Tour the Renovated 'Good Bones: Risky Business' Home

Literally and figuratively, Mina’s historic Indianapolis renovation was huge. At long last, Charlotte Hall is open for guests and events — and her family has a permanent legacy in Fountain Square.

By: Lauren Oster

Show: Good Bones: Risky Business

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Photo By: Peter Wynn Thompson / Getty Images

Photo By: Peter Wynn Thompson

How Do You Get to Charlotte Hall?

As half of the mother-daughter duo rescuing dilapidated Indianapolis homes on Good Bones (and, now that Karen E Laine has retired, the sole proprietor of Two Chicks and a Hammer), Mina Starsiak Hawk is well acquainted with pressure and heavy lifting. As a mother in her own right, who’s looking to leave a lasting community legacy for her children, she’s ready for even more.

That’s where a seriously run-down old mansion and carriage house come in.

“I’ve spent upwards of the last dozen years renovating homes in Fountain Square [in Indianapolis] and working on improving the neighborhood,” she said. “And it’s been really, really rewarding, and I’ve loved every second of it, but I also really want to stretch my legs creatively. So when this historic Sanders House came on the market, I felt like I just had to have it.” $190,000 later, she did, and her biggest adventure yet was underway.

see more: Mina Starsiak Hawk Opens Up About Her 'Good Bones' Spinoff, 'Risky Business'

Before: Front Exterior

The 23-room property includes both a 5,500-square-foot, three-story main house and a 2,500-square-foot carriage house and shed addition. In the century since its construction, it’s been chopped up into apartments, set on fire and passed between investors who ultimately sold it off without undertaking its renovation. Not on Mina’s watch. “This house has so much character! I mean, just thinking of the events and stories that these old walls have witnessed … I cannot wait to start working on it and return it to its former glory. I kind of just get giddy thinking about it,” she said.

After: Front Exterior

Envisioning “zero-maintenance” grounds that could accommodate outdoor events for most of the year, Mina hauled out and re-poured the walkway (and literally gave the house new curb appeal with a brand-new city sidewalk), then installed durable turf. She rehabbed charming fish-scale siding on portions of the first floor and replicated it on the second story, then collaborated with specialized craftspeople to replace the stunning curved windows overlooking the porch. She topped the turret with a treatment that would resist patina and the green tone the copper could acquire. A long-lasting shock of red feels fitting for her addition to the neighborhood.

see more: 24 Awe-Inspiring 'Good Bones' Outdoor Transformations

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Entry

“What you would see when you walked into this house when it was original was a very ornate wood staircase with scrollwork, carving and very fancy newel posts,” Mina said. She was capable of imagining it in its former glory: “I personally look at it and see so much charm. I’m sure the majority of the population does not, but even with the walls, like, charred and falling down it just looks so cool.”

After: Entry

Mina laid marble tiles in a herringbone pattern to greet guests with opulence. Believe it or not, the front door survived renovation: “We took it off and sent it out to get fixed up and sanded [and fitted with] new glass, but other than that, that’s the original door.” A pair of rich blue armchairs and an occasional table offer the first of many opportunities for period-perfect pictures.

see more: Mina Starsiak's Best Design Ideas for Every Room

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Staircase

“Other than the outside of the house, this is the first thing you see once you walk into the main structure,” Mina noted. “We want to make sure we bring some of that Victorian ornateness back into the woodwork, the newel posts, the paneling and the molding to honor the history of this house.”

After: Staircase

Hand-carved white oak now carries up to the second floor through wall paneling, stairs, risers, sculptural newel posts and one-of-a-kind roses and arabesques. The woodworking team surprised Mina with a second-story panel engraved with Charlotte Hall, the name she chose to honor her daughter. “I wanted this property to be a lasting piece of the community that I could be proud of [and] that my kids could be proud of — a kind of legacy,” she said.

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Turret

The home’s soaring turret was initially invisible from the first floor, thanks to ceiling and flooring that extended over the stairs. Mina resolved to blow open views from the base of the stairs all the way up to the top of the turret and create a grand, two-story space that would greet visitors in style. “My guess is, actually, that this ceiling wasn’t here [when the home was built],” she speculated.

