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NARRATOR: Not everyone lives in a suburban tract house,
or wants to.
But a hayloft...
an auto-body shop...
an airplane fuselage?
We're actually standing over one of the wings.
NARRATOR: What about a Mexican restaurant?
I found this "hot tamale" sign, and that's now our bedroom door.
NARRATOR: Stick around for a tour
of some amazing living spaces,
and meet the people whose creativity and vision
made it all possible.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
In the mid-city area of New Orleans, Louisiana,
a gas station built in 1918 sits on a neighborhood corner.
Robert Guthrie, an artist and fine-arts professor,
converted the vintage filling station
into a two-story industrial loft and studio
with one bedroom and two full baths.
GUTHRIE: This is my studio home.
I'm an artist, and this is my biggest art project.
NARRATOR: When Robert purchased the property,
it needed a lot of work.
The portico was pulling away from the front of the building,
and the roof needed to be repaired.
Before I could do the fun part,
we had to do a lot of this other work, too.
NARRATOR: The former gas-station office
is now Robert's dining room.
GUTHRIE: It had a load-bearing wall separating the garage
from the office space.
NARRATOR: Robert removed the wall to open up the space
and added steel reinforcements
to the truss above the dining room
and throughout the loft.
I've always wanted to live in an old gas station.
I've always liked the architecture
and the history of these old gas stations.
NARRATOR: Drive-in filling stations
began popping up everywhere in the early 1900s
when Henry Ford's Model T became available to the masses.
Before that, gas was sold by the can at hardware and drugstores.
By 1929, there were over 100,000 service stations in the country.
Robert kept as much as he could from the original gas station,
including the concrete floors,
the industrial fan at the end of the loft,
and the two bay doors.
GUTHRIE: I love the old wood with this distressed look.
We did have to strip off some of the paint on it,
and this was added for structure.
But the old hardware is all original and still operational.
NARRATOR: The front bay doors no longer open,
but back in the day, cars pulled into this bay
and were then raised by the lift to get serviced.
Here we have the old hydraulic lift used to lift up the cars.
We incorporated that into the landing
with this custom-built staircase
that goes up into the bedroom loft.
NARRATOR: After a year of work restoring the damaged building,
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans
and left the station sitting in close to 3 feet of water.
The garage doors and the original car lift
still show the water-level marks left from the storm.
You can see where the water got as high as right here.
It kind of settled to right here.
And luckily, it didn't stay for very long.
This area recovered really quickly.
One piece that I did, this print, which --
It was well-received,
and I think I kind of hit the right tone.
You know, it wasn't too somber.
Kind of shows the spirit of the people here.
NARRATOR: Robert's creative background
was essential in helping him design a cohesive space.
Every detail in the loft,
including the vintage car nameplates,
which serve as drawer handles,
reflects an automobile theme.
One of the most eye-catching is the first-floor bathroom.
Unlike the ones in most gas stations,
it's a room people now love to visit.
This is the bathroom downstairs, which --
a lot of people, this is their favorite part.
I started out with a nice Jacuzzi tub,
some subway tile,
and a couple from Lafayette --
the tile work with the Gulf logo.
As an artist, this space really inspires me
and, I find, for my students, too.
NARRATOR: Robert has made many creative works over the years
but considers his gas station turned home
his best work of art yet.
On the eastern coast of Spain,
the region of Catalonia has an independent spirit
and a rich history dating back to the Romans.
Here in this mountain village,
agricultural families have been harvesting
olives, grapes, and oranges for hundreds of years.
And while at first glance
it may seem like nothing ever changes in this idyllic town,
looks can be deceiving.
Meet David and Estel.
They transformed an abandoned, ancient hayloft
into a sleek, modern one-bedroom, one-bath retreat
with full kitchen and studio space.
This house has been the property of my family
since the 17th Century.
I feel it was a good space.
It was a big box, very high,
one I was interested since I was a boy,
so when the moment arrived, I choose.
The home is known as La Pallissa,
the Catalonian word for "hayloft,"
and that's exactly what it was
when David and Estel got their hands on it.
The walls were crumbling, the roof leaked,
and it was filled with grain, hay, and David's old bicycles.
ORTEGA: Nobody used to live here,
and it was almost abandoned.
We had to renovate all the north part.
Despite its rough condition,
architects David and Estel saw the potential
in this space with high ceilings.
They chose to retain the original footprint
and avoided adding on to the original stone walls.
