This 123-Year-Old Detroit House Was Transformed into a Cozy, One-of-a-Kind Home
Adrienne Breaux
·7 min read
Bo Shepherd and Kyle Dubay are designers, artists, and the founders of Woodward Throwbacks, where they make furniture and remake spaces using reclaimed materials. They lived in this 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom house in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood for 10 years. Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"Our personal home style is very moody and cozy," Kyle writes. "We like to feel that our house is inviting and inspiring. We try to surround ourselves with art of objects that we love." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
The house was built in 1901, and the oldest thing is likely the fireplace mantel. "It’s solid quarter sawn white oak. And we think it is original to the house (1901). It’s a beautiful piece of architectural detail, and it frames the living room nicely," Kyle explains. Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
A huge statement piece is the bar cabinet the couple made for the living room. "It is made out of an old hand-painted sign. The colors and texture are amazing, and it’s one of the first things you see when you enter our home. And it is one of the last things we added to our house, and feel it really completes that front room," Kyle writes. Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"My favorite elements are some of the art we have collected. Mainly old advertisements and some hand-painted signs. The obscure subject matter of the old Detroit bar sign we have in our living room is so well-executed and just hilarious," Kyle writes. Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"It’s an illustration of a dog with a mustache, wearing a spinning hat and sunglasses while smoking a cigar. And all in front of a silhouette of downtown Detroit. It’s a good representation of our style, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we enjoy the odd and imperfect objects and materials we work with." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"The first piece we really bought was our yellow vintage sofa. It might be the heaviest sofa in the world," Kyle begins. Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"But we bought it for the beautiful yellow velvet fabric, and it really set the tone for our foyer room. And has become a favorite place for our dog, Ginger, to take naps." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
Kyle says people always ask about their stove. "We have a Victorian house and a commercial-grade stove. It came with the house, and we love it. Definitely one of the main selling points for us. The local story is that the previous owner also owned a bar across the street. And apparently when the bar got busy, they would cook in our kitchen and bring it over to the bar!" Kyle writes. Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"Most of our time is spent in the kitchen," Kyle begins. "Bo is a great cook. And our kitchen is generally the heart of our home. There and in our adjacent sunroom. It’s where we gather with our friends and family. And where we unwind after a long day." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
The sunroom was actually a COVID project. "We had never really used the space before." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"But during the lockdown we salvaged our garage and basement for materials and built all the furniture and decor from what we found. Our goal was to make a cozy space that had the indoor/outdoor vibes, but more importantly not to spend any money!" Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"I’d say our product DIY would be our ugly drop ceiling in our kitchen that we refreshed using salvaged lath boards," Kyle writes. "We got the wood for free, dumped on the street from a neighbor's renovation. And it was a simple, cheap, and very visually impactful project. If we had more than $50 and a day of work into the project, I’d be surprised." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"We mix and match design styles all the time," Kyle advises. "I think a lot of people feel like they need to outfit their home with items they feel fits the architectural style." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
"We just like to live around things that we love. It doesn’t matter if they are from different eras or different design styles. For us it is more about falling in love with objects and making them work together." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
The powder room walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's "Golden Mist in Eggshell." and the beadboard is painted in Benjamin Moore's "Black Satin in Matte." Credit: Diana PaulsonCredit: Diana Paulson
Bo Shepherd and Kyle Dubay are designers, artists, and the founders of Woodward Throwbacks, where they make furniture and remake spaces using reclaimed materials. And when it came to the 1,800-square-foot, three-bedroom house in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood they bought 10 years ago for $165k, they applied their salvaged style to every room.
“The house was lived in when we bought it and didn’t require major renovations, unlike most of our projects. So this house was always more about small updates and really just cosmetically making the house more our style,” Kyle explains.
“Our biggest challenge has been figuring out what to take on and what not to,” Kyle begins. “The house is old, built in 1901. It’s in great shape, but there have been things we’d like to do here and there. But once you start ripping things out of these old homes, it can open up way more problems or work than you intend. So we’ve focused more on doing cosmetic things like refinishing the original floors, fixing plaster walls, and modernizing the kitchen.”
“We are fortunate the previous owners took care of the home, but also set it up nicely. They had converted the house to force air system. And they turned one of the bedrooms into a large bathroom. Thus converting the original bathroom into a laundry room. Both are huge luxuries in an old home like ours.”
The couple recently published their first book, “Throwbacks Home Interiors,” which features more of their projects with salvaged elements. And they’ve since said goodbye to this house and are on to their next home adventure: They bought a 4,500-square-foot warehouse built in 1945 on the Eastside of Detroit that they’ll be converting themselves.
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