After: Turret

A massive crystal globe chandelier now presides over the entryway in the turret — and is visible through the second-story windows and across the neighborhood. Spectacular views like this one are the heart and soul of what Mina brings to Charlotte Hall and all of Sanders Street.

see more: Get to Know the Boys of 'Good Bones'

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Parlor

“I really want to bring back as much updated Victorian charm as possible,” Mina said. “The house really wasn’t left with much other than a couple of pocket doors that were framed within walls and the curved windows, which are broken. So, the few things I can take and run with I really want to.” And she knew the run would be a pricey one: “The curved windows, whatever it’s going to cost we’re just going to have to do it. It’s such a big part of the façade, I don’t want to skimp on that.”

After: Parlor

With picture-perfect new windows, faux molding, an over-the-top chandelier and sumptuous new furniture, the parlor now reflects its glory days. “We put fairly smaller-scale furniture in here so if you wanted to use this [for a] cocktail hour you could pull the coffee table,” Mina said. She also had special events in mind as she decorated the walls and made every vignette a potential photo backdrop.

see more: 25 Stylish Living Room Designs From 'Good Bones' Throughout the Years

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Basement

“At some point in the house’s history they added a small apartment down in the basement, but I have a different idea about how we could use this space,” Mina said. She envisioned shoring up all that sagging ceiling and creating a cozy, speakeasy-style gathering area for wine and intimate conversation. “For the speakeasy I want it to be funkier, dark and moody; we never get to do cool stuff like this on our regular houses, so I really want to make it cool.”

After: Basement

“I really think it’s going to be the cherry on top of the sundae, or the cherry in the old fashioned,” Mina said. An armless and seemingly endless curved velvet banquette and gold-framed landscape pop against deep black paint, while a wall of curtains transforms the space into a century-old retreat. In the speakeasy’s second room, a custom installation holds more than 140 bottles of wine for tippling guests. Tulip tables offer cocktail perches. Angular sconces and table lamps provide spotlights.

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Upstairs Bedroom

Fire had all but annihilated the second floor of the main house, so Mina and her team replaced the floor and reframed all of the walls. Since original, ornate trim was long gone, it was up to her to build in character with details like medallions, paneling and molding.

After: Upstairs Bedroom

Mina gave each of the upstairs bedrooms a personality of its own by letting a central color guide her hand with decor. In this space, she carried a deep gray all the way across the ceiling to give it a 21st-century tweak — a decision she made after visiting another historic Victorian in the neighborhood that had been maintained in its original state. “I think the way to take that [look] and modernize it is [to] make it a little more monochromatic. So, update it, still have the layers and the patterns but have more tone on tone things,” she observed.

see more: Neutral Paint Shade Ideas We Love: Beige, Taupe, Gray, Black, White and More

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Upstairs Bedroom

Rooms like this one sustained the most serious fire damage. “This is where she gets fun! Melty, sooty and a little dark. But lots of potential,” Mina noted cheerily. If nothing else, the sloped roof line would add a bit of interest to the bedroom after much-needed rehab.

After: Upstairs Bedroom

Mina created the look of a chair rail and paneling with long pieces of 1-inch trim, then carried sage green paint all the way around the room (and across the door) to give the two-tone look an update. She used traditional, thinner-plank hardwood flooring to give the room an old-school feel, then layered on a textural natural area rug that carries up to a pair of table lamps with water hyacinth shades.

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Bridal Bedroom

“For the smaller rooms I want to honor the Victorian style and give [each] its own color and style, but in the bridal suite I’d like to modernize [the space] by going more monochromatic,” Mina explained. MJ Coyle, Mina’s head designer, advised going over the top with trim to add visual texture to the white-on-white rooms.

After: Bridal Bedroom

Replete with overscale flourishes like a door extended by a molding-topped transom and floor-to-ceiling faux judges paneling, this suite is now ready for the betrothed couples Mina hopes to lure to Charlotte Hall. A rich drum-shaded chandelier crowns the vaulted ceiling and turned wood detailing gives the linen-loaded bed a sculptural look.

see more: Photos From 'Good Bones' Star Mina Starsiak's Dream Wedding

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Bridal Bath

Mina knew she wanted to rebuild the bath suite with showstopping details like upscale tile that carried all the way to the ceiling, a wet room and an 80-inch vanity. So, she allocated serious space among the second floor’s dilapidated rooms to make sure she got it just right.

