2026 Preservation Awards

After looking at 70 houses, Sheri fell in love with a wreck that had been foreclosed three years earlier and become a home for animals and wayward teenagers. What made it special were its bones: a beautiful open stairway, all natural wood work, french doors, and it had not been “remuddled,” in Shari’s words. Windows that remained had been stamped “1864,” and the walls and ceilings were plaster and lath. After an intense two to three months it was clean and ready for a yearly project to show it in its full glory.

Paul and Jan moved into their ~1906 home in the 1990s. Ninety degree angles were rare, insulation was absent and three colonies of ants had taken up residence. It was challenging, but not daunting. With Paul doing a great deal of the work—including moving the entrance to its original location in front—their home became a three bedroom beauty with a ball diamond and basketball court in back.