Extreme Makeovers

Do-it-yourself condo owners transform kitchens and more

Switch on HGTV or TLC, and it quickly becomes obvious: Between the earth-toned paint-mad decorators of "Trading Spaces" and the hammer-wielding handymen and women of "Fix It Up!," do-it-yourself home renovation couldn't be hotter.

And while many of these reality shows focus on bold face-lifts for mega-mansions, the urge to rehab and redo has also hit local condo owners. From folks rescuing older apartments to new condo owners who simply want to upgrade their kitchens, these creative and often brave souls are discovering that tweaking a small space also produces dramatic results.

Take Steve Klc, 46, a pastry chef and consultant who is on the creative team for Jose Andres, the chef behind Zaytinya, Oyamel and five other area restaurants. Klc (pronounced "Kelch") and his wife and fellow pastry chef, Colleen Apte, 47, renovated their one-bedroom condo in the Courthouse neighborhood of Arlington in 2004.

It's no surprise that they paid special attention to their kitchen. "Being pastry chefs, we were used to working professionally in very small quarters," said Klc. Through the rehab, he said, "We ended up turning [the condo kitchen] into a better pastry kitchen than either one of us has ever worked in."

A self-described "Ikea kitchen missionary," Klc frequented the mega-store's "as-is" room, where returned merchandise is sold for a fraction of the list price. "It's kind of like outlet shopping," said Klc. Limited by the sometimes strange merch that ends up there -- partially assembled cabinets, chairs with ripped upholstery -- Klc spent several months stalking the space to score deals like a $1,200 Corian countertop for $10. The chef couple used the money they saved to splurge on higher-end kitchen appliances.

One of those haute appliances, a GE Profile Dual Fuel oven range, turned out to be a big mistake. Klc and Apte found one of the high-end cookers advertised at Home Depot at a clearance price. They took that figure to Best Buy, and the retailer agreed to give them an even better bargain: $950 for a $2,300 stove. But after the stove was delivered, Klc realized that his new baby was built for a 220-volt outlet and his condo was on a 110-volt circuit.

"I knew Ikea cabinets; I didn't really know anything about electrical work," he confessed. Klc spent a week researching ways to make the stove work, but since the only solution involved getting approval from his condo board and calling in an electrician, he eventually decided it wasn't worth the trouble and returned the range, swallowing a 10 percent restocking fee.

Still, Klc and Apte couldn't be more pleased with their decision to do it themselves. "There's a pressure when you have a contractor engaged to do the work. Time is money," said Klc. "If we got some design inspiration, I was able to pursue it and not worry about a change-work-order charge with a contractor," he added. Like creating cakes and pastries, he said, the work was "entirely within your control."

Audra Miller, a 28-year-old medical student who just wrapped up a monthlong renovation of her Rosslyn one-bedroom condo, feels equally connected to her project. Through working on the condo, Miller said, "I've looked at every corner of the place and just have a much better appreciation for it."

Like Klc and Apte, Miller focused on updating her kitchen with new appliances and laminate countertops. She also spruced up the bathroom and living areas with fresh paint and new fixtures.

She picked up tips on doing these tasks from multiple sources: staffers at Home Depot, her building's engineer and her handy parents. A recently renovated condo in Miller's complex proved especially inspirational because its layout was identical to that of her own pad. "One of the advantages, being in a condo, is that you can see what other people have done," she said. "They've run across the same problems that you have. You can see how they solved them."

A big motivation for Miller, and many other condominium makeover masters: upping the resale value of her place. But she said she is also pleased with how much she has learned about construction through the process. "I never knew it was so simple to put in a dimmer switch," she said.