From mess to magnificent: Couple transforms a mansion near Memorial Park

[...] she and her husband, Jim Hamilton, had planned to build a new home on a lot nearby.

The half-acre plot - mere blocks from Memorial Park - was thick with foliage (albeit mostly dead at the time) and sloped down to a ravine, offering privacy and a gorgeous view from the big windows that stretch across the back of the house.

The addition of pale neutrals and dramatic new light fixtures made nearly every room brighter.

Shaded by trees, the master bedroom's floor-to-ceiling windows offer a view of the sparkling pool and the wooded ravine below.

The kitchen opens to a small family room, and the breakfast nook has more full-length windows that look out to the backyard.

A door opens off the main space to reveal a media room, with leather chairs and a screen that covers one wall.