Mitchell family wins Gazette home renovation contest
The Mitchell family has won the first Cape Gazette Home Renovation Photo Contest.
Wanting to keep the house in the family, Wayne and Leslie Mitchell took on a major do-it-yourself project for their new home on Arabian Acres Road near Lewes.
“We purchased Wayne’s grandparents’ home, built in 1984, from his family in December 2019. His grandparents passed away and the family was putting it on the market. Wayne and I knew that this was where we were meant to be, so we purchased it,” Leslie said.
It was Wayne, who has a construction background, who worked nights and weekends, and coordinated all work by subcontractors.
Starting demolition in December 2019, he gutted the existing house down to the studs, and the 2-bedroom, 1-1/2-bathroom home was expanded and converted to a 4-bedroom, 3-1/2-bath home. He took out a wall to open up a great room in the middle of the house, which includes the family room and an enlarged kitchen/dining area. He also replaced the back porch and had a new foundation poured.
A larger house was needed for the family of five, including children Madison, 19, Tyler, 14, and Ava, 8. The family moved from their existing home on Hudson Road near Milton, which was another building project done by Wayne.
During demolition, the entire family got involved. The kids loved being a part of the demo. “When can kids take a hammer to a wall and not get in trouble?” Leslie said.
Even doing a major construction project amid the COVID-19 pandemic could not slow down progress, since most of the work was done by Wayne. “All of the subcontractors were personal friends, and I scheduled them to work when they could be by themselves in the house,” Wayne said.
Wayne worked with his father in the Hoenen & Mitchell construction company until his dad retired. Wayne now works for Atlantic Millwork while Leslie is a second-grade teacher at Milton Elementary School.
The family moved into their new home July 24. “With some landscaping this fall, we'll be finished,” Leslie said.
The Mitchells join a host of other family members who also call Arabian Acres Road their home.
Cape Gazette hosted its Home Renovation Photo Contest in conjunction with the release of the upcoming Fall Home & Garden Publication. Look for it on September 18th!
