t match, while natural wood features darkened it.

They brightened the house by painting the woodwork, ceilings and most of the walls in whites and neutrals and redoing the wooden stairs in white and gray, using a distressing tool to add a weathered texture. “I really like the clean look that white, black, gray offers,” McKayla says. “You can add splashes of color … and it kind of modernizes the feel of the house.” While much of the project was do it yourself, they enlisted contractors to do technical upgrades, including the electrical, plumbing and creating a breakfast nook. The kitchen got a full remodel with new stainless-steel appliances, white-and-gray marbled granite countertops, soft close gray KraftMaid cabinets, a herringbone tile backsplash, a coiled faucet, a sink and a pendant light.

Upcycled pieces of furniture, largely from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, add color pops, including a living room console that McKayla repainted robin’s egg blue and

For more personality, she decorated with blue paintings, often in gold frames, and local art, such as an Akron Civic Theatre marquee print and a stunning Don Drumm butterfly cookbook holder. There was only one bathroom, so they hired a contractor to convert an upstairs bedroom into a bathroom. While they added a sliding glass door shower with a rainfall showerhead, a white double sliding barn door vanity with black

added new black knob hardware to, and dining room chairs that she repainted with chalk paint and reupholstered in a white chevron fabric. “With a bit of paint and imagination, you can make older pieces brand new again. That’s something Aaron’s mom and I both really enjoy doing,” says McKayla. But they kept the sunroom furniture as natural wood to accentuate

the sunny warmth that streams in through the many windows.

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