Chris and Misty Austin experienced love, at first sight, the moment they saw the house they would eventually buy. “I remember driving up this beautiful street and seeing this perfect house and I just started dreaming of all the ways we could make it our own,” Misty remembers.

The house had been built in the 70s and then remodeled throughout the 80s and 90s, and Misty quickly got to work planning out her own renovation projects to turn the house into a home for her, Chris, and their two small children. As an interior designer, Misty had a clear vision of how to transform this traditional home to match her West Coast-inspired style. 

Then, life happened. 

A frozen pipe burst in their kitchen, resulting in damage that needed to be fixed quickly. This meant that renovation priorities had to shift and the Austins needed a builder that could get to work sooner rather than later.

“I had been speaking with a builder about our planned renovations, but when the pipe burst, I couldn’t get ahold of them. Our real estate agent recommended Rufty Homes, and they were incredibly responsive. They answered all of my questions quickly and were at the house to look at the damage within just two days,” she says. 

That’s when Misty met her project manager, Allen Moore. The two immediately hit it off and would form a genuine friendship over the course of the project. “Working with Misty was great,” says Allen. “We’d give her a few options and she’d quickly make decisions about what worked best for their needs.”

Misty agrees, saying, “Allen was phenomenal from start to finish. I’ve done several home renovation projects over the years, and I’ve never worked with someone else who consistently went above and beyond every single day.”

From Misty’s perspective, that client-focused mentality is set from the top down. “I felt comfortable and confident talking to anyone on the Rufty Homes team. Everyone was responsive to questions and receptive to comments, and I could tell that Jon’s passion for this work trickles down to all of his employees.”

She continues, “I tell my friends who are looking for a builder that if you want to work with a team that has heart and genuinely cares about its clients, Rufty Homes is the only way to go.”

After working through the kitchen remodel and repairing the water damage, the team continued to work on different areas of the home, which included tearing down walls and for an open-concept main floor.

“Originally, the downstairs was broken into a lot of separate rooms, but we wanted to open it up, especially since entertaining is important to us. The result is a modern look that’s much more functional for our needs. It’s truly my favorite part of our home,” explains Misty. 

Of course, opening walls can often lead to uncovering issues that would otherwise be unseen, like outdated electrical wiring and plumbing. While this can usually result in heightened stress for everyone involved, Misty was impressed by Rufty’s transparency. 

“We ended up replacing the wiring, plumbing, and HVAC throughout this project, which were all unplanned. But anytime one of these issues came up, we’d all talk everything through together with open lines of communication. Allen and the rest of the team would also talk to us about how to make adjustments with our budget in mind so we never felt blindsided.”

Other updates included bumping out a wall into the garage to create a mudroom, turning a second-floor sitting room into a new bedroom and bathroom, and completely remodeling the master bathroom, in addition to cosmetic updates like new molding and paint.

The result is a functional space that matches the dream the Austins had back when they saw the house for the very first time. “Rufty Homes truly made our dream home a reality,” says Misty. “We couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.”

See the full photo gallery for this project here.