Saving Grace

A dilapidated 1927 house regains its serene period spirit, thanks to a meticulous DIY renovation

- Deborah Baldwin

The seven ages of man, as Shakespeare saw it anyway, don’t include one as “a parent and steward of a house in need of a new layout.” And yet who has not noticed that the time to raise children often coincides with the time to raze walls? Consider what Erik and Michelle Dagenhart went through when, as busy young parents of then 6-year old twins, they took on a house wracked by hard knocks and neglect—and turned it into a showplace by doing much of the work themselves.

Erik credits his dad, himself the son of a carpenter, with imprinting the drive to DIY. “He always said, ‘Why pay someone to do something you can do yourself?’ ”

Michelle, similarly hardwired, was already teaching herself remodeling skills in her 20s. Eschewing a conventional courtship, the two day- dreamed about homeownership and ultimately worked together on Michelle’s starter house.

Leap forward—over marriage, kids, and another house—to their latest joint project, a major fixer upper on a leafy street in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We were living nearby in a beautiful old house, but the space was a little inefficient,” says Michelle, recalling the tidy mind-set that drew her to what was then a Miss Havisham–style ruin. “I had noticed it while out on walks with the kids. It was all overgrown, trees and bushes covered it, and I tried to knock on the door, but the owner never appeared. I wrote to her but never heard back. It had been in and out of foreclosure, so I contacted her lawyer, and he described the situation: She was a widow, a recluse, also a hoarder, who did not leave the house. Would I like to come see it next week?”