TikTok stars transform Akron fixer-upper

photo by Kelsey Mansingh

DIY stars transform a ’70s Green house into a trendy modern home.

The Green brick split-level was loaded with architectural amenities and a unique 1,800-square-foot layout with both a great room and lower living room for entertaining, but the interiors were outdated. Some rooms still had their original 1974 decor — the guest bath, for example, was completely pink, right down to the faucets.

It was exactly the midcentury-modern fixer-upper that Kelsey and Ryan Mansingh desired, one that exuded this old-house character in an established neighborhood.

The young couple isn’t intimidated by major home renovations. When they built a two-story home in Ryan’s native Orlando, Florida, five years ago, they couldn’t afford upgrades. So they learned how to make them by watching YouTube videos and FaceTiming Kelsey’s brother, who ran her family’s Barberton-based Helen Scott Custom Builders.

In 2018 the Mansinghs dubbed themselves the Newbuild Newlyweds and began sharing videos under @newbuild_newlyweds on Instagram and TikTok — the latter made them social media stars with 1.6 million followers. After being laid off from Walt Disney World in March 2020, they relocated to the Akron area. They bought this two-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath abode in August 2021 and Kelsey, now 29, documents its transformation on TikTok as Ryan, now 28, works as a finish carpenter for Helen Scott.

“We wanted to keep the midcentury vibe of the house but also still make it our own and kind of modernize it,” Kelsey says.

The couple opened up the kitchen by removing a wall separating it from the formal entry, demolished a breakfast-bar peninsula with overhead cabinetry and replaced the kitchen ceiling with a raised counterpart that eliminated the surrounding soffit. (Drywall, window installation, electrical and plumbing were left to pros). They laid a foundation for warm neutral decor by painting the walls a creamy white and laying a durable luxury vinyl plank that mimics white oak on the floors.

The first room the Mansinghs designed was the kitchen. They helped an Amish cabinetmaker install custom-made cabinetry painted Sherwin-Williams Pewter Green and a center island stained a dark espresso, then added a trendy zellige tile backsplash in mottled shades of white, tan, cream and gray. A friend made a round espresso-stained table stationed under a brass drum lighting fixture. While Kelsey bought the brushed-nickel-frame chairs with cane backs and velvety dark green cushions from Wayfair, several social media followers mistook them for ’70s flea-market finds.

“I wanted to update but still have some touches that seemed like they fit in with the vibe of the house,” she explains.

The short flight of stairs from the kitchen area to the great room — a feature Kelsey says wasn’t up to code — was replaced by a sleek black powder-coated steel staircase with custom-fabricated white-oak treads. “We had to completely build every aspect of that staircase,” Kelsey recalls.

They swapped out track lighting for an angular brass chandelier better suited to the great room’s vaulted ceiling. The couple encased the thin white beams in substantial three-sided faux counterparts they built from an espresso-stained maple that popped against the white. After some debate, they painted the dingy brick fireplace white.

“It really brightened it up and totally modernized it,” Kelsey says.

The Mansinghs furnished the room with a linen-blend sofa, oak-frame accent chair, reclaimed-oak coffee table and 7-foot-high vintage-inspired mirror, all from Anthropologie.

Kelsey and Ryan updated the owners’ bedroom by painting the walls Sherwin-Williams Urban Putty and replacing valances with the same Lutron smart shades installed at the other windows. The focal point: Crate & Barrel’s arching black-metal interpretation of a canopy bed. A sliding black barn door reveals the owners’ bath. They finished a larger shower in gray subway tile with a white penny-tile floor. A sunken whirlpool tub was torn out so the toilet could be relocated, making room for a 72-inch-long black painted vanity with a marble picket-tile backsplash and two square sinks set in a white-quartz countertop. In the guest bath, the pair installed a roomy 38-by-60-inch Signature Hardware acrylic alcove tub.

The spouses finally moved into the house in May. Kelsey says it’s great for hosting summer cookouts and birthday celebrations. She singles out the kitchen and patio off the great room. The former is now big enough for guests to hang out in while she cooks, while the latter is secluded with sunken bench seating made modern and inviting with dark paint, outdoor pillows, tons of potted plants, cushy seating, a fire table and a six-person table. The pair is still making updates to personalize their home.

“We’ll be here for quite a while, making it our own,” Kelsey says.