Houston Couple Rebuild After a Hurricane Wipes Out Their Home
It’s a nightmare scenario: You wake up to discover rising water in your home. That’s what Angie and Austin Parker found after Hurricane Harvey pummeled the Houston area with wind and rain in 2017, overflowing the bayou near the Parkers’ home and kicking off a monthslong project of trying to put their lives and home back together.
Friend and designer Michele Merz stepped in to help on both fronts, working with the couple to act fast, develop a design plan and order things like drywall before it ran out across the city. “In a natural disaster you take on a little bit different role than you might if it were a traditional design project,” Merz says. “It was very hard for everyone. You are part designer, part therapist, part shoulder to cry on. There’s a certain degree of chaos that comes with that whole experience for people. It looked pretty much like a war zone.”
Happy for the homeowners that everyone was safe and repairs were able to be made quickly. The house is beautiful and has so much personality now!
WOW! What a transformation! I am so sorry for the nightmare you had to go through with the hurricane, but what a huge and delightful change. I especially love the back splash in the kitchen, the wood plank flooring and the tiling in the laundry room. I am also delighted with the new look of the home's exterior. WOW. So impressive. Congratulations!
This is AWESOME! Congratulations on accomplishing this beautiful recovery from such a distressing, heartbreaking situation..
Love the colors and the way each space flows into the next! Glad to see this flood story had a happy ending.
Beautiful!!
My kitchen was half-ruined by a small water leak which occurred while we were away. That was nothing compared to what you and your neighbors endured.
The only way to pick up the pieces and start over is to do what you did....save what could be saved, get good help, and start over. Hopefully, your insurance policy was/is a good one. Even with good insurance there are some costs which you had to absorb yourself. Your “new” home is beautiful. Think of how much you learned about yourself, your friends and your abilities to adapt to a disaster and start over. Health and togetherness is the most important thing at times of stress. Good job.
Congratulations to you all! The redo looks great--we hope you’re enjoying it!
Well done! It is a youthful, light and wonderfully functional space for a family. Congratulations.
Wow, beautiful house.
Lovely remodel down to every detail! Can you share the master bedroom paint color please?
A nice aspect of their open floor plan is that there are sort of "angles" to it - so it's not just one big rectangle. Each space with a different function is a bit off-set from the adjoining space. I really like that. I prefer separate spaces for different functions. This creates that creatively, without closing rooms off. Very nicely done.
wow! Love this renovation! Great job!
Beautiful job
I truly understand what they went through. We had the same thing happen to us last September when we were flooded by Hurricane Florence in NC. We live in a river community and had the worst flooding on record when Flo pulled a Hurricane Harvey and stood over us for days dumping all that water. Our home had 6 feet of water in our garage and over a foot into our first floor. We had to be rescued by boat. But unlike the Parkers our home was only 3 years old at the time of the flood. I didn't want to remodel it. I wanted back exactly what I had! So I rehired our original builder who is still trying to finish our home up at this time. Even after a few years some items are discontinued or unavailable. We just want back what we had before. The process has been trying to say the least. We have no idea yet when we will get back in. There is so much yet to do there and our builder has other homes he has been rebuilding, too. The hardest part is even if you have FEMA insurance (We tapped it out) you still are paying significant more money out of your own pocket just to redo your home. In spite of this the home values have now collapsed in our neighborhood. Great bargains to be had in flipped and redone homes. But it has significantly affected our home value... (spending more money than it is probably worth is hard on your psyche!) In addition, no insurance covers the lawn (all dead) or the bushes and landscaping you have lost from being underwater for a week. It will take us a several years to get not just our home but our landscaping back. If it ever happens again.... we will sell to a flipper after mitigation and leave. Will never ever do this again!
Your house looks amazing and I love the blue kitchen island. Our son place also flooded a very hard experience to live thru, you are a strong person, I did not flood nevertheless, I cried while driving and seeing the chaos created by hurricane Harvey, 2 years later, we see amazing transformation like your home. Congratulations!
