Two Texarkana couples are on a mission to revitalize their community neighborhoods one property remodel at a time. Together, Haylea and Justin Morgan and Alex and Caitlin Rice make up ETX Revival Co.
They all work full-time jobs, but they find time on weekends and after work to create, build, and inspire. Haylea Morgan is the Marketing Assistant for Farmers Bank & Trust.
“We were wrapping up a home remodel and the Rice’s had just finished up construction on their first home when we all first met,” Morgan said. “We began helping each other on small home projects and realized we worked well as a team. Our friendship grew and so did our crazy ideas.”
Four Kids, One Dream
Their motto is “Four kids, one dream.” Morgan said their goal is to create homes with personality and charm in neighborhoods you can walk to the local coffee shop. They hope when they do finish a project, it inspires at least one family in the neighborhood to refresh their own home’s curb appeal.
“One of our most proud moments is the Hazel house project,” Morgan said. “We bought the worst house on the entire block. The previous residents were a family of raccoons, literally!”
Aside from seeing all of their hard work pay off, the challenge is what the four love most about renovating older homes.
“If you have all the money in the world, you can completely rework a home,” she said. “But we love to develop creative ways to make a space work for our budget and keep the home affordable for most people when it comes time to sell.”
The Lodge
Currently, the couple duo is working on a unique project in Wake Village, Texas. They purchased The Masonic Lodge in October of 2019 with dreams of creating an entirely new space.
“We’re wrapping up phase one for The Lodge,” Morgan explained. “We converted the entire upstairs, formally the meeting location for the Masons, into two loft-style apartments. We demolished the stairs inside, swapped out windows for doors, created a massive covered parking and deck, and so much more.”
The two new living spaces will be ready to rent in January. Morgan said they’re going to take a short break before rolling up their sleeves to tackle the downstairs space. Plans for that area is still in the works.
“When designing a space, we really let the properties guide us on what style to go with,” Morgan said. “We knew the Masonic Lodge was a staple within the community for so long, so we opted to name it The Lodge. We went with dark greens and wood tones to bring out the lodge feeling. Each apartment even has an electric fireplace to give off the cozy vibe of being in a cabin!”
A Labor of Love
Everyone loves to see a good before and after photo, but remodeling fixer-upper homes and properties are not for the faint of heart.
“If you plan on doing it all yourself like us, it is definitely time-consuming,” Morgan said. “But if you love the results and don’t mind that you didn’t get a vacation that year – congrats! You are addicted to remodeling. Welcome to the club!”
The Morgan’s and Rice’s take each project as it comes, and they’re always looking out for their next one to tackle. You can follow along their “drab to fab” adventures on Facebook HERE and watch projects unfold in real-time on their Instagram HERE.
Want to start a project of your own? Reach out to a Farmers Bank & Trust loan officer here: www.myfarmers.bank/contact-a-loan-officer
