Detroit — Dozens of people lined up outside a historic home in downtown Detroit Sunday morning just to tour the inside with a former HGTV personality.
Nicole Curtis, a native Michiganian known for restoring homes on “Rehab Addict,” opened the doors to a renovated Ransom Gillis house for a rare tour Sunday. The Venetian Gothic style home was built in 1876 and named for a former Detroit merchant.
Exposed brick is the only original element of the home left in place when the home was finished in 2015 but due to fan crave, Curtis opened the doors to “old house” lovers who took their shoes off and put their phones away before entering the mansion.
“It was more more putting in new restored pieces rather than restoring something,” Curtis said. “Love this house but my greatest ones are the ones I actually restored restored … but this is the one that everybody always wants to know what’s inside.
“I sat out here last night (Saturday) and it was crazy because there was nothing here (in 2015). It was us and I used to do a bonfire on the side of the house because it was all fields ’til the next house,” Curtis said. “Brush Park was all fields.”
Curtis took on the task of renovating the mansion in partnership with Quicken Loans in the summer of 2015. The house opened to the public for viewings in November of that year.
Visitors were charged $15 to enter Sunday. Curtis said the cash would be donated to a family in need. As of Sunday afternoon, over 100 people had toured the updated Ransom Gillis mansion.
The home is currently privately owned and split into two units. Visitors toured one unit’s upstairs and main floor Sunday. The unit’s basement was closed the public. The second unit was also closed to the public.
But, old house lovers relished in what they could see: a project that took millions of dollar to accomplish, Curtis said.
Fans like Rick and Kathy Sanderson of Manchester were pleased to tour the home and even more pleased to meet the TV star whose show was recently pulled from HGTV after a clip of Curtis saying a racial slur went viral.
The Sandersons snapped a picture with Curtis before the tour.
“We always watch Nicole’s shows on TV. This is an opportunity to come actually see one of these restored homes in person. That was really the selling point right there,” Rick Sanderson, 59, said.
“I love the old architecture and how she stylizes it and brings a modern twist to things, it’s beautiful,” Kathy Sanderson, 56, said.
Tecora Harvey of Southfield brought Nicole Curtis’ book “Better Than New” and was one of the first to line up to see the home Sunday.
“It’s classic and simple. The kitchen and its countertops are nice. The cabinets have, even though its not the original locks on it, they look vintage and complement the cabinet. And of course the clawfoot tub she has in the bathroom is really nice.”
Harvey, 42, owns a home built in 1925 in Southfield.
“We bought a 100-year-old house … and we didn’t gut the cabinets because I had watched her and knew not to gut the cabinets and so I wanted to tell her thank you for that,” she said.
The residential construction director has worked on multiple properties in Detroit and is currently working on a home in Ferndale.
Inside the home, guests were greeted by a dark wooden staircase, some exposed brick, and vintage furniture pieces like apothecary cabinets and gold chandeliers.
“It’s such an amazing before and after story. There’s so much beautiful architecture that for so long has been under appreciated and it’s great to see this whole neighborhood doing so well,” said Chris Meister, tour attendee and author of “Albert Kahn’s Daylight: An Architect Reconsidered.”
There’s a powder room, living room, dining room and open kitchen with a farmhouse sink and dark wooden cabinets custom built by Jason Sanford on the main floor. The kitchen was designed by Rachel Kate Hunt.
Upstairs, there’s an ensuite with a contemporary style bathroom including a walk-in shower, a freestanding soaking tub and a dual-sink vanity. The bedroom has a circular stained glass window made by Ann Baxter.
Marcus Branch of Detroit, 60, said he watched the episode when the stained glass window was installed in the primary room, which Curtis called the signature piece of the home. He was excited to look inside and see the craftsmanship for himself Sunday.
“I like renovation. I like historical homes,” Branch said. Branch said he has lived in Detroit for the last 10 years and said the Brush Park neighborhood has come a long way since then.
“When I came it was blighted, lights was off, you couldn’t even walk down Woodward (Avenue). A lot of improvement. I’m glad to see the development,” he said.
mjohnson@detroitnews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘Rehab Addict’ star Nicole Curtis opens historic Detroit home for rare tour
Reporting by Myesha Johnson, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Myesha Johnson, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
