Industrial Ingenuity Kitchen gets do-it-yourself makeover.
N
ot many young adults would trade in all – or almost all – their spare time to work on a house, but that is exactly what Josh Garton did for five years. The young bachelor in his 20s logged countless hours during evenings and on weekends tackling a whole-home renovation while teaching himself the necessary skills to do so along the way. The result of this ultimate do-it-yourself project speaks for itself: a fully updated home reinvigorated with a modern flair. Bragging rights include an award-winning kitchen with an industrial-meets-rustic feel.
26 INSIDE COLUMBIA OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021
BY JOAN BELLINGHAUSEN | PHOTOS BY BRENDA ANDERSON
The Beginning
Soon after graduating from the University of Missouri and beginning a job as a structural engineer, Josh started looking at what a mortgage would cost compared to renting an apartment. He decided to become a homeowner. Josh found his house — which he describes as a treehouse — nestled on a heavily wooded one-acre lot literally on the side of a hill. The three-story house resembles an inverted pyramid with each ascending level extending out further than the level
