Aug. 8—ASHLAND — Barby Curtis has sympathy for "tired houses."

She's referring to older houses that are a little bit run down or neglected. Her company, D. Christopher Designs, which she operates with partners Gary Coon, a designer, and carpenter Jim Reeves, seeks out such houses to flip.

The team currently is working on a house on 874 Short White Oak, which they've already sold.

"This house, it just needed me," Curtis said.

Making improvements and upgrades proved to be contagious.

"The neighborhood, all of a sudden, began getting involved," she said. "As we started doing work, the neighborhood began refreshing itself. People are coming over to visit and they're updating their houses. It's a cool little neighborhood. Everybody's excited and fixing up their house."

Curtis has experience flipping houses in Lexington. She said she's flipped about 12, but this is her first in Ashland, where she has been in business for about six months.

With 20 years of experience, Reeves said he does most of the carpentry work himself, but subcontracts jobs like roofing.

"These are homes I'd want to live in," he said. "Renovations aren't like new builds. In new builds you are always moving forward; in a reno, you can discover something and get set back."

Depending on what the house needs, flipping a house can take from six weeks to six months. She said she likes installing a fireplace and a kitchen island, giving families spaces to congregate.

"I like to make changes by focusing in on how people want to live," she said. "I want everyone to have what they see on HGTV."

Many houses she sees are divided up, with multiple rooms serving little or no purpose. "I like structure, taking older homes not configured like we live today, and give it a cool kitchen and fireplace element with a TV over it, a master bedroom with a connecting bath and closet."

She said there are no formulas or tricks to flipping a house. "It's just a process," she explained.

In the future, Curtis said, she'd like to increase the number of houses they flip.