Budget Breakdown: A Design Duo Celebrate Black Durham in a Craftsman Revived for $837K

J. Michael Welton
·3 min read

"In many ways it educates and offers diversity to what is still a predominantly all-white neighborhood," says designer and builder Alicia Hylton-Daniel.

For the primary ensuite bedroom, Hylton-Daniel designed and added a small deck that connects the space to the outdoors.
For the primary ensuite bedroom, Hylton-Daniel designed and added a small deck that connects the space to the outdoors.

Few entrepreneurs can lay claim to revitalizing as much of downtown Durham, North Carolina’s housing stock as interior designer Alicia Hylton-Daniel.

She can tick off more than 30 projects she’s completed since founding Hylton Daniel Design + Construction with her husband and business partner, Roger Daniel, in 2017. Among them: 21 client renovations, six ground-up contemporary houses, four long-term rentals, and four short-term stays. With each, they applied her interior design training and his business skills toward a shared goal of creating more affordable housing.

Before: Alicia Hylton-Daniel’s newest project is the renovation of a Craftsman-style home in Old North Durham. It was a single-family home built in 1925, less than 10 minutes from downtown, and now is an Airbnb.
Before: Alicia Hylton-Daniel’s newest project is the renovation of a Craftsman-style home in Old North Durham. It was a single-family home built in 1925, less than 10 minutes from downtown, and now is an Airbnb.

Their newest project is a 1925 Craftsman home in Old North Durham, now listed on Airbnb. The couple live a few houses away from it on West Trinity Avenue. During the pandemic, the previous owner left for the mountains, then sold the home to an out-of-town developer.

Before: The original screened-in porch at the rear of the home was demolished. It was rebuilt and enclosed, then turned into a sunroom adjacent to the kitchen.
Before: The original screened-in porch at the rear of the home was demolished. It was rebuilt and enclosed, then turned into a sunroom adjacent to the kitchen.

A month later, his broker reached out to the couple to see if they wanted to buy it. "The developer knew our work, loved it, and thought we should have it," Alicia says. "We were able to purchase the house, which was good because his plan was to alter it and make it a two-story."

$15,900
Construction Materials

$4,900
Foundation

$3,500
Waterproofing

$13,600
Framing Labor

$12,600
Roof

$9,000
Siding Labor

$2,200
Gutters

$18,000
Electrical

$10,700
Lighting Fixtures

$15,500
Plumbing

$9,700
Plumbing Fixtures

$17,000
HVAC

$4,500
Insulation

$15,700
Sheetrock Walls & Ceilings

$9,900
Paint

$9,000
Doors

$6,000
Flooring

$5,000
Finish Carpentry

$16,500
Windows

$3,700
Interior Doors

$25,000
Kitchen Cabinets

$7,300
Kitchen Countertop

$1,000
Kitchen Sink & Faucet

$1,000
Fireplace Quartz

$7,000
Tile Material

$9,000
Tile Labor

$5,000
Appliances

$1,800
Wallpaper

$1,000
Wallpaper Installation

$1,100
Loft Ladder

$575,000
House Purchase Price



Grand Total: $837,100

The price was $575,000, but their construction budget was only $262,100. That’s because the pair handled the design and general contracting themselves. (Design normally would have added $20,000 to the budget, and GC work would have bumped it by $50,000.) The firm paid subcontractors, artisans, and its own crew, but not Roger and Alicia.

In the primary ensuite bedroom, the wallpaper is from Mind the Gap, the wall lighting is from Hay, and the nightstands are from Design Bank in Durham.
In the primary ensuite bedroom, the wallpaper is from Mind the Gap, the wall lighting is from Hay, and the nightstands are from Design Bank in Durham.

See the full story on Dwell.com: Budget Breakdown: A Design Duo Celebrate Black Durham in a Craftsman Revived for $837K
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