Welcome to Red Door Restorations! We are Bruce and Julie Bergdall: planners, problem solvers, parents, and now…restorers of old homes that need new life.

We met in Huntington, Indiana. After graduating from Huntington College we headed to Goshen, Indiana for teaching jobs. Bruce teaches advanced science classes (think AP Chemistry – actually, don’t. It’ll make your head hurt). I taught art for 15 years and have run my own interior design business since 2007 – my favorite form of art. We got married and rented a charming little home for the first two years and then bought our current (and only) home in 2004 after seeing it once at an open house. It’s a great house built in 1967 that had literally been untouched since it was originally decorated. We’ve slowly updated almost every room in the house (some more than once) and have had so much fun figuring it all out. While doing that we both got our master’s degrees in education and I started Red Door Design as a side business.  Today Red Door Design is a full time business, Bruce is teaching and we’re raising two awesome kids.

We thought we’d be teachers forever.

Actually, Bruce still is a teacher! But we discovered through the years of working on spaces (both ours and volunteer projects for others) that we find great satisfaction in the planning, executing, and completion stages of home improvement. We work extremely well as a team on these things, and it brings us together in a way that is tiring but also fulfilling. We also love enriching the lives of others by transforming their spaces and bringing them joy where they live.

And we’ve always been drawn to the idea of doing this thing we love more regularly. So we decided to find a house in town that needs help, fix it, and sell it. Yes, we use the term ‘flipping’ on this blog, but we really are committed to restoring. That means we do everything we can to make the house energy efficient, safe, updated and lovely. We have discovered we’re not super fast (think years, not months). We’re not super profitable (think four figures, not five). But we are super proud of the finished work and how this gives a beautiful home back to the neighborhood.

Yes, you’re right, it’s a lot to tackle. We’re juggling the family schedule, two full time jobs, Bruce’s officiating (he officiates for local track and field meets) AND a home restoration! We’re just warning you – it’s gonna be a little crazy up in here. But we’ll do our best to keep you updated on all the fun ideas that come along (and maybe some of the boring parts of this process too) and I often add an occasional bonus post about something going on in our own home. Thanks for coming along for the ride with us!