They also wanted to see as much of the stone as possible,
so they devised a way to incorporate
the modern conveniences they desired.
Inside the original stone structure,
they designed and built a modern box
that houses the kitchen, bathroom,
all the plumbing and electricity,
which also serves as a support for the bedroom mezzanine.
David and Estel wanted to show the contrast and harmony
between the ancient and modern elements of La Pallissa.
So, while the home's original details
maintain their earth tones,
the color scheme of all the modern additions
are bright red and white.
All of the openings for the windows and doors
also maintain their original dimensions and placements
except for one.
We opened a new one looking to the garden tree.
It's kind of a landscape window.
We wanted it to be as a frame
that make us see from the inside the outside.
The minimalist theme continues upstairs.
Behind the enclosure for the bathroom,
the couple's bed faces a window
with its eternal view of the beautiful Spanish countryside.
Now whenever David and Estel escape the city of Barcelona,
they are treated to some of the freshest orange juice
on the planet here at La Pallissa --
an ancestral home where the new and the old
are seamlessly woven together.
Our next house takes us to Des Moines, Iowa,
where Chet Guinn has made himself at home
in an old fire station.
They put on long sleeves, jumped in their boots,
and down the pole they'd go.
NARRATOR: We're back on our tour
of some of the most interesting places people now call home,
including an old gas station and a Spanish hayloft.
GUINN: All set up there?
All right.
NARRATOR: It's not unusual
to see Chet Guinn driving around Des Moines, Iowa,
in his very own fire truck, so it makes perfect sense
that Chet should live here, in a converted fire station.
My living room was the firemen's bedroom.
There was a fire bell up there.
When it went off in the middle of the night,
they put on long sleeves, jumped in their boots,
and down the pole they'd go.
After a safe landing,
you'd jump on the truck and were off to the fire
in less than a minute.
Whee! [ Laughs ]
NARRATOR: Today, this fire station built in 1907
measures 3,000 square feet with a whimsical layout.
Original firehouse doors
lead into what Chet calls the great hall.
This large space had humble beginnings.
It once housed stalls dating back to the early 1900s,
when fire trucks were pulled by horses.
When the alarm went off,
the horses automatically had the harness dropped on them.
The gates opened,
and they took a position, being well-trained horses,
and they were off and running in less than a minute
with a bell clanging like this.
[ Bell ringing ]
NARRATOR: Chet built interior walls
so that he could have separate rooms downstairs.
Now a guest bedroom replaces one of those horse stalls.
Here, a leftover gas pump in the back
symbolizes the change from horse-drawn carts
to fire engines in the early 1900s.
GUINN: They wanted to have a place to store their fuel,
so they put a tank in, and this is a pump.
In order to...
They put it in a bucket or a can [chuckles]
and took it to the vehicle.
NARRATOR: And the bathroom hasn't changed much
since its days as the firemen's locker room.
GUINN: These are the original sinks, original mirror.
And the firemen used to stand here and shave and swap stories.
And a common trick was to fill boots with water,
and they would jump in their boots
when the fire alarm went off and found out they had wet feet.
NARRATOR: Upstairs, you'll find an expanded, modern kitchen
in place of a smaller one used by the firemen.
The official wording on the blueprint
called this a sitting room,
so it was a gathering room for the firemen,
also a place, though, where they prepared their meals.
NARRATOR: Downstairs is the master bedroom,
originally the feeding room for the horses.
When they had to have feed,
they used this pulley to bring the feed up and store it.
This is the old feed chute.
They used to send the corn, the oats, and hay
down to the horses.
And it's now my clothes chute.
Here we go.
[ Chuckles ] Works well.
NARRATOR: The old fire station closed its doors in 1960.
Chet bought the building 20 years later.
As an urban minister,
he wanted to live in the heart of Des Moines.
When he heard the news the city
wanted to tear down the old firehouse
to create a parking lot, he took action.
So, then I entered into a legal process, sued the city,
and managed to win and buy the building
for the price of $1, eventually.
But the check was never cashed,
so therefore, I virtually got the building for nothing.
Quite a deal, huh?
NARRATOR: The deal did require
that he bring the building up to code within a year.
Chet took the challenge and finished in record time.
Probably the people will remember me
as the guy who took a fire station and rebuilt it.
NARRATOR: Now that it's all said and done,
Chet enjoys this very cool home with a very fiery past.
Our next house in Colorado
went through many different incarnations
before becoming a home.
This is a former church/Masonic lodge/Mexican restaurant.
NARRATOR: Welcome back.
