Four over One Design

In the final stretch of finish

The owners of the Purple Castle (1106 Alabama Ave.) are kindly offering their house up for a tour on this coming Thursday evening, Dec. 1, 5-7pm.  I’ll be on hand to answer questions about tax credits, and there’s a suggested $5 entry fee – a donation to Preservation Durham.  Come and visit!

not-so-purple purple castle

It’s been a busy fall around here, and as we careen into the holidays, it’s glaringly obvious that I need to get some photos up here!  A proper update will be on my thanksgiving break to-do, but a few teasers are in order.  Remember the purple castle?  It’s not so purple anymore, but instead nearly finished.  The homeowners are hoping to move in early December, and Preservation Durham is planning a sneak peak tour the week after Thanksgiving.  The first floor especially has been very well restored, and it’s a treat to see it repaired properly.

Also heading towards finish is the whole house renovation on Ottawa.  It has been under construction all summer, but only received a fresh coat of paint recently.  Given that it had been one story originally and had a wide band between the first and second floors, we chose a two-tone color combination that makes me very happy.  The yellow accent is cheery and welcoming, but unexpected at the same time.

before,

and (almost) after.

New projects on the drawing board include a screened porch design for a sweet little bungalow in Old North Durham, and the reconfiguring of a second floor right around the corner from me in Watts-Hillandale.  After that, I’ll be re-working a stair landing; it sounds small, but the small spaces are sometimes the hardest!  More on all of that soon.  Until then, happy thanksgiving: enjoy the turkey, the family, and the rest.

Exterior paint color consultations are one of my favorite things to do.  I get to meet new folks, see a house up close, and guide the homeowner to make a huge decision.  Colors can make a house absolutely sing (hopefully in harmony with its neighbors) or let a house sit quietly in its surroundings.

With that in mind, I finally got around to gathering photographs of some of the ‘afters’ and put them all in one place – take a look, and let me know what you think!

I like to have homeowners pick a few words describing how the house should look when it's done... this house was aiming for 'handsome.'

ps. let me know if something is amiss technologically, would you?  thanks!