A New Albany Home’s Renovation Into a Family Home
Real estate development couple Damien and Brandi Merk transformed the “crazy clock house” near the New Albany Country Club into a designer home perfect for the whole family.
In 2022, Damien and Brandi Merk began looking for a home on a street that was less busy than the one they lived on in New Albany. A few years later, their real estate agent found one for sale—but not yet on the market—on a court near the New Albany Country Club. He thought it had great curb appeal—and would appeal to the parents of two young girls.
Jean-Luc Grande-Pierre of The Raines Group took the couple to tour the home in the winter of 2024. The second he opened the door and took a quick look inside, he told them, “This is not the house for you.”
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The home’s interior decor was outdated, and the main living space was adorned with more than two dozen clocks. The collection included large grandfather clocks, others placed along the length of a fireplace mantle, more that sat on tables and others that were tucked into built-in shelves. When it became available for public showings, the home affectionately became known around town as “the crazy clock house.”
Six months after the Merks’ initial visit, the home was still on the market, but the asking price was too high given all the interior renovation work that would be needed. Another six months passed, and Grande-Pierre convinced them to look at it again since the clocks and interior furnishings had been removed.
“Damien and I stood in the kitchen and it hit us both, ‘We can do this,’ ” Brandi says. “Where others saw a mess, we saw nothing but potential.”
Renovations that honor the past while incorporating the new
They purchased the home in January 2025 and began pouring their hearts into a complete interior update that both honored the home’s original character and infused it with modern touches. Because they are real estate investors, they used their connections to hire crews for flooring, crown molding and trim, tile, demolition, electric and carpeting. Often, four separate crews worked on the home at the same time. Damien managed the crews and Brandi was the interior designer. The nearly 6,000-square-foot home has five bedrooms, four full bathrooms and one half bath.
The entryway was designed to resemble the modern aesthetic of 1 Hotel South Beach in Miami, Florida, with its black-and-white color palette, large chandelier and big checker tile flooring. The original stairwell spindles were retained.
In the living room, the Merks removed a wall of dark wood built-ins. Amish woodworkers refurbished the crown molding and built a storage bin for the room that also doubles as an accent table. A tiny, white, builder-grade fan was replaced with a dramatic cascading crystal chandelier from Restoration Hardware. It took eight hours for three men to install it by hanging one crystal at a time. Calacatta Viola marble from Turkey, purchased at Konkus Marble and Granite in Columbus, was added to the fireplace. Marble from the same slab was used to make a sink in the main floor’s half bathroom.
Cabinets between the kitchen and dining area were removed to open up the space, and a kitchen island with the same marble was installed. Below where the cabinets used to hang is a countertop with seating for four. The main floor’s original tongue-and-groove white oak flooring from when the home was built in 2000 was retained and refinished.
A separate, more formal dining area features a soft, whimsical mural of the outdoors that offsets the bolder tone of the marble. “My grandmother had a mural in her dining room when I was growing up, and I always loved it,” Brandi says. “With the renovation, we definitely added modern flairs, but we also wanted to pay homage to the fact that this was a very traditional home.” A handmade chandelier from Arhaus Furniture with 10 separate arms proved to be an even more difficult installation than the living room chandelier, since each arm had to be wired separately.
Three closets in a pantry behind the kitchen were ripped out, and a tin ceiling and new lighting were installed. Cubbies for the kids to store their gear were built and include charging stations for their devices. Their children Lonna, 4, and London, 5, love their new home so much they often joke that if one gets in trouble, their punishment will be having to live in their old house.
The renovation took four months to complete. The overall color palette features gold and chrome accents, two metals Brandi believes will hold up well to the test of time.
“We poured our hearts into renovating it—every room, every detail—and now, after all that hard work, we’ve been offered double what we paid for it,” Brandi says. “People keep reaching out asking to come see what we’ve done with it. What was once the house that nobody wanted is now a place we’re incredibly proud to call home.”
This story appeared in the November 2025 issue of Columbus Monthly. Subscribe here.
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