We're on a journey to find the most unusual home conversions
from all over the world.
Our next stop is just outside Philadelphia,
where Marcia Weber has turned this 337-square-foot domain
into her dream home.
Welcome to my caboose. This is my permanent home.
It was built in 1909.
I saw an ad in The Wall Street Journal,
and it simply said, "Wooden cabooses for sale."
NARRATOR: 35 years ago,
Marcia paid $5,000 for her house on rails.
WEBER: I like old things, obviously.
This is over 100 years old.
We selected this one
because it had all the original steel built into it.
All the ironwork is original.
The wheel moves.
It doesn't take you anywhere,
but my two boys used to love this when they were little,
so I wanted to keep it as original as I could.
NARRATOR: The originality doesn't end there.
Since she only has an 89-inch kitchen space,
Marcia had to get very creative with all her appliances.
This is a 20-inch stove.
This is a bar sink.
And I was able to find an 18-inch dishwasher.
This little section right here where the refrigerator now is
used to be the toilet,
which was simply a bowl on the floor,
and the waste went out on the railroad tracks.
I've gotten a little more civilized since then
and added a bathroom.
NARRATOR: Marcia chose smaller appliances
for the bathroom, as well,
which measures only 6 feet by 10 feet.
If the washer or dryer should break,
I can take the window out
and remove the washer and dryer through the window.
That was how we brought it in,
and it's the only way to take it out.
Now we are in the bedrooms.
I say plural because there are two bunks.
NARRATOR: Marcia utilizes every nook and cranny of the caboose,
including the top side.
Okay, this is the ladder that takes you up to the cupola,
which I lovingly refer to as the library.
I spend a considerable amount of time up here, actually,
just reading and looking at the scenery.
This bar right here is to hold on to
while you step across to the other side
so that when the train was moving at a good clip,
you would not fall off.
NARRATOR: While Marcia enjoys her time in the library,
most of her activities take place down below.
WEBER: Now we're in the
living room/media center/ dining room/office.
NARRATOR: Updating this caboose from the 1900s
required renovations
and some creative thinking about efficiency.
The area where the potbellied stove once was
is now Marcia's compact office.
The bunk bed and seat serve a dual purpose
and double as storage units.
The original bunk beds now serve as couches
in Marcia's living room.
WEBER: When you have 337 square feet,
you need every square inch you can utilize.
NARRATOR: Marcia added a deck
to expand her living space into the outdoors.
The man who built it for me was kind of ingenious
with how he tied in the original railings to the deck.
NARRATOR: And Marcia's not the only one
who benefits from the bright-red caboose.
All the neighbors have always used the caboose as a landmark.
I enjoy showing it off to people.
I've put a lot of work in it.
Every minute of it has been worth it.
It's the best place ever to live.
NARRATOR: You would never guess from looking at the outside,
but this one-story brick exterior in Denver, Colorado,
opens up to a spacious 3-bedroom, 2½-bath loft.
Before Danny Newman and his girlfriend, Christy Krusick,
made it their home,
it was a church, a Masonic lodge,
and finally, a Mexican restaurant.
When Danny found the structure, which was built in 1912,
only the bones were intact.
But Danny saw the building's potential.
I was looking for a unique place,
and I kept hearing about this old church, this old restaurant,
and I drove by a couple times,
and I was like, "That is hideous on the outside."
I finally stopped, came inside,
and as soon as I walked in, I fell in love.
NARRATOR: Danny had to clear the debris inside
and repair the collapsed windows
before he could begin the design phase.
NEWMAN: When I first got the space,
it was a just open shell of a building.
There were just the exterior walls here.
All of these windows had collapsed.
Had to rebuild those, put new glass, new framing.
NARRATOR: Next, Danny sketched out his design ideas
for the empty space.
Having never done a conversion this size before,
Danny reached out to a few architects to guide him along.
He found that the beams
that support the structure of the building
were sagging several inches.
Danny repositioned them
and provided extra support with 2x4s.
He liked the industrial feel of the space,
so along with the exposed brick, Danny kept the ceilings bare.
He built an overhang ceiling in the kitchen
to separate the space
and to keep the insulation from dropping.
This is really here just to kind of make the kitchen
feel a little bit kind of enclosed.
The cabinets are actually from a house
that was getting torn down.
And then also went and got this restaurant stove --
24-inch griddle.
NARRATOR: Though the commercial stove
is not from the Mexican restaurant,
Danny did find a couple of items that he repurposed.