Can you tell me where you bought the gray sectional? Thanks.
Nice countertops! You say it's porcelain - what exactly is the name of "this" countertop so we can replicate it. Thanks.
@paddykk you can purchase this sectional on Houzz, linking here. Thanks!
Question: How is it that the after picture shows a one story, mid century home, next door to the right, while the flooded picture shows a new two story house to the right? I know the area well.
As a fellow Houstonian, I am so sorry for what you went through. We are all a little freaked out about rain now! You have made a beautiful home that I hope will be around for a long time. So many great choices, well done.
Can you give me more info on the metal backsplash and countertops in the kitchen. Stunning!
Beautiful! The colors are so modern and cheerful.
@marijai_miller @paddykk The counters are a porcelain slab product by Epic in polished Statuario - linked here.
I think it is absolutely beautiful. I love the teal island and vanity and the shower graphic is fabulous. I can’t imagine seeing your home so broken but you restored it back to a stunning home.
This is amazing ! This is our neighborhood and the difference we had was we were in construction so there were no contents in the house - this is amazing story happy you were able to recover !
This house is GORGEOUS now! its very well thought through and designed.
love everything about this house! Congratulations and enjoy it!
We got hit hard in 04 and decided to rebuild. Worst mistake we ever made. Never recovered financially. Materials cost a fortune because everyone needed the same things and then the market tanked. Hope this doesn't happen to them as well.
Wow and Excellent; we cannot find any other verb or adjective to describe what we saw in this video.
This redo looks great. All the color tied together in the different rooms, the furniture style and architecture blend. It looks so stylish and comfortable.
Kudos for you & your husband for making lemonade out of lemons. A triumph of the human spirit after a disaster. Your home remodel is beautiful. As a fellow Houstonian, you have my sympathy for what you went through. While we did not flood, many people we know did. It was devastating for so many. I pray you & your family experience love, blessings and sweet memories in your "new" home.
So sorry for what you went through but very happy to hear you all are safe. The re-do is amazing. Love the choices and colors. I hope you enjoy your beautifil home forever.
In love with the turquoise/teal. I have pops of it around my house. You all did a great job and congrats on being back home!
What a transformation! Love it!
Safety First! What a fabulous turn around the homeowners made and with the design team to help makes the project have a fabulous makeover. Thank you for sharing and inspiring others.
I want to go check my insurance policy now to make sure it covers contents too!
Agreed it is nice to have an open space where it isn't just one big room, it still has a sectioned off feeling.
I want to go check my insurance policy now to make sure it covers contents too!
Agreed it is nice to have an open space where it isn't just one big room, it still has a sectioned off feeling.
@Jo Cooke The master bedroom walls are Iced Marble, BM 1578, Eggshell by Benjamin Moore.
So sorry for what they went through. The end results of the rebuild are fantastic!
Wow!!!
You are so brave and smart
I'm so glad they got their house back! It was devastating here in Rockport as well, people still trying to rebuild. I had damage, but luckily, I did not have TWIA for Windstorm insurance. Most in our areas don't realize they are not the only insurance company carrying windstorm or hurricane. It would be good for folks to check their insurance and also check around for other companies, just sayin'.
nice!! great story
Looks beautiful and fresh! I love the teal island and vanity! A great house transformation and I am sure you will enjoy your home for many years to come!
But just because a person is no longer young and full of energy or lots of fun ( except with their adorable granddaughter), is no reason to steer away from fun and vibrant colours. I love bright colours in my home because they are so cheery. Everybody deserves to have beautiful colours in their home if they wish!
Why would colors be determined by one's age? Either you like colorful things or you don't. A couple of years ago, when I was "only" 73, I took my blah beige car in and said "paint it that color!" Now I have a most beautiful, strong purple car and love it! I do have to admit that part of the reasoning is to find it in a parking lot! But, it also matches my fireplace....
Very beautiful!!! Love the colours blue is my colour too .