After: Bridal Bath

As in the grand foyer downstairs, herringbone marble adds a touch of luxury underfoot. As for the spectacular wet room with showerheads along both walls and in the ceiling, “I think the Carrara marble is a really good traditional material, but when you put it in this updated pattern with a little bit of gold, I think it works really well to bring that modern Victorian style to life,” Mina explained. Installed across the floor and all the way up the walls to envelop the soaking tub, it oozes luxury.

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Carriage House Exterior

The unlovely shed slapped against the back of the carriage house gobbles up the property’s most valuable outdoor space and looked dreadful. Mina knew it had to go. “Typically we do not want to reduce square footage and we are taking off probably like 800 square feet with this shed addition, but I want to gain more space in the backyard for when we host events at the B&B,” she explained. “This is totally improperly built, it is taking up the whole backyard — it’s gotta come off.”

After: Carriage House Exterior

So long, mismatched mess; hello, versatile space for outdoor entertaining (and room for a tent in the colder months)! The two gridded overhead doors on the left side of the carriage house open to allow guests to wander freely between the interior and the yard, and two bands of narrow horizontal windows let sunlight pour into the second story. On the right side of the building, a pair of Juliet balconies offer another photo moment.

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Carriage House Event Space

Prior to renovation, half of the first floor was simply an oil-stained old garage. This outdated rolling door was in dire need of replacement, half-gutted walls needed rehabilitation and the concrete wouldn’t do as a dance floor.

After: Carriage House Event Space

“The downstairs used to be dark and dank, and now with the garage doors in, and after placing just a few tables and some decor, the event space is transformed into an inviting room fit for any special occasion,” Mina said proudly. Smooth black walls make the space a blank canvas, and a shiny new epoxy floor and yet another chandelier makes it a fancy blank canvas. “We really just wanted to show people that you can set it up so you have a band, a dance floor, a food table – the sky’s the limit!”

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Carriage House Suite

Divided into unlovely spaces that smothered the building’s original charm with grim, outdated finishes, the first floor of the carriage house called for a high-end make-under.

After: Carriage House Suite

With pale vinyl plank floors and deep, moody walls beside those vast expanses of exposed brick, the first-floor suite now has handsome industrial bones and romantic, updated-Victorian details. Mina installed a Murphy bed to maximize the space’s versatility and added massive, opulent mirrors to make it feel even bigger.

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Carriage House Kitchen

The carriage house’s second floor horrified both Mina and her architect. As they found it, the floor didn’t even have the structural capacity to hold guests. “It was just all jacked up; the way it was installed it cannot support even half the load it should,” Mina said.

After: Carriage House Kitchen

The new second-floor space is ideal for a bridal party toasting with mimosas and getting dressed together. A crisp, new black-and-white kitchen replaces the weird wood-burning stove that had been improperly installed at the other end of the room. Ample seating in the open-concept living room offers cozy spaces to lounge.

see more: Mina Starsiak Uses This Trendy Trick to Warm Up Any Kitchen

From: Mina Starsiak

Before: Carriage House Living Room

Underlit and unloved, the second-floor space had sheer size in its favor — and little else. Mina knew installing a proper floor and peeling back that bizarre “kitchen” addition would cost a pretty penny, but she also knew getting the carriage house right was worth the effort.

After: Carriage House Living Room

Inspired by an over-the-top bath that dazzled her on a trip to Las Vegas, Mina let the carriage house bath suite carry over into the living room … with a tub that presided over the whole floor. “It [gives] it some romance and adds a luxurious something-something to the space,” she explained. “I want people to come in and be like ‘oh my gosh, there’s a tub in the middle of the room, that’s amazing.’ It’s going to be memorable and perfect ... it’s gonna be the cool place.” Charlotte Hall is, without a doubt, the cool place.

From: Mina Starsiak

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