The steel freezer is now a storage closet,
and the master-bedroom door is made out of an old sign
that Danny found on the roof.
NEWMAN: I found this piece of wood up there,
and I lifted it up, and there was this "hot tamale" sign,
and that's now our bedroom door.
NARRATOR: After Danny made the place comfortable,
his girlfriend, Christy, moved in
and gave their home a feminine touch.
It was like a total bachelor pad.
There were clothes all over the floor.
It was carpeting. It was dark. It was dirty.
I came to the rescue,
and we put in these amazing hardwood floors.
And then we just added a lot of pops of color.
So, we have the yellows and the blues and the purples
and the reds and the pinks,
and it just made it, like, a more, like,
warming, inviting space.
Christy and Danny wanted to create the feeling
of individual rooms throughout the loft.
As you walk through the front door,
you notice different sections that feel like distinct spaces.
I loved how open it was,
but I felt like we needed little areas that had a purpose.
We have the music, the office, the kitchen,
the kitchen table,
and then kind of like that living-room area.
The master bathroom is surprisingly spacious.
Danny wanted an open feel
and added some unique elements to reflect his personality.
This is another unique space.
It's just completely open up top.
Also did a little separation
between the wood and the shower with this tile.
Knew that it would probably be getting wet
and wanted to protect the cool wood.
Since we were playing with all of this cool pixilated tiles,
threw a Space Invader in here, too.
So, there's his eyes and his mouth.
NARRATOR: Loft spaces, especially in Colorado,
can be challenging to keep warm.
Danny built Christy a special nook
where she goes whenever she gets too cold.
I would always complain that it was freezing,
and so Danny actually built me a little tree house up here
because the heat is kind of, like, trapped right there.
So I go up there and I read, and I'll play music.
I just kind of, like, hang out and be warm.
From crumbling walls to this redone, modern loft,
Danny is pleased with the conversion.
NEWMAN: From the first time I saw this space
when it was basically a dump with exposed everything
and dirt and grime everywhere,
my mom coming in and running away,
crying and screaming, "No! No!"
to what we've created here -- I couldn't be happier.
NARRATOR: These L.A.-based designers
discovered their new home in a 1950s auto-body shop.
The floor is really untouched.
You see splatters of paint from all the old bodywork.
NARRATOR: We've met a Pennsylvania homeowner
who lives in a caboose
and a Colorado couple who've taken up residence
in what was once a Mexican restaurant.
Years ago in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana,
Bob Hamilton and his wife, Chris,
discovered two empty side-by-side
former retail spaces.
One had been a fur factory and the other a music store.
Built in the early 1900s,
the fur and music stores were part of a retail complex
on Milam Street.
Although the two businesses were separate from each other,
when the Hamiltons purchased the properties,
they combined the units and transformed them
into a 3-level, 4-bedroom, 4½-bath home.
I had a dream as a child
that someday I would have an apartment
where all my family could live with me.
When we had an opportunity to do it, we took advantage of it,
and we had everybody move in, and it was cool.
It was sort of like a dream come true.
This particular building turned out to be the best choice.
It had parking underneath it.
It had good street access, good location, and lots of room.
NARRATOR: Before renovations could begin,
the space needed a major cleanup.
During the three years the property sat vacant,
it had been vandalized and water damaged.
Over the next two years, Bob and Chris,
along with their family and friends,
removed the debris and decay
and began to whip the large space into shape.
HAMILTON: There was paint everywhere.
There was clothes. There was dirt.
It was just really filthy.
We liked the bones of the building.
We liked the way it was laid out.
I really loved the concrete columns.
I knew that it was gonna be pretty solid.
NARRATOR: After the cleanup,
concrete fire walls were knocked down
to merge the two spaces into one.
The split-level basement holds parking and storage.
The first floor is anchored by an expansive great room
complete with a living space, gaming area, fireplace,
and office nook.
A spiral staircase leads to a bedroom
with a balcony view of the interior.
At the far end of the great room,
Bob converted a former safe where fur coats were once kept
into a wine cellar.
And he found a creative way
to repurpose some of the room's original elements.
This door -- It was a way of locking the furs in
and keeping the people out.
We turned the door around,
welded it back to the same steel plate,
made it into a wine room.
We wanted it to look like
somebody just grabbed this thing from a building
and just ripped it off
and then brought it in here and just set it down.
NARRATOR: Just off the great room
is the kitchen and formal dining room,
which Chris designed with family gatherings in mind.
