If you’re a fan of those HGTV home reno shows with the major before and after reveals, this post is for you. Don’t want to read the whole story? Click here to skip to the before and after photos.

Finding the Right Property to Renovate

Back in 2021, my husband John and I started casually looking for property somewhere along the Gulf Coast to purchase for a short-term rental. Ideally something furnished that didn’t need a lot of work. Oh, and when I say we started looking, I really mean John. He’s literally on Zillow every single day. Not kidding.

Fast forward to December 2022, after a year of not finding anything that fit our criteria from Alabama all the way to Fort Myers, John showed me a house in Apollo Beach, FL — a small town on the west side of Tampa Bay.

It was rough. A 1959 Mid Century Modern house on a larger canal lot that sat uninhabited for over a year. The photos held nothing back. No bright, edited shots. No hiding the flaws. We almost didn’t schedule a showing. But. The canal views convinced us to at least take a peek.

Plus, we were already in the area for Christmas break. So, what the heck. The day after Christmas, we met our realtor at the house.

Pulling into the driveway, it was just as cringy in person. An overgrown shrub engulfed half of the yellow, brick façade, and I probably could have kicked over the old, brown fence on the side of the house. So far, it was a big, fat no. But, we went inside.

Surprise, surprise. The inside seemed better than the photos made it out to be. Still not good. Just not as bad. Maybe we could work with this. But did we really want to tackle a full house renovation. The time. The expense. The logistics.

Walking back to the canal, there was no denying that view was a major selling point for the property. Located at a bend in the canal, the seawall was almost twice as long as some of the neighboring houses and it offered water views in two directions.

Unfortunately, the dock was long gone, with only the pylons remaining. Replacing the dock would severely eat into our budget.

On top of that, both bathrooms needed gutting, the dated kitchen needed a facelift, the entire house needed new flooring, AND we would need to furnish every room.

The layout was also less than ideal, with a laundry room and second bathroom separated across the breezeway. But gosh, it had potential. The more we walked through it, talked through it, and envisioned what it could be, we saw that potential.

After a LOT of prayer. A LOT of calculations. A LOT of seeking wise counsel. After all of that, we put in an offer. Lower than asking.

Accepted.

We took out a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) on our house, with the security of having liquid cash to pay off the loan if needed.

We secured a construction loan.

The inspections and additional negotiations worked in our favor, even after we had to push back the closing date by a few weeks.

Throughout the entire process we prayed. I personally prayed that if this house wasn’t meant for us, God would close the door. He never did. On February 10, we closed and the work began.

Renovating a Mid Century Modern House

Thankfully, John and I both have remote jobs.

Between February and June 2023, we temporarily relocated to Florida several times to manage and participate in the renovation.

We hired a local contractor for some of the larger, more technical projects we wouldn’t have been able to handle alone, or that would’ve taken us far too long to finish.

The rest we tackled ourselves. Oh, and my dad came to visit for a week and helped, too! (He’s a licensed contractor.)

It was a difficult transition for me personally, living and working in the middle of the construction. My brain thrives in uncluttered, structured, and routine environments. This house was none of that — at the beginning — and my brain struggled to focus and stay positive. By day, we worked our regular jobs and spent most evenings painting, cleaning, and doing any number of things the house required to transform.

One night, while we cleaned out the second bathroom, I felt like I was on an episode of Hoarders… only without the piles of stuff. Another night, while on a second — or third? — coat of paint, I remember trying to get out of a negative funk by focusing on what I was thankful for. On my list was, “I’m thankful I’m not in the hospital right now.”

Truthfully, it took a LOT of prayer and intentionally shifting my thoughts from negative to positive, over and over again. I’m grateful John is patient. I also appreciate that we have a relationship where we can talk through challenges and recognize when we need to better prioritize each other.

Slowly, the house started looking like a house again. And not just a house, a house transformed. It was encouraging to see the reward for our work.

We also made time for fun, with a few beach days and time on the jet ski (after John decided we needed one to take back to Tennessee with us). We even got our dog, Gus, to ride with us!

Other highlights included making friends with neighbors, checking out local restaurants and parks, watching sunsets from the dock, driving down to Sarasota every Sunday morning to attend my old church, and visiting with a few of my Sarasota friends who I’ve missed greatly since moving to Tennessee.

Before and After Florida Home Renovation Photos

Okay. I know you’re only here for those before and after photos, so without further ado. Yes, we did our best to incorporate retro, Mid Century Modern touches throughout the house, with a bit of Florida mixed in.

Top Amazon Finds for Your Airbnb Rental

Click here to see everything we bought on Amazon to furnish this short-term rental property. *Note: I receive affiliate commissions through that link.*

DIY Florida Home Decor

To add some personalization to the house, I decided to turn some of my own artwork into decor.

I used Zazzle to make coasters and a pillow and Mixtiles for framed wall art.

Amazon came in clutch for finding a random sized frame I needed to frame an already printed piece I created in a Printmaking class in college. (Search “Quadro frames” and your frame dimensions.)

Lastly, we created our own “Instagram wall” in the breezeway. It started as a project to cover the exposed pipes. But, after we stretched the fake ivy privacy screen across the exterior wall, the idea took shape. Ambitiously, I found solar tube lights on Amazon and used floral wire to spell out “Apollo Beach” — in cursive and backwards because I had to start on the right side.

Then, to make it visible during the day, I used white paint markers to color the plastic tube. I gotta say, I was IN MY ELEMENT with this project. Any time I get to be creative and resourceful, I am thriving. Back when I declared Art as my major in college, if someone had asked me, “Where do you see yourself in twenty years?”… the last thing I’d have said was, “Creating my own art and an Instagram wall for a house my husband and I are renovating to turn into an Airbnb.” (Of course, back then, Instagram and Airbnb didn’t exist, and I hadn’t even visited Florida at that point. But still. The things we do as adults that our younger selves never would have considered.)

Want to know more about things to do in Apollo Beach? Click here.

Any Renovation Questions?

Drop any reno questions you have in the comments. If there’s enough interest, I’d like to write another blog post with tips on deciding when a house is worth it and the process itself.

Let me know what you’d like to know!

Edit: Our property was damaged during Hurricane Helene. You can view the property (renovated for a second time) here.