Dave and Kristy Stoffer and their three young children were living in a small house in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that was bursting at the seams when they saw it: a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home built in 1916. The location was great, and the home had really good bones and historical charm. But it was last remodeled in 2007—and had a cow theme that extended all the way to the address plaque.
Not a problem. “We really wanted something ugly so we could rip out all the ugly and put in what we wanted,” says Kristy, a nurse anesthetist. Dave’s take? “I think you wanted the house because you knew my mom would design the kitchen.
Dave’s mom is none other than Jean Stoffer of Jean Stoffer Design, a renowned kitchen-centric designer and the star of the new renovation show The Established Home. The first two episodes cover her renovation of Dave and Kristy’s house, which started in January of 2021 and ended in September, just in time for the start of the school year. Dave acted as the general contractor, and his sister, Grace Start, as a designer. (Grace is Jean’s key design partner, while Jean’s son John photographs all of the firm’s work. And her son Dan runs the Bradbury Café, which is nestled inside the Stoffer Home store in Grand Rapids, where Jean moved six years ago from her hometown of Chicago.)