Hi LOUtoday, City Editor Declan here. Earlier this month, on a cold January day, I stepped inside an old, three-story mansion in the Russell neighborhood — and when I did, the cold followed me right in. The house is drafty. There’s plastic covering the broken windows and the cold still creeps in —though the space heaters are putting up an admirable fight
But my shivers quickly disappeared after the warm welcome I received from the home’s owners, Kaila Washington and Gabe Jones Jr., staved off the winter’s chill. The passion they have for their renovation project — and the community effort it has come to represent — radiates, filling the place with a warmth neither wind nor snow could damper.
The couple bought the 11,000-sqft Victorian mansion back in 2021 to restore it to its former glory. Since then, it’s been a long, slow process of pulling out old, dilapidated flooring and fixtures and rebuilding a dream home in their place.
You may have caught some of their journey on their Instagram, Remaking a Mansion, but in late December 2024, their story made it to a much wider audience. They were featured on the television show “In With The Old,” which features homeowners and builders who preserve and transform abandoned structures.
For the second episode of its seventh season, which is streaming now on Max, the show followed Washington and Jones as they worked through demolition and planning. By the end of the episode, a handful of rooms had been overhauled completely, including the powder room, one bedroom, and a kitchen + dining room.
Now, a few months later, those rooms are still the most complete in the house. They have a long way to go, but their spirits are high.
Looking ahead
As we walked through the house, surveying the work that had been done and the work that was yet to come, the couple frequently repeated a shared regret: “We thought we’d be a little further along.” And you can see what they mean, signs of unfinished progress are scattered throughout the place.
There’s a new, still-in-the-box washer + dryer combo in a closet, just waiting for the walls to be installed around it. On the third floor, an out-of-place oven sits alone — the work on the kitchen surrounding it it has yet to begin.
Despite the long road ahead, they both feel the worst is behind them.
“It feels better psychologically,” Jones told me. “We’re done getting out the rot.”
Every room has a plan. They will both have a private office — Jones’s upstairs, Washington’s downstairs. They’re planning an accessible restroom on the lower level to make it easier for their wheelchair-using friends to visit. At least one full room will be dedicated to bourbon.
I asked them both about the eventual — and still unknown — finish line, about what they are most excited to do once the house is finished.
“I am looking forward to cooking a meal in this kitchen,” Washington said, looking around at the green granite countertops and the high ceilings.
Jones said, “I’m excited for coming here not being an errand. For it to just be home.”
It’s easier than you think
One of the couple’s main goals in sharing their process online — and now on TV — is to encourage others to do the same. If renovating an 11,000-sqft mansion sounds like it’s a bit outside your grasp, they understand.
“Start small,” Washington said, when asked for advice to others wanting to take on a similar project.
“For every house like this one, there are 25 shotgun homes that need to be restored,” Jones said. It’s a sentiment that hits literally close to home — the lot next door sits empty after an abandoned home burned down there.
They’ve also had help. Washington and Jones didn’t take this project on alone — far from it. They were keen to share some of the financial assistance they were able to leverage in achieving their dream home. Here are a few resources they used:
- The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program
- The Vital Sites revolving fund
- The West End Opportunity Partnership
Your dream home doesn’t have to be a years-long Victorian Mansion rebuild, it could be as simple as restoring a house in your very own neighborhood.
