Historic homes in Music City are returned to their former glory in DIY Network’s new series, Nashville Flipped. Premiering Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT, the series stars Troy Dean Shafer, a contractor who rebuilds rundown homes in the city’s historic communities. The nine-episode series follows Troy and his team, including designer Julie Couch, as they peel back layers of previous renovations, such as wood-paneled walls, bad paint and worn carpeting to reveal the original beauty of these forgotten homes.
"Everybody knows Nashville has a rich music history, but just like every great song, every historic house has a story to tell,” said Mr. Shafer. “I love to get to the heart of these homes and bring them back to life. I update them with modern materials, but I always stay true to the original design and character.”
In the premiere episode, Mr. Shafer purchases a 1904 Victorian-style home in Springfield, Tenn., a small town just outside of Nashville. Mr. Shafer and his crew waste no time on the demo—the team breaks down walls, tears out the ceilings and alters the floorplan to maximize the 1,300-square foot space. The team finds century-old wallpaper hidden by a previous renovation. Once Mr. Shafer’s team completes the full demo, Ms. Couch arrives to help him restore the home’s early 20th century design, including the cathedral ceiling and an oak mantle in the living room. The revived home, which features new landscaping, fresh siding in a new color, and touches such as vintage chandeliers and stained glass windows rejuvenates the old house into a beautiful “new” historic home.
Since moving to Tennessee from Erie, Pa. in 2005, Mr. Shafer has experienced many transitions. After college he initially moved to Nashville, partially due to his deep admiration for Elvis Presley as a child growing up, while also desiring a music career of his own. A few years of writing and performing around at local nightly hot spots and Mr. Shafer landed a gig with Billy and Rose Falcon for their weekly show. He then took on the role of musician/manager while on tour with Billy to various places such as Asbury Park, Memphis, Norway, and was eventually even given the opportunity to help open for Jon Bon Jovi several times during his “Have a Nice Day” U.S. tour.
In 2008, while still continuing his performance in the music scene, Mr. Shafer decided to start a small renovation company, putting his primary focus on kitchen and bathroom remodels. Although his music career was starting to take off, he continued to be enticed by his ever so growing renovation business as well. This was especially the case when he began to encounter gorgeous (albeit run down) historic homes in the Nashville area. Mr. Shafer said he has such a strong desire to bring these homes back to life. After completing his very first “flip,” he decided to focus his talents on “creating new historic homes” in various Tennessee towns, and it was then that Mr. Shafer's company Nashville Flipped was born.