HAMILTON: With the gap that we put between the counters
and the size of the islands, it really makes it easy
for everybody to get involved and be out here.
And we all sit out here and tell stories.
And, you know, it's a family gathering.
It's what we love about the size of the kitchen.
NARRATOR: Part of the Hamiltons' motivation to renovate the space
was to allow extended family to move in.
And various family members have lived with them over the years.
To help older members of the family
get around this roomy 9,600-square-foot home,
Bob installed a hydraulic elevator just off the kitchen.
A short ride to the second floor reveals two wings --
two bedrooms on one side
and mother-in-law Sonia's apartment on the other.
On the outer facade,
Bob left the original stonework border intact,
but he replaced the angled entryways
with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall.
HAMILTON: We kind of chose the glass block
because we wanted it to kind of have a modern look
but, at the same time, have some form of insulation.
That's the beauty of the glass block --
You just don't know what's behind it.
We'd like to have a place where everybody could go,
and we have that space now and we just enjoy it.
NARRATOR: Up the elevator and onto the rooftop,
Bob has crafted yet another space
the entire family can enjoy -- a vegetable garden,
table and chairs, and play space for the grandchildren.
There's even a view of downtown Shreveport
and, just over the edge, people passing by,
never realizing that behind the glass cubes
lies a beautiful home.
From the street, it's an unsuspecting place to call home.
But open the garage door,
and that's exactly what couple Shirry and Bo drive into.
This L.A.-based design duo is at home
inside the walls of an old 1956 auto shop.
Originally when we were searching for a new place,
we wanted something really New York and lofty
and sort of cool and industrial.
So, we didn't know what we were going to try and find.
We definitely didn't think it was going to be
a paint-and-body shop, that's for sure.
NARRATOR: These days, it's a contemporary live/workspace,
which Shirry and Bo use to entertain guests
and woo clients 24/7.
The one-of-a-kind paint shop to home the transformation
begins just a few steps inside the garage door.
We have the office space over there, the lounge here,
all the former dining and the conference area over there.
NARRATOR: Almost everything serves a dual purpose
for this couple, who do more than just live together.
The garage door fills the office space with natural light,
a must for this design team.
It's also not the only sign of the building's past,
and that's just how the couple likes it.
DOLGIN: Check this out.
The floor is really untouched.
You see splatters of paint from all the old bodywork.
You see dents and dings
and even little nuts and bolts that are left in here.
This is part of the true character of the place
that we wanted to leave and maintain.
After all, it was a body shop.
So, we poured a clear-epoxy-coat finish on top of it,
and we thought this was the best way
to maintain the character of this place.
NARRATOR: Above, they've melded the building's
old, exposed electrical pipes with newer fixtures
to create a modern look all their own.
DOLGIN: We decided to create this light fixture
because we wanted something that looked super-industrial
and to be mixed with all this hard concrete
and all this gray that you see
and to use some natural element with the wood.
NARRATOR: Wood also takes center stage in the main entry,
which once housed the shop's front office.
So, this is our original 1950s wood
mixed in with some newer ones,
and it creates this really cool pattern on the wall.
This is the only structure we actually had to build,
and it's the only private place that we have in the entire loft.
It houses our closet and our shower and our bathroom.
But that's all we've got, and all the rest is open space.
NARRATOR: And as far as the bedroom goes,
even though the couple likes wide-open spaces,
they decided smaller was better.
DOLGIN: To be honest,
clients don't even realize that when they're in the office space
that our bedroom is right back here.
The stainless-steel kitchen sits right next to the bedroom,
perfect for late-night snacks.
DOLGIN: Tons of people come here,
and they're like, "Why would you build your kitchen
right next to your bedroom?"
But to be honest, I love it, and it's compact.
It has just what we need,
and it still has that New York lofty vibe.
NARRATOR: A few steps away lays a hidden surprise,
but you have to do a little climbing to get there.
People like it because it's very cozy up here.
It is very cozy, and the truth is,
people get a kick out of it when they come up here.
They're not expecting anything.
But they see that there's space for two guests,
and they have a lot of fun.
An old auto shop with all the comforts of home
has become the perfect pad for this design duo.
This Michigan couple turned a historic church
into their own private sanctuary.
MARGENE: We've been told that, originally,
it was probably used as a little cry room,
someplace that parents could bring their children.
NARRATOR: We visited a fire station and a 1950s auto-body shop
that are now modern, comfortable living spaces.
