If you haven’t already heard the news: we’re doubling down on the beach house life. And we mean “double” quite literally — we bought a duplex!
If you caught our podcast yesterday, you already know the why, how, and where of this purchase. The price was right (we negotiated it down by $30K), the location is fantastic — close to the park, shops, and only a few blocks from the beach — and we realized waiting would likely price us out of this town. We paid $220K for the property, which breaks down to $110K per side — cheaper than the pink house we bought last year. We also shared how we made this work financially and how we were able to pay off our Richmond mortgage, including specific steps we followed.
Below you’ll find the full story, photos, and two video tours describing the condition of both sides and our renovation ideas. #SoMuchMoreToTile #LonelyToilet #AlsoWhoHidesWindows
The Basics
This is another historic fixer-upper located in the charming Chesapeake Bay-side town of Cape Charles on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. We talked about why we fell for Cape Charles when we shared the pink house purchase last year. The duplex is not only in the same town as the pink house, it’s actually on the same street — just two doors down from it.
Our two houses are separated by a single home that was once featured on HGTV. The street’s proximity to shops, a park, and the beach was a major reason we bought the pink house, and that same location made the duplex especially appealing. Inventory for affordable fixer-uppers in Cape Charles is limited, so when the price and location lined up we decided to move quickly.
Beyond the excitement of another project, owning this duplex makes practical sense:
- More vacation rental opportunities. We don’t plan to live in the duplex ourselves, so it will provide two rental units that help generate income while we stay at the pink house or when we aren’t using that property.
- Accommodates larger groups or overflow from the pink house. The pink house has three bedrooms (four if you count the bunk room). Together, our goal is six bedrooms across the duplex, so larger groups could rent both sides. It’s also useful when extended family or friends want to vacation nearby.
- Renovating a duplex can be more efficient. While there are two kitchens and bathrooms to update, many major tasks — roof, siding, foundation, and landscaping — can be done for both sides at once, saving time and money versus renovating two separate properties years apart.
Having already worked with contractors in Cape Charles while renovating the pink house, this second project already feels less daunting.
The Before Tour
The duplex is split down the middle; each side mirrors the other in layout but not in condition or smell. One side in particular smells like a long-term rental that hasn’t been refreshed in years. Both units were previously rented long-term, and the tenants moved out earlier this summer. Below are video tours and photos of each side.
If you can’t watch the video right now, scroll for photos — there’s a shorter clip of the right side below. That one has a faint smoke detector beep audible in the recording, so you might want to use headphones if you’re sensitive to sudden noises.
The Left Side
Both sides open directly into a stairwell. We’re considering opening the wall between the stairs and the living room to bring more natural light into the stairwell and make the space feel less cramped.
The living room is decently sized and the floors are in better shape than they look; we expect they’ll refinish nicely once the stuck-on carpet padding is removed. There is a bubbled section of ceiling with mold from a leak and a large hole above paneling in one area that will need repair and investigation.
Off the living room is a dining area attached to a narrow galley kitchen. The current fridge placement and trim colors won’t be staying. The kitchen appears to have been squeezed into a former side porch, connecting to a small, dark back hallway with an old water heater and a backyard door. We’ll definitely rethink this layout to make it more functional.
Rather than add a downstairs bedroom as we briefly discussed on the podcast, we’re now leaning toward keeping all bedrooms upstairs and enlarging the downstairs living, dining, kitchen, bathroom, and laundry areas. We’re still sketching floor plan options and will share them once we settle on a promising design.
Upstairs currently holds two bedrooms and one full bathroom off a small landing. The rooms are surprisingly large, which suggests there may be a way to squeeze in a third bedroom and possibly a second bathroom by reconfiguring the upstairs layout.
The back bedroom has the same faux wood paneling and glued-on foam ceiling tiles as the front, which suggests past occupants covered problem areas rather than repairing them. Our experience with the pink house has prepared us for uncovering surprises, so we’re ready to peel back the layers.
The bathroom is large and oddly shaped — a long triangle — so we’d like to explore whether it can be split into two better-functioning bathrooms.
The Right Side
The layout mirrors the left side but the condition and finishes are somewhat better here. The living room has colorful green and blue trim. Like the left side, it also has a ceiling leak along the exterior wall.
This side also features a refrigerator in the dining room and some faux greenery. Upstairs, the floors are covered with layers of adhesive from old vinyl tiles, making them sticky enough to catch your shoes — another layer to remove during renovations.
The back bedroom has carpet and a moody eggplant wall color. We suspect some rot or moisture behind the ceiling panels and paneling, but there’s a brick chimney tucked into one corner that we hope to expose and showcase once the coverings are removed.
The bathroom on this side includes a clawfoot tub in decent condition. Both bathrooms are very large and oddly shaped, leaving plenty of unused space. Our goal is to remove the strange add-ons, restore original details where possible, and reconfigure rooms so they’re functional and more in line with the home’s original layout.
I’ll end the tour with the view down the stairs toward the front door. Ignore the mylar “Happy Birthday” balloon that’s hanging on this side — picture the left stairway wall opened into the living room so the stairs feel airy and connected. Our contractor thinks it’s feasible, and we’re eager to get started once the pink house is further along.
The Plan
Right now we’re in the excitement and planning stage. We don’t intend to start demolition immediately because we want to finish a few remaining tasks at the pink house first. The duplex is clearly in need of a lot of work and some serious deodorizing. A local historian guessed the home might date back to the 1880s, which could be a stretch, but it’s safe to say it’s at least a century old and has seen many changes over the years.
We’ll use the same contractor we worked with on the pink house — he’s already sketching possible floor plans. The scope will include whole-house updates similar to the pink house: new plumbing and electrical, a new HVAC system, a new roof and siding, and more. Our initial priorities are: (1) maximize the floorplan for livability and rental potential, and (2) improve the curb appeal of the front facade.
We spotted another duplex nearby that helped us visualize how ours might look once restored. Unlike that house, some of the decorative trim on our duplex is recent and not original, so we’re likely to remove certain additions while preserving unique features like the diamond-pane windows — which are currently covered with plywood on the inside to create extra closet space. Those windows will be uncovered.
That’s the overview for now. We’ll share more updates, photos, and videos as the project moves forward. Thanks to everyone who cheered us on — your enthusiasm was infectious. When we’re neck-deep in tile work across double the kitchens and bathrooms, we’ll appreciate the reminders that this was a little bit crazy — and totally worth it.