This is not how Juliane and Philipp had imagined their old villa would be. Exploding costs, a lack of tradesmen and Juliane's pregnancy made the renovation a real ordeal.
Juliane and Philipp also dreamed of a cozy old building for their family. And they found what they were looking for in Emmendingen: half of a large villa from 1910. The couple sold the house they were living in and invested their money in the old building they had been longing for in 2021. Everything seemed perfect: the financing was in place, the renovation was planned and the tradesmen had been hired. But the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine threw a spanner in the works: tradesmen couldn't come, building materials couldn't be delivered and prices rose.
In the end, they were on their own. Weekend after weekend, they worked hard on the interior of their house, supported by friends. They solved tasks that they had never faced before. Neither of them are trained tradespeople, Juliane works in administration and Philipp in the insurance industry. Now they had to tile, scrape wallpaper off the walls, lay power cables and sand down doors and banisters. And in the middle of all this work, Juliane became pregnant. The joy was great, but the time pressure was even greater. The renovation was due to be completed before the birth in January 2023. Despite all the adversities and hurdles, the two of them actually made it and were able to move into their dream home in October 2022.
Even with the DIY renovation, not everything went according to plan. For example, the washbasins in the bathroom were far too small - that's what happens when amateurs rather than professionals are involved in the planning. And the electrics in the kitchen also caused problems at first. Juliane and Philipp view these little fails and failures with humor. Thanks to all the work, energy and passion they put into the renovation, the young parents now appreciate their home all the more.
Through their own work, they have saved an estimated 50 to 60 percent of the costs. That saved their renovation. In 2022, for example, prices in their electrical wholesale business repeatedly jumped from one day to the next, increasing fourfold in total that year. Juliane and Philipp were often unable to make a decision as quickly as the prices in the quote were already obsolete.
The couple had budgeted 300,000 euros for the complete renovation, including the design of the outdoor area. However, the conversion alone swallowed up the entire budget, despite all the work they had done themselves. Now the garden will have to wait - which in hindsight is not such a bad thing. Because the young parents are already making new plans: Philipp's father wants to build a house in the garden with them so that they can move in.
A film by Bettina von Bonin (editor), Max Tiemann (camera), Paul Heydecke (camera and sound) and Marcella Krings (editor).
00:00 Unplanned DIY renovation of an old villa
01:48 Living and dining area
04:15 Kitchen
06:56 Hallway
08:43 Guest room
09:25 Office
10:43 Children's room
11:42 Sleeping area
13:05 Bathroom
31 май 2024
