Northwest Arkansas Cabin Gets A Facelift

Tyler and Molly found themselves planting roots in Northwest Arkansas after stumbling across a Zillow listing 1,000 miles away. 10 acres of blissful Ozark's sounded pretty intriguing; that is until they saw the cabin on the land - a mess! They were up for the challenge and got to work with no prior experience but relied on good ole’ YouTube. We got the chance to sit down with Molly to talk about their flipping journey, and we loved every minute of it!

1. What got you interested in Real Estate/Real Estate design?

Molly: It sort of just happened really fast and out of the blue. We knew we wanted to move to NWA and that it would be great to have some land. We initially planned to build a tiny home on some land, but we found an amazing listing for 10 acres with a cabin that needed some serious work. We moved really fast on it and a few weeks later we had a big project in our hands. We did a lot of the work ourselves, which sent us down a big journey of research and design choices. It was really fun, but a ton of work. The process of planning and working on our cabin is what sparked my interest in real estate & interior design. The itch really has never gone away for me since completing our home. I look at real estate so much differently now because of it.

2. Do you want to continue to invest in the Northwest Arkansas area in the future? 

Molly: (So far) The only project I’ve worked on is renovating our cabin, but there were a lot of projects wrapped into that one. We had to start from the foundation, and that alone was a huge endeavor. Thankfully Tyler’s dad owns a concrete business, so we were able to work hands on with him during that process. Once the foundation was complete, the work snowballed from there and went a lot quicker.

I’d love to continue and renovate more homes once the market cools down a bit! It’s really addicting…once you do one renovation, you can’t help but look at every house with a critical eye and think, “what could I do here?” I’ll scroll Zillow sometimes and just get lost in some many listings, thinking how I would work with each home’s unique potential. 

3. What was your favorite project? 

Molly: My favorite project was the foundation, simply because so much sweat and blood went into it - literally. We worked on it throughout the entire summer, which was a rough one for us. We had just moved from the Washington D.C. area, were living out of a trailer in the Arkansas heat, and had just lost our 1-year-old puppy in a tragic accident. That foundation, as frustrating as it was at times, was what kept us going. We had to tear out the old foundation completely while the house was jacked up and had to start completely over. I distinctly remember one day where the new concrete walls were poured and the house was sitting down on it, but we still had to redo the slab. Tyler and I spent the day sledge hammering the slab and hauling off big chunks. It was one of our hardest days of work physically. While I was drenched in sweat and my back was on fire, I remember thinking to myself how one day we will tell our future children how we re-did this place from the ground up. I felt so empowered in that moment, even though I knew we had so much further to go to complete it all. 

The foundation was symbolic in a lot of ways, and something I really will never forget. I don’t know if I’ll ever do something of that scale again, but I’m so glad I did it.

4. Are you from the area? 

Molly: I was born and raised in a suburb of Chicago. Tyler, my fiancé, was raised in NWA however, which is what brought me to the area!

5. What products did you select from Pella for your home?

Molly: We used a wood/clad product, Pella’s Lifestyle series. We mixed casements, large fixed windows, and sliding doors. The Pella install team added trapezoid windows on the second level that didn't exist before. They also modified the main floor window openings to make them bigger and bring in more natural light. I love every product so much. Really the windows are my favorite part of our cabin!

6. What made you select Pella Windows when renovating vs the other companies?

Molly: It was hands down the quality of the products and customer service. The Pella team was able to work within our budget and we were able to get all the old windows and doors out and the new ones in for a great price. The install included some big custom windows too, and they really made our entire renovation come to life. I remember the window and door install week distinctly. I was working from Tyler’s parents house so I couldn’t come see them until the end of the day when the install was complete and I walked in and was jaw dropped. It changed everything for me. Our vision started to come to life that day, and it really was amazing to see. 

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