After five years of renovations, a woman who purchased an abandoned ‘one-euro’ Italian home has revealed the stunning transformation, taking the house from decrepit to dreamy.
Meredith Tabbone, from Chicago, decided to bid on an abandoned house in Sicily after an initiative was launched to auction off abandoned buildings starting from €1 (US$1.09), in order to regenerate the village.
Following extensive work, the 1600s house – which had no electricity or running water – has now been fitted out with a spa, outdoor kitchen and wine cellar.
‘The house was in very bad condition – but in many ways, it was everything I expected it to be and more,’ the 45-year-old financial advisor said.
‘It had so much charm.’
Meredith purchased the home in 2019, which had a starting bid of $1.09, and offered $5,600 for the building in Sambuca di Sicilia in Italy.
The timing of one-euro home scheme was serendipitous, with Meredith researching how to get an Italian citizenship to move to Europe in 2016.
She had discovered dad Michael’s great-grandfather, Fillippo Tabbone, came from Sambuca di Sicilia – a small village in Sicily.
When she first saw the 750-square-foot house, it was completely unlivable, with an asbestos-filled roof and no windows.
After spending $850 to fix the roof in an environmentally friendly way, she purchased the building next door in August 2020 to make a 3,000-square-foot property.
‘At first, the plan was just to turn it into a small getaway house,’ Meredith recalled.
‘While we originally just wanted it as a tiny getaway – we’ve turned it into a dream home.’
It took five years and $490,000 for Meredith to renovate the vacation home, fitting it out with all the bells and whistles.
While she’s thrilled with how her European home has turned out, the Chicago native admits it wasn’t always what she had in mind.
However she maintained it was definitely a ‘fixer-upper – to say the least.’
‘It was worth it. It turned out well,’ the homeowner continued. ‘It’s modern but in keeping [in the original architecture]. It’s a vacation home.’
Meredith has since bought two guest houses in the same village for $38,500, which need minor repairs.
But she’s not stopping there. She’s also purchased a disused building for $74,000, which she plans to turn into an art gallery and apartment for artists to stay in.
Meredith is currently gathering the plans and workforce to start renovating the gallery later this year.
After five years of hard work, Meredith’s holiday home was finally completed in April 2024 – and she now spends four months a year enjoying her new digs in Italy.
‘[The renovations were] very slow and tedious,’ she admitted.
However, her hard work and patience paid off in the end.
‘The sunsets are spectacular,’ she said enthusiastically.
Meredith recommends people consider buying a one euro home but said it’s not for the faint-hearted.
‘I went all in,’ she said. ‘If you can gather the strength it is worth it.’