The Design Transformation of an Off-Market Fixer-Upper

Ellen Sitkin and her husband Ben lived in Brooklyn for 15 years, but after having their second child, New York City started to feel overwhelming. While she’s from Boston, and he’s from Birmingham, New Orleans was a place they’d always been charmed by – and decided to call it home. They can both work remotely, so that helped make the transition to living and working in New Orleans (and spending summers in Maine) a reality. “It’s such a nice balance, and we’ve worked really hard to put ourselves in a position to make it possible.”

Finding A Diamond in the Rough

Moving to New Orleans in 2018, they rented a place sight unseen, in order to get a feel for the city before deciding where to buy. Having renovated old houses before, they were looking for a project – and settled on the Irish Channel as their chosen neighborhood. Knowing that they wanted a fixer-upper with historic details, a large yard for their daughters to play in, and a location within a mile radius of work and school, they came to me to help them find a diamond in the rough. Says Ellen, “Tracey seemed like a good fit because she was native to New Orleans but had lived in New York for a long time. So that immediately made me feel like she’d understand our situation.”

And I was happy to help. With my knowledge of the Irish Channel and my ability to source off-market properties, I knew of a Chippewa Street house on a double lot that had great potential. And I knew the owner was interested in selling. In fact, I’d shown it to a few other clients, including friends of Ellen’s.

An Amazing Renovation

Explains Ellen, “I’m a graphic designer, and I dabble in interiors, so for me, I wanted a house that was at least 100 years old, that I could really make my own.” And after seeing this one, she concluded, “Given my design background, I had enough vision to say ok, we can turn this into something.” It would end up being the biggest renovation they’d ever tackled, but it turned out so beautifully that it was recently featured in Domino magazine.

What My Client Had to Say

I absolutely love that Ellen had this to say about me:

“Tracey’s amazing. I remember meeting up with her to look at a place, and she was decked out in her Saints gear and gold high tops, and I was like, I love this woman! She’s so cool, she’s so easygoing, and she knows her shit. From day one, I immediately trusted her. She had lived in NYC for a long time, so that felt good, and she’s super connected here, knows the city, the neighborhoods, like a good real estate agent should. And the fact that she knew a lot of the nuances about the neighborhood – like all those details you need when you’re trying to find that special place – that made it just feel right.”

Photo credit: Jacqueline Marque