A couple who said covering up the centuries-old features of their home should have been "illegal" tore away elements of their ceiling to unveil what was hiding above.
Joe and Chelsea Gray, a married couple in Massachusetts, bought their house in 2018 with the help of the VA home loan program. The 1755 New England colonial home lies on just under an acre of land and consists of five bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. With 12 rooms in total, it spans more than 2,700 square feet.
On August 6, the couple shared a clip on Instagram, which has amassed more than 10 million views, showing the renovations they've been doing on their home since purchasing it and their discovery of features that had been covered up by previous owners.
"Because of the age of the home and the exposed beams in other parts of the house, we highly suspected that we would find original joists and beams hidden above the drywall but couldn't know for certain until we just went for it," Chelsea Gray told Newsweek.
"We have a large ceiling beam that splits down the center of the kitchen, which was visible even with the drywall, sort of dividing it visually into two sections. On one half of the kitchen—the portion of the room you see in the video—what we uncovered was incredibly preserved, original wood in beautiful condition that just needed a good clean," she continued.
In the viral video, the pair can be seen tearing down the drywall to expose the original wooden beams.
"Removing the drywall hiding our original 1755 ceiling is still one of the best decisions we have ever made," they wrote in the video's caption.
Chelsea Gray told Newsweek: "Between the moment we first threw our hammer into the drywall ceiling and what you see at the end of the video was about seven months of hard work to get to that point. We're still not finished almost two years later."
"We both have full-time jobs and are learning all of these DIY renovation skills as we go, so our projects tend to take us quite a while to complete, especially for something as involved as a kitchen remodel," she continued.
The homeowner said she had "such a mix of emotions" when the beams were discovered, adding, "That massive center beam you see in the video with all the nails in it is what really got the biggest reaction from both of us the moment we got a peek at how large it was."
"We anticipated finding some original, cool wood above the drywall (or at least we hoped we would), but we never could have anticipated that beauty," she said.
For house hunters in the U.S., buying and renovating existing homes is far more popular than buying new builds. Last year, more than 4 million people bought existing homes across the country, compared to the under 1 million who bought new builds.
Massachusetts—where the average house price is $624,300, according to Redfin—is home to many residential buildings that date back centuries.
Viewers took to the comments of the couple's viral Instagram video to share their thoughts. "Who would want to cover that up?" one wrote.
"This room makes me feel like you would hand me a pint and ask me where my travels are taking me," another added.
"An actual crime! It's gorgeous," a user said, while another commented: "This is the kind of home renovation I like to see. No more grey/white/beige."
Have you transformed your house into something you're proud of? Whether it's a DIY project or a full-scale renovation, share your success stories with us. Let us know via life@newsweek.com, and your dream home could be featured on Newsweek.
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