Welcome to the kick-off of New Column Thursdays where–you guessed it—we introduce a new column each week.  These weekly columns are written by locals who offer unique perspectives that need to be shared—whether it’s advice from a local expert, humorous observations about life at the shore, or a coastal version of an amazing renovation—we promise they will entertain you, and welcome your feedback.

 The Rebirth of the Humphrey’s House

First up is the Rebirth of the Humphrey’s House.  Follow along with a local family as they prepare to undertake a renovation project on a 100-year-old historic home in Berlin, MD—a home they will eventually reside in.  The column is about downsizing from a much larger and modern home, to a drafty old house with a great deal of history.  It’s about learning to live simpler—their ten-year-old daughter wants to keep chickens as pets and collect their eggs.  And it’s about restoring a gem of a house back to its original glory. 

Some weeks will offer play-by-plays on how to rehab everything from old floors to stained glass windows, while other weeks will focus on the house’s history, or the process of transitioning a modern family into a historic home.  The Rebirth of the Hunphrey’s House will be accompanied by a photo gallery to further illustrate the process. 

The first column posts Monday, August 22nd.  Check out an excerpt and photos below…        

 
As a family, we watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on a regular basis, and are always amazed at the transformation that takes place.  We have been very lucky to live in a beautiful new home, that was built by us, but in this new economy we have realized the need to simplify and downsize. We had previously made a choice to sell our home and find something smaller, but the Humphreys House found us. Every since our first look, it has drawn us in, the children included. We love living in Berlin, the fact that we can all ride bikes to the farmers market, or to lunch, or to enjoy a art show, all in our beautiful historic town.  Over the past 8 years we have witnessed many homes and buildings receive a face lift, and look forward to bringing the Humphreys House back to life. This home is unique in that since it's construction, there has only been one family of three people that has owned and occupied the home. Follow us as we go through the technical and emotional exercise of renovating this home for our family to live in.