Finding a jewel of an old home to fix up and make your own is lucky, but finding a newer home with most of your list checked off, lots of character, and in the right neighborhood? That’s a steal.
Matt and Kristie Toddy were happy living in their apartment in Victorian Village, when they stumbled upon a cute home in Italian Village.
“