Flip or Flop Fort Worth: Burton Hills Horror House Becomes Thing of Beauty

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Ashley and Andy Williams transformed a Burton Hills home in this week’s “Flip or Flop Fort Worth” but not without some drama (Photo courtesy Ashley and Andy Williams).

Not to brag, but I’m getting pretty good at finding tile since Flip or Flop Fort Worth launched — I may no longer remember my own phone number, but I have become adept at scouring the Internet for our readers, identifying tile by sight.

Last week, I found the gorgeous vintage-looking tile from the bathroom in the first episode (I’ve subsequently further narrowed it down to a stateside source). Reader Jana gave me another tile to hunt for this week — from the same episode.

“Is there any way to find out what the name of the tile is that they used around the fireplace on the first episode of The Flip or Flop Fort Worth series?” Jana wrote. “I would just certainly appreciate it so much if I could get that information or be told where I can go to find the information myself. Thank you so much in advance and I’m keeping my fingers crossed!”

After examining several photos of the mosaic tile on the fireplace, I first determined it appeared to be a diamond pattern and likely glass. After scrolling through so many photos, I think I have found Jana’s tile – or at least a very close almost-match.

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Check out this Monaco Celeste Glass Mosaic tile and see if it isn’t very similar if not the actual thing. I remember that in this episode, Ashley had looked to light colors and pastels to give the smaller cottage a more roomy and light feel, and this tile would certainly fit that bill.

And now for this week’s recap, which finds the two lucking into a listing in popular Burton Hills. Ashley and Andy Williams already hinted at some drama on Twitter.

“These houses never go up for sale,” Ashley says. It’s a two-bedroom, two-bath house, priced at $115,000. “The comps in the neighborhood are $250,000,” Andy says.

“That’s crazy low,” Ashley says. “I wonder why it’s so low.”

Oh girl, you know it’s so low because it’s full of Other People’s Problems. That house probably has both moose and squirrel in it. It may be less than half the price of the rest of the houses, but that’s probably because YOU IN DANGER.

They pull up on the house and guys, it’s sad. It looks like the house where sad moves in and then leaves because it’s too sad for even sad.

But Ashley and Andy can see this house can be not sad. Ashley and Andy are better people than me. I’d be drinking a limeade in the truck where the wee beasties that are definitely in that house are not.

They walk in, despite my better judgement. For serious, half my time watching horror movies and home improvement shows is spent willing people away from danger with my mind.

“Look at this room!” Ashley exclaims about the living room in a tone that definitely is joy. The living room is big, and when Andy lifts up the weird floor covering, he says it looks like there’s hardwoods underneath.

After a peek at a small bedroom, they head to the first bathroom.

My notes: “The bathroom may be a crime scene.”

“It looks like somebody started, and never finished,” Andy says, which is probably a nicer thing to say than what I just said.

The kitchen is huge, and has plenty of room for an eat-in area.

“Look how big this kitchen is!” Ashley says, adding that she’d gut the whole thing. My notes: “… or burn it down.”

What they see next — not to sound like a tease for an Upworthy post — may defy my abilities to describe things. I think it broke me. Basically, there was this room. And then there was a patio. And then whoever had it ripped down the wall between the room and the patio and walled in the patio and then there was this giant room, but then didn’t do anything else with it, except stuff old checks in the cracks for insulation.

Ashley suggests putting the wall back up and turning the original room into a master suite. I suggested fire again.

The backyard is huge. With a great back porch and clearing the overgrown lawn, it would be a great entertaining space.

They estimate that it will cost about $65,000 for the renovations, and they can list for $250,000. They end up having to bid for the home, but still got it for about $117,000.

On demo day, Andy points out the vintage electric stove, and says that it’ll go to a veterans organization, so they can fix it up and sell it for a pretty penny.

The two get some good news — the hardwoods they thought might be under the cheap flooring in the living room can be refinished.

“This is really good news,” Andy tells Blake Johnson, their contractor.

The good news came with some bad news, though – the bad news the two alluded to before the show started.

Ashley went to talk to Blake about the master bedroom build, only to be told that the city had shut down work on the project.

“We can’t do anything right now,” Blake explained.

The permits were on hold because the city said the bedroom needed more natural light. Thanks to the covered patio, the lone glass door planned for the bedroom isn’t enough. Ashley proposes two windows that would flank the headboard of the bed. Blake says the cost would be fairly minimal, so he submits new plans to the city for two extra windows — and the plans are approved.

“Crisis averted, we’re back on track,” Ashley says.

This seems to be a good news, bad news kind of show today. Blake tells Andy that he had anticipated needing to replace all the plumbing, but that it was actually up-to-date.

But on the heels of that significant savings, Ashley finds that when the former owners changed the back porch into the weird addition, they used a glue to adhere paneling to the brick. It stained the brick with giant dark spots.

“We can’t sell the house with these brown spots,” Ashley says. She’s right. It looks like it might be poop. She and Blake decide painting out the brick and the rest of the porch walls in a white would hide the spots and make the whole space look cohesive.

Can we talk about Ashley’s finish game? I mean, my dream Saturday now involves tile shopping with Ashley Williams. ASHLEY TAKE ME WITH YOU.

This house has warm, neutral finishes, include a wood-look tile for the kitchen that turns what was a dingy, kind of dark space into a bright, welcoming space.

And that kitchen backsplash. I love it. I mean, almost as much as I loved the tile she picked last week.

Outside, Andy is meeting with Sergio the landscaper.

“I like him because he has vision,” Andy says. Sergio suggests a lot of native plants that require less watering, and Andy is on board.

After the floors are refinished, Ashley stages. She points out that staging is really important — something the two reiterated while everyone was watching Thursday night.

The two tour the house before sitting down to talk numbers. The transformation from scary-ass house to a gorgeous home is pretty remarkable. That bathroom is super pretty now, and definitely not a tetanus farm anymore.

The biggest transformation, I think, is that master suite.

“Doesn’t this feel like a hotel suite?” Andy asks. YES, IT DOES.

And the patio is adorable, and now overlooks a very tamed backyard suitable for multiple cartwheels.

They ended up putting $72,000 into the renovation of the $117,000 house, and opt to list it for $255,000, which they got shortly after their first open house.

“What’s interesting is that there are no comps for a three-bedroom, three-bath in this neighborhood,” Andy explained.

So what did you think of this week’s episode? Any burning tile questions? Are you ready for Fixer Upper, which starts Nov. 21? 

Bethany Erickson is the education, consumer affairs, and public policy columnist for CandysDirt.com. She also has opinions about TV shows, lima beans, orders that are appropriate for the drive-through, and wine. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter at BethEricksonTX.

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Bethany Erickson lives in a 1961 Fox and Jacobs home with her husband, a second-grader, and Conrad Bain the dog. If she won the lottery, she'd by an E. Faye Jones home.
She's taken home a few awards for her writing, including a Gold award for Best Series at the 2018 National Association of Real Estate Editors journalism awards, a 2018 Hugh Aynesworth Award for Editorial Opinion from the Dallas Press Club, and a 2019 award from NAREE for a piece linking Medicaid expansion with housing insecurity.
She is a member of the Online News Association, the Education Writers Association, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and the Society of Professional Journalists.
She doesn't like lima beans or the word moist.

1 Comment

  1. kathleen minervino on December 9, 2017 at 10:49 am

    where can I find the kitchen backsplash tile for Flip or Flop Ft Worth, Burton Hills project. Thank you!

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