Hat Trick Renovation

Before my husband and I bought our first home, my ideal home was a large Victorian house. I had huge plans on home restoration and historic preservation. Unfortunately. my handywoman skills begin and end with watching HGTV shows. I have zero practical ability. Luckily for Des Moines though, one woman does have those skills.

Meet Tanya Keith. Tanya is an Iowa transplant from New Jersey. She owns Hat Trick Renovation and specializes in historic preservation and revitalizing homes in the Des Moines area. Hat Trick Renovation's current project is an American four-square located in the Drake neighborhood.

The home boosts more than 3800 square feet. It was built in 1901 and has since been divided into 8 separate apartments. Tanya purchased the home from auction and has slowly been demolishing the apartments to convert it back into a single-family dwelling. Tanya stated that during the early part of the renovation, they had to tear out 8 bathrooms and 8 kitchens. She filled 14 forty cubic foot dumpsters.

Tanya and her husband, Doug, started their first renovation in 1996. The couple added a 2.5 car garage and a master's suite onto their home. They needed the extra space that the remodel offered, but they also wanted to build equity in the home.

Fast forward a few years and a couple kids later, and the couple was ready to move from the suburbs into the city. They purchased a historic home in the River Bend Neighborhood in the heart of Des Moines. The Hatton House is a 3-story home built in 1886. The third floor has a spacious ballroom, which may or may not be haunted.

Tanya and Doug have always had an appreciation for older homes and construction, but they decided to merge their careers and create a business. The couple met at Iowa State University in 1991. Doug is a construction engineer and Tonya studied interior design. Together they created Hat Trick Renovation. The family is avid USA soccer fans, and a hat trick in soccer is scoring three goals in one game. Their business name is a subtle nod to their three children.

Hat Trick Renovation has restored other homes in the Des Moines metro. Tanya stated that she purchased the home from an auction. There have been several barriers along the way though. Tanya was in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Then the pandemic happened, and despite being vigilant, Tanya reports that she contracted Covid and is still suffering some long-haul symptoms from the virus. To add more chaos into the mix, Iowa faced a derecho, or a land hurricane, in August 2020. The pandemic had already created a supply and demand issue for building supplies, but the derecho also made it very difficult to find skilled tradespeople available for jobs.

Tanya believes in supporting other women-owned businesses or minority owned businesses when available. She understands that the construction field is primarily a male-dominated field and she'd love to help flip the script and create more opportunities for women in the trades.

Tanya has a small, all women crew right now working on the Drake home. Jorie has known Tanya since her days working in Tanya's former children's boutique store. Jorie owns her own woodworking business, Against the Grain Woodworking & Design. Jorie designs and builds custom furniture. Jorie has an eye for repurposing building materials. She was considering how to incorporate tilework from the Drake home into a table.

Tanya's newest hire is an artist, turned professional wrestler. Kelsey Magnolia started working for Hat Trick Renovation in November 2021. So far, Kelsey has removed lath from several rooms and ceilings in the home. She also removed plaster that coated the brickwork. Tanya hopes to seal the brickwork to help with preservation.

The home has no electricity right now, so the crew can only work during daylight hours. There's also no insulation in the home, so it is very cold in the Iowa winters.

There are signs posted on the entrances regarding loitering. I asked Tanya if she ever had issues with squaters in her project homes and she stated that she hasn't at this location, but it has been an issue in the past.

Tanya hopes to get power to the home soon, which will allow for the use of space heaters to keep her crew warmer this winter.

Tanya's goal is to have the home ready to list in June or July. Tanya‘s ideal buyer is someone that will keep the home a single-family occupancy and live there. She’s hoping to avoid selling to anyone that wants to rent out the property. She’d also like the home to be valued—so someone that appreciates the craftsmanship of the home is also ideal.

Tanya and her crew are going to be cleaning up the third floor but planning on leaving it open to the buyer to determine how to use the space. The third floor is quite spacious and could make a mother-in-law suite, master bedroom, kid's playroom, or even a studio space.

I'm excited to see the progress that Tanya and her crew make on the Drake House and I look forward to seeing other homes in the Des Moines Metro that Tanya brings back to life.