When Jim Palavin bought his Cook Road home in Powell 11 years ago, the decor was much more Brady Bunch than Modern Family.

“It was right out of the 1970s,” said Palavin, who, along with his wife Yolanda Zepeda, has spent the past decade eviscerating old dark-stained cabinets, ceiling beams and fixtures and replacing them with lighter, more modern fare.

The three-bedroom, three-bath home sits on five acres overlooking a creek and a densely wooded area that stretches back as far as the eye can see – quite a change in lifestyle for Palavin, who moved to Powell after a long stint in the tightly packed Victorian Village.

“We have everything we need up here,” he said of the home’s isolated location, which is about a 30 minute drive north of central Columbus. “We’ve got a Walgreens five minutes away and a golf course seven minutes away. It’s all I need.”

Palavin, the son of a contractor and friend of several more, said he was able to complete about 80 percent of the work on his own, which included the addition of a bar, a master bath converted from a spare bedroom, and additional countertop space in the kitchen. He was also able to clear a small wooded deer path immediately behind the house to create a perennial garden, a favorite pastime of the couple.

Today, with just a guest bathroom yet to be completed, Palavin says the decade of hard work – including his wife’s interior decorating – has finally paid off.

“It’s time and money. Time and money. We’re going to be here for a while.”