Before and After

The Kinseys decided to turn the house upside down-literally.

Flooding was always a concern at the low-lying Kinsey compound. (Phil's mother also lives there, in a large Victorian house.)"We decided to reverse the house," says Kathy, 37. "We'd put the main living area, the kitchen and the master suite upstairs. We just had to come up with a structure to make it work."

The children's rooms and family room remained below, and the couple started knocking down walls, tearing up carpet and rethinking the upstairs layout. They worked on the master suite first, so their daughter could have their old room downstairs.

Known as a savvy shopper, Kathy cut costs wherever possible.

Borrowing high-end ideas from magazines, she and her husband of 18 years achieved a sophisticated design that looks more expensive than it is. Once, they discovered a 300-pound ceramic bathtub at Reilly Brothers, an old hardware store in Fort Myers, for $50. After admiring a $5,000 four-head shower system, they put together their own with $15 showerheads. For the kitchen cabinets they stuck with plywood covered in oak veneer.

"We spent money on nice wood doors, which is what people see anyway," Kathy says.

Kathy figures they spent $25,000 on materials, and they also saved money by doing most of the work themselves. "I was the designer; Phil made it happen," Kathy says. "He would say, no, it couldn't happen. I'd say yes, it can. He'd say OK."

Because he had worked in construction since he was a teen-ager, Phil, 40, had experience and skills to draw on when making the seemingly impossible possible. He also had Elmer Linder, a retired carpenter and old family friend, beside him.

Other friends and family pitched in, too. A firefighter, Phil could count on his buddies to show up when extra hands were needed. Even son John picked up a brush when he was just 4 or 5.

And Kathy got dirty right beside them. "I have my own toolbox, my own hammer," she says.

WORDS OF WISDOM

o Be patient with old houses, and be prepared for surprises. "I don't mind that all the walls aren't plumb," Kathy says.

o Shop around.

o Molding can make everything look good.