Shalina Joy is not new to rehabbing and flipping homes. In fact, before she started flipping her 1900’s 6000 square foot mansion, who she lovingly calls, Victoria, she made a career out of it.
While her personality and the location of her home may have won HGTV over to host the show American Rehab: Restoring Victoria, her pure passion for restoring Victoria and her talent in doing so made her a keeper. The show follows Shalina as a recently divorced mother of two as she takes on the mammoth task of restoring, Victoria.
Of course, you would have to have passion for your home to give it a name. Shalina’s goal for her Mediterranean Revival style house is to restore it to its original glory by renovating and preserving it at the same time.
Rehabbing Victoria has been a journey for Shalina and through that journey she has learned a great deal about herself. She learned about her love for history and preserving old homes to create a story. She also recognized her resilience and her love for budgets. “I love finding deals. Me and ‘Clarance’ (how she refers to clearance) are best friends,” she says.
Left to right: Victoria in 1910 and present day.
That resilience of rebuilding her home is what helped her and continues to push her to seeing through the restoration of her home. Although, she has made many improvements on the home, she still has a way to go, but she is not discouraged. The hard work actually keeps her going and she likes “history, and I like putting my hands on the original,” she says.
If you think that her love of power tools and getting her hands dirty with rehabbing stops her from being a girly girl, think again. This diva is a girly girl with all the trimmings. “I have to keep my eyebrows done,” she says. Along with her eyebrows, she keeps her nails done and loves to rock her heels. She also exclusively uses pink power tools. But not exactly why you would think she would. Shalina uses her pink power tools because “it’s the only color tools the guys won’t take. They will take the black, orange, and gray ones,” she says.
While preservation and revitalizing the story and the glory of Victoria is Shalina’s main goal, she also has a passion to help her neighbors restore their homes and eventually restore their neighborhood – together.
Be sure to follow Shalina Joy on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for updates on Victoria and her current DIY projects.
Check your local listings for air times for American Rehab: Restoring Victoria.
Written by Venus Austin of pinkklipstick.com.