Northville, Michigan, is a small town
filled with friendly faces and warm smiles.
For Margene and Bob Buckhaye, their door is always open.
Hi.
Welcome.
NARRATOR: Built in 1885,
this 6,000-square-foot home was formerly a church.
Today, the home features modernized decor
with wide-open spaces.
The main area includes the living room,
a sitting room with an exceptional fireplace,
and an entertainment area featuring a baby grand piano.
Continuing to the back,
there's the open dining room and kitchen
tucked into its own arched alcove.
The entire living space sits on top of Margene's craft store.
This was the original sanctuary,
so it would have been all the space that you see here,
and you would have been able to see up 30 feet
to the original ceilings.
NARRATOR: Because the church was one expansive room,
it was hard to visualize using the space
for anything but Margene's store.
But once they built the second floor,
they realized the full potential of this space.
We had not thought about making a residence out of it at all,
and that didn't happen until the floor went in.
And we, all of a sudden, could walk out here, and we realized,
"Oh, my gosh, we're still 16 feet away from the ceilings,
"and look at all the space.
We need to do something with it."
BOB: I walk through here,
and I could see the finished product,
at least enough of it to cause me to get excited.
NARRATOR: Bob and Margene
kept much of the original structure of the building,
but they did add a touch of their own -- marble columns.
MARGENE: They're strictly decorative.
Gave us the opportunity to create, you know,
the dining space over here and room divider in the center
that sort of separates the space
without creating a big barrier.
Looking high above, ornate wood ceilings were preserved
and are a constant reminder of the handcrafted church
and its history.
This is what was originally here from 1885 to the present.
Thank goodness they had never been painted.
BOB: Wood is alive.
It may have been out of a tree
that's been cut down 120 years ago, but it has a feel.
It has a texture. To me, it's wonderful.
NARRATOR: This rich wood did present some challenges --
limiting light in the space.
But Bob and Margene found a resourceful solution.
It was extremely dark,
and so we had to get our light wherever we could.
So we put in skylights all over the place.
NARRATOR: Along with the ceilings,
the Buckhayes kept the original windows
but altered some things in order to add more light
in the large space.
And we have the round window
that originally had stained glass in it.
We removed the glass
so that we could allow much more natural light.
Bob and Margene were also able to restore
the only part of the original building
that had a second story.
It is now the luxurious master suite,
which also features a balcony overlooking the street below.
MARGENE: We've been told that, originally,
it was probably used as a little cry room,
someplace that parents could bring their children.
NARRATOR: And attached to the bedroom is the master bath.
This used to be two bathrooms, actually,
when it was the church.
There was a men's room and a women's room,
and they were quite large,
so we gutted that whole area
and created a closet that is behind us,
then the bathroom.
When we have people over that have never been here before,
we take a little tour. Next thing we know,
we've got 10, 15 people hanging out in the bathroom.
As with the church before it,
Bob and Margene's home is always open,
and guests know when it's time to gather.
Bob just rings the original church bell in the tower.
[ Bell tolls ]
I look back at it, and I think, "Were we out of our minds?"
[ Chuckles ]
NARRATOR: This 120-year-old residence
now includes modern conveniences
and all the heavenly comforts of home.
A homeowner in Costa Rica gave up a career in jet planes
only to live in one.
When you're on the airplane, you only get one window.
Here I have a view from everyone's window.
NARRATOR: We're back on our tour
of some of the most interesting places people call home,
like a former gas station and a historic firehouse.
Costa Rica is one of the most popular tourist destinations
in the world,
with more than a million visitors in the past year alone.
Faith Mulvihill took it a step further
and moved here two years ago from New York.
This former flight attendant lives in an airplane.
MULVIHILL: I go way back working in the airline business,
and I've worked for quite a few airlines in my day.
And at one time, when I was a kid, I was a flight attendant.
NARRATOR: This 727 fuselage has two outdoor decks,
a kitchen and breakfast area, a sitting area...
two bedrooms...
two baths...
and something you don't see in every home -- a cockpit.
Faith's architect is Allan Templeton.
He got the idea to make a fuselage home on a pedestal
from a magazine article.
But there was a catch.
When I asked the man if I could go see one of his homes,
he told me it was all just photoshopped
and there was no home and there were no pictures.
And so I decided at that point that I'm gonna do this.
NARRATOR: And it took some doing.
Finding a fuselage wasn't a problem.
There was a decertified one at the airport
that was being used for fire drills.
The plane was just full of all sorts of melted-down tires,
and you can see how much smoke there was.
But fortunately, the aluminum was pretty tough,
and it withstood the fires.
The most difficult thing, of course, was moving the plane.
We had to take out tens of thousands of rivets.
NARRATOR: Once the 40,000 rivets were removed
and the plane was in pieces,
five 18-wheel trucks moved the fuselage
to Allan's property.
It sat in the parking lot for over two years
as we were trying to figure out what to do
with our new, little monster.
People were obviously laughing.
"Who's the insane ***?"
It made us think, "Okay, we have to make it work
so that people stop talking."
NARRATOR: Allan brought in a 90-ton crane
and lifted the fuselage onto three pedestals.
The original plan had the plane sitting on its wheels,
but the 22-year-old tires kept deflating
and had to be filled with concrete to stabilize the plane.
Now it's a complete home with all the amenities.
We're actually standing over one of the wings.
This area was built as a fantastic balcony
for year-round outdoor living.
Early in the morning, too, the monkeys come.
We've even had instances
where they're actually peeking in the windows at us.
NARRATOR: There's another deck on the second wing
that has a view of the ocean.
MULVIHILL: Look at that view.
Is that amazing?
That is Manuel Antonio National Park.
How's that for your backyard?
NARRATOR: In addition to the outdoor dining areas,
there's a small breakfast nook and kitchenette.
Down a few stairs is a small living area.
It's where I sit in the evening
and catch up on world events on television.
This window was probably one of the main service doors
on the aircraft.
NARRATOR: Next to the TV room is the master bedroom.
The whole plane is lined with teak that was locally harvested.
But the bedroom has an added appeal
for this former flight attendant.
Well, there's so many portholes,
it really is like my windows on the world.
And each one gives you a unique view.
When you're on the airplane, you only get one window.
Here I have a view from everyone's window.
NARRATOR: The 60 windows aren't the only remnants of the plane.
We're in the cockpit.
How cool is that?
They actually put the seats
back in the way it would have been in the cockpit,
so I think it's really cool.
And...
here is my shower.
I get to shower every morning
looking out over the jungle and the rainforest.
Absolutely spectacular.
NARRATOR: On the other side of the kitchen,
in the back of the plane, is the guest bedroom.
Since moving to Costa Rica, I get a lot of guests,
and my kids come down and visit me a lot, too.
It's lovely in Costa Rica.
NARRATOR: Faith's favorite part of the house is in the guest bathroom.
Faith created a skylight
from the space that was formerly occupied
by the turbine engine.
MULVIHILL: This shower opens
to what used to be the tail of the aircraft.
It was actually chopped off, and that's what we're looking at.
NARRATOR: Once offering a view from the clouds,
this fuselage is now a luxurious home
that has landed safely and permanently
in the rainforest of Costa Rica.
Everyone who visits Ashley Falls,
a picturesque town in the Massachusetts Berkshires,
will recognize the red mill.
Howard Chezar and his partner, Patricia Fox,
transformed this historical gristmill into a magical home
with four bedrooms, four baths, and a loft.
As beautiful as it is now, this was no easy conversion.
It took six years to rebuild the dams, open the waterways,
and make the commercial mill into a full-time residence.
I am amazingly happy with how this has all turned out.
What we did on the front facade,
where we took off everything that was there --
There was a lot of rot.
The original door, which we kept,
was used as Patricia's guide
for the palette that she chose on the colors on the mill.
It's a red mill, but the color is not your standard barn red.
NARRATOR: Great effort was made to blend past and present.
Howard and Patricia wanted to cohesively incorporate elements
from the former mill into the house,
and Patricia's eye for detail helped achieve that.
One unique design accent
is the grain elevators located near the side entrance.
These scoops carried grain from the lower level
so it could be stored elsewhere.
FOX: We wanted to incorporate these as a room divider
as an architectural element because they're so historical
and such an important, intrinsic part of the mill.
NARRATOR: The gristmill was built in 1737
and provided flour to the surrounding area.
Powered completely by water,
the two waterfalls on the property
were essential to the mill's production.
Water from the Konkapot River
flowed into the lowest level of the mill,
powering the turbines, which turned the millstone.
In the 1960s, the mill endured a fire
which destroyed two smaller buildings on the property
and a portion of the mill itself.
From that point on, the mill was no longer functional
and lay vacant until Howard purchased it.
On the lowest level of the home,
Howard and Patricia built and designed a wine-tasting room
with a wall of windows to view the heart of the mill --
its gear house.
This was actually the wheel that had a belt around it
connected to this one here, which powered that millstone.
NARRATOR: Wheat placed between the two large stones
would be cut down into flour by this grinding effect.
Howard integrated the two millstones
into the layout of the property.
The runner stone sits in the front yard,
and the bedstone remains in its original location
in the center of what is now the great room.
CHEZAR: I raised it up
so that it would be flush with the floor in the living room
so it becomes like a real feature.
We're really happy to have it here.
Everybody who comes into this room who sees it,
they're just, like, excited by it.
Guests also get excited by the bay window,
which spans two stories.
Howard and Patricia now enjoy a beautiful view
of the pond and waterfalls from inside their home.
CHEZAR: We built it out so that when you step into it,
you are actually out 2 feet from the edge of the building.
NARRATOR: The couple also added new beams to the structure.
CHEZAR: All of the beams that you see that are horizontal
are original.
All of the beams that are vertical, which are the columns,
are new beams which we put in
and faux painted to look like the original.
NARRATOR: Patricia wanted to honor the history of the mill
but also add a bit of whimsy to their home.
The eye-catching light sculpture hanging from the high ceiling
is a prime example of that.
With a nod to history and a touch of innovation,
they have made their slice of Ashley Falls picture perfect.
Our next stop is Philadelphia,
where two architects have set up shop in a paint warehouse.
The space was really a disaster,
and it was filled with paint cans and scaffolding.
It was just like, "Oh, my God.
What have we gotten ourselves into?"
NARRATOR: We're visiting homes around the world
that, at one time, had very different lives --
a church, a mill, and even a jet plane.
Deep in the heart of central Philadelphia
lies a gold mine of warehouses.
In a city where space is often sparse,
architects Kevin Rasmussen and Vivian Su
were ready to take on a challenge
in order to keep up with their active family.
The architects left their Victorian home to renovate
this 4,000-square-foot paint warehouse
to accommodate the needs of both their family life
and their thriving business.
We were looking for a larger space
that would allow us to stay in the city.
We love Philadelphia. We love the neighborhood.
Originally built in the 1940s, the completed renovation
includes 3 full bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms,
and a large, open working office space.
While buying the paint warehouse
was an easy choice for Kevin and Vivian,
others weren't so sure.
I don't think our Realtor thought it was a great idea.
I don't think she saw the vision of it.
But I think the neighborhood had been in transition,
and we thought this would be
a great place to raise the kids.
When Kevin and Vivian first came upon the warehouse,
it was still functioning as a storage space
for the previous owners.
RASMUSSEN: The space was really a disaster.
It was filled to the rafters with paint cans and scaffolding
and incredible junk that had been lying there for years.
I look back in the photographs
of, like, the first days that we came in with the Realtor,
and it's just, like, you can see my face is just like,
"Oh, my God. What have we gotten ourselves into?"
In addition to the daunting task of clearing out the building,
Kevin and Vivian soon learned
that the structure was filled with asbestos.
It was really dilapidated.
I don't think anybody was really interested in using it.
But we could see that the space that was available
was exactly what we were looking for.
NARRATOR: Since the home doubles as their architectural office,
natural lighting was essential.
They installed skylights throughout.
This is one of the places
where we are able to keep the original structure.
Everybody during the construction process
thought we were crazy.
The subcontractors just want to drywall everything.
So, to have them do the exposed ductwork and wiring
was just a little bit of a challenge
to get them to commit to that.
But we're really glad they kept it
'cause it gives a lot of character to the space.
A bonus is the 2,000-square-foot garage.
It serves as Kevin's construction area
and a playground of sorts.
It does the duty of a "yard" for us
because we don't have any outdoor space.
Kevin and Vivian wanted to maintain the open-warehouse feel
while installing a functional kitchen.
They included a large island that doubles as their kitchen table
and homework space for their two girls.
This room is the room that we spend all of our time in.
We bring our work out here.
We like to entertain.
I mean, this room really takes advantage
of the entire width of the property,
which is what's really unique about it in the city --
I mean, the fact that it's a double lot.
It's 40 feet wide,
which is really significant for this area.
It was a stretch, and it was gonna be tough to make work,
but I'm really glad that we did end up doing it.
With Kevin and Vivian's vision,
what was once a dilapidated warehouse is now a family home
in a trendy, growing Philadelphia industrial area.
From fire stations to train cars,
haylofts to grain mills,
these domestic pioneers have proven
you can take almost any space and make it home.