Before & After: A Flooded Basement Kicked Off a Family’s Whole-Home Renovation in Montana

Sometimes a crisis becomes an opportunity. Such was the case when Abby Eskin and Zak Smith’s home flooded after pipes burst from a cold snap, forcing a renovation that turned into a whole-home makeover. The couple had moved from Los Angeles to Bozeman, Montana, with their two children, Zoe and Smith, and were living in a rental when they purchased the 1950s home. Situated near Montana State University in one of Bozeman’s only neighborhoods of midcentury residences, it attracted Abby and Zak with its floor-to-ceiling living room windows that filled the space with natural, even on dark wintry days.