For the uninitiated, Houzz.com is a storehouse of interior photographs, showing every style, every room, and every finish you could possibly imagine.  The site allows easy bookmarking of images, tagging of the bits you like, and searching for particular details.  I have always recommended that my clients gather images of spaces they like as we work together, and Houzz has become an ideal way to gather it all in one place. If you’re considering doing a renovation, remodel, or addition, I’d highly recommend spending some time lost in their treasure trove, regardless of your future designer.

Of course, there’s nothing like seeing a space in person, and two 4/1 designs will be on a house tour coming up next month.  The Cleveland/Holloway tour, usually an affordable $5/person suggested donation, is scheduled for Saturday, June 9th.  I’ll be there, bouncing between 527 Holloway and 508 Ottawa – come and visit!

My favorite part is the view: you can now see through the house from the kitchen to the foyer, diagonally across the dining and living spaces.

The Chapel Hill News just printed a nice piece by Sally Keeny about one of my renovations that wrapped up over the winter.  Of course the online version has only one tiny photo included – so it gives me the push to finally write it up here, as I’ve been intending for weeks now.

The kitchen got a little bit of space and a whole lot of new finishes.

Not all of my projects fall under the ‘preservation’ heading, and sometimes the house in question isn’t quite 100 years old yet. Bill & Trish Hussey have been family friends since I was knee-high to a toadstool, so it felt especially significant to take on their master suite addition as 4/1′s first project.  Their brick, 1950s ranch had some nods to modernism in the living and dining rooms, but one foot back a few decades.  It worked fine as they raised their family, but with the kids mostly out on their own, they started to imagine updates that would suit their needs now and better prepare the house for a future family too.

The hall to the master suite doubles as an art gallery, with four sets of french doors that lead to the new front porch.

The private, dark kitchen was entirely cut off from the public spaces and the cramped entryway was invisible from the driveway.  The main goals were to add a master suite on the first floor, create a gracious foyer, and allow the dining room to actually hold the Husseys’ many friends.  Starting with that brief, we ended up moving the laundry, refinishing the kitchen, updating some of the systems, adding a massive front porch, and giving a whole new axis to the house.

Once the space planning was done, I knew Trish could take the finishes and run with it – she’s always had a clear idea of how she wants things to look.  Never particularly partial to the ranch-ness of the house, Trish took it towards a more contemporary style throughout.  I’ll be happy to reuse some of her great ideas in a future project – like the wood inlay around the foyer floor.  It’s the perfect transition between the original, distinctive parquet flooring in the main house and the new wing.

The foyer doubles as the music room for Trish's beautiful baby grand. And that wood inlay around the border - love it!

It’s a real pleasure to see the house done, and even more to see the house in action.  Over the holidays they threw their annual party, and the new elbow room worked beautifully throughout the evening.  It feels a little like the house has always been this way – exactly what I was aiming for.

Historic? duh.

A neighborhood kerfuffle has me thinking about old and historic – where the two overlap, where they’re separate, and why there are people who think anything old is bad unless it is, officially, ‘historic.’  As though preservationists have had a chance (and the funding) to designate every worthy structure by now.  And this view defines historic as the big, decorative, grand, fancy – not the everyday, the vernacular, or the plain.

Historic? or just old?

In truth, sometimes an individual structure that is simple, plain, and small isn’t worth much in and of itself.  A single little house from 1940 is probably not significant and not historic by any standard.  But put that wee house amidst a whole block or neighborhood of similar houses, with all of their weathering and evolution over the years, and you have something with importance: a historic district? Potentially.  But it’ll be a revealing group of buildings for a researcher, and will carry their own sense of place for even the casual observer.  If those little cottages are knocked down gradually, one here and one there, the fabric of the neighborhood is interrupted and their story starts to fall apart.

Given that I spend a good amount of time evaluating old buildings in an effort to discover their historic qualities, I do tend to find most old to be also historic.  I’ve got a broad view of it and can find the little details to love in just about everything.  That said, someone asked me today if I’m ok with demolition, and I had to stop and think.  Beyond the material waste, I have seen some terribly-awful, might-as-well-knock-it-down, “functionally obsolete” buildings redeemed, reused, and reborn – someone just had to have the right vision.

old, terrible parking deck. knock that sucker down. but leave the 1960s motel at the end, please? (photo via opendurham.org)

That said, a parking deck that’s structurally unsafe, lousy on the street level, and taking up a massive block of downtown? Bring on the wrecking ball!  That’s just old.

I’m curious though – for those of you outside of the preservation field, what’s the line for you?  When is something old, and when is it historic?

Bright indeed!

I had forgotten that the big yellow house on Holloway was named the Bright House in the original historic district research until I went to close out the tax credit application this week.  And it’s an appropriate name too, as the light streaming in those windows make the house so sunny and lovely.  The family decided to do most of the finishing touches themselves, so as of last week they moved in with lots to do.  My final photos barely convey the space, especially as it was a grey day when I showed up to snap pictures, but the homeowner’s blog has reams.  She’s kindly offered to let me snag some for here, so here’s a little sneak peak.

The dining room with a view into the living room - I love the beadboard ceilings that run through the front of the house.

The blog also does a great job of documenting all that they’ve been through – for those contemplating a massive remodel. I am really looking forward to visits in the future when they’ve buttoned up all the last bits – it’s beautiful already, and will certainly be gorgeous in the end!

The single original newel post left in the house has been reinstalled at the base of the stairs - matching newels were made and have been installed on the second floor.

The two-tone color scheme delineates the original from the later second floor.

Before: the original front door lead to a solid wall and stairs to the upstairs unit.

Now the front door leads to a stair hall and views straight through to the kitchen and sunroom.

and this will fill space. ,

but it needs to be longer,
and longer still.

Oh, how much color helps.  The original sidelight was kept in place, and a new front door installed to match.

Fun modern light fixtures + early 20th century mantles = fun!

All the main rooms now connect through wide doorways - and have their original, beaded board ceilings.

The kitchen opens to a breakfast nook and to the back sunroom.

This house has great bones – and it was a fantastic puzzle to put back into working order.  The combination of modern and classic, spare and colorful – that’s exactly the sort of thing I would pick out for myself.  The homeowners did all that part by themselves, so I can’t claim any credit, just share my appreciation!

More photos are in the gallery below, including the second floor.  Apologies for the repeat photos, it’s a fight I fought and lost with wordpress…