THE Neil AND Jenny Downey HOME

BY MARY MICHAELS | PHOTOS BY JULIE PRAIRIE PHOTOGRAPHY

real estate,” Jenny laughs. “You see so many houses, and then it just gets you thinking.”

A Brandon native, she says moving back in July 2021 was like “coming home.” In fact, she drives by her childhood home every day.

“It was all kind of unexpected with this house. It came on the market, and as soon as

I walked in and saw the backyard view of the river and the golf course, I called Neil to tell him he had to come see it.”

The backyard is perhaps a reason the house hadn’t sold previously, Jenny adds.

“It does have a steep drop down to the river, so maybe not the best for a family with small kids. But, we were at a point in our lives where we didn’t have that worry.”

Jenny and Neil have four children, ages 25, 23,18 and 16.

When they bought the house, she says, it was move-in ready. The house had wood floors, oak woodwork, dark brick on the fireplace wall, along with other finishes like wallpaper in a warm tan color.

“It was beautiful,” she says, “but just darker finishes throughout. We had painted over similar woodwork in our Sioux Falls house, so that was on our minds here. And, we knew we would eventually take down the wallpaper.”

The remodeling work perhaps came a little sooner than they expected when the family had the opportunity to be part of HGTV’s Down Home Fab show hosted by Sioux Falls residents Chelsea and Cole DeBoer. The Downeys were able to share some of their dreams for the main floor with the designers — like a lighter color palette, keeping a focus on views to the backyard and ensuring the space was functional for entertaining because, Jenny says, “we host everything here.”

“There were so many elements to this project that I wouldn’t have necessarily thought of,” Jenny explains.

For example, the original floor plan had the dining room just off the entryway. Now, that space is divided so that the Downeys have a handy little mudroom right inside the door. And, on the back side of the new wall is a walk-in pantry next to the kitchen.

“I love this so much,” Jenny says of the pantry. “Before, I had to keep extra canned goods and little appliances in the laundry room, which wasn’t convenient at all.”

Stepping through the entry, you find yourself in a cozy seating area that Jenny says reminds her of something like a hotel lobby in Italy.

“It just feels very Tuscan to me, I guess, with the natural wood, the light color on the fireplace wall, the gold chandelier and then the pop of

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color with the blue sofa and throw pillows.”

The curved mirror on the mantel creates a unique focal point for the sitting room, with its divided wood panes as well as the reflections you see of the curved gold arms of the chandelier and the black metal spindles of the catwalk on the upper level.

This space had been the original living room before the previous owners added on to the house in 2004. That addition created a beautiful living room with its 14-foot ceiling and curved wall of windows overlooking the river and golf course. The Down Home Fab refresh completely changed the look of the room, going from navy walls and natural wood trim to a light cream on the walls and warm grey on the woodwork.

“We learned something during this remodel, and it kind of put us at ease about the decision to paint the woodwork,” explains Jenny. “If, for example, you have oak woodwork and then oak trees outside, they kind of compete. Now, the light-colored window panes just act as perfect little frames for all the beauty outside.”

With the kitchen remodel, the Downeys were excited not only with the design aesthetic, but also with the functionality.

“I didn’t know for sure that I was an ‘open shelf person,’ but the mix of cabinets and just a few shelves looks great. With the addition of the walk-in pantry, we have plenty of storage now. I’m a plant person, so the shelves gave me a chance to add some nature here.”

The lower cabinets and island base were finished in the same grey as the painted woodwork. The upper cabinets and custom cover over the existing range hood are a light wood that complements the floor, which is the original floor — just updated with a little sanding and some wax. The ceiling beams were there before as well, and were just covered to match the cabinets.

Another surprise for Jenny was the farmhouse-style sink.

“When you hear ‘farmhouse sink,’ you think of just the big white sink, which isn’t really me. But they used this cool travertine stone with the natural roughness on the front of it. It’s just another nature element that I love.”

The backsplash was finished with white tiles in a vertical Chevron pattern — a design element carried through in other places like the inlaid design of the butcher block on the mudroom shelf and pantry counter, the pattern in the grey and cream carpet runner up the stairs to the second level, and even in fun blue “stripes” painted on the pantry wall.

“Those blue stripes were just for me,” Jenny says with a laugh. “I love blue, so throughout the process, I was being encouraged to open my mind to other colors.”

She did get some blues in the design, though, like the subtle coloring of the granite on the island — which was also used for the living room hearth — as well as through furniture and even a blue front door.

Throughout the process, Jenny says, their biggest hope was that they could reflect more of their own family’s style but still honor the previous homeowners.

“I think we did that,” she adds with a smile. “We heard from the previous owners who wanted to see it, and I think they liked it. They were excited to see that we kept features special to them like the wood floors and the customforged metal curtain rod in the dining room.”

While the Downeys left the windows uncovered, they used chains hanging from the rod to get plants up and away from their cat and into the sunshine.

Inspired by their experience with Down Home Fab, Jenny says she and her son-inlaw have started work on removing popcorn ceilings, texturing and painting other rooms.

“He even added a Chevron pattern on the wall in the office to tie in with the rest of the house,” she says. “Oh, and also added a nice coat of navy blue paint just for me.”

Family is important to the Downeys, as you can see by the collections of family portraits hanging on the walls from when their kids were younger. Now, they only have one child left at home, and they’re expecting their first grandchild this summer.

“We had an unexpected detour in our journey by moving here,” Jenny says. “But now, we look at this house and think this could be our forever home. And, we’re looking forward to all of the memories we’re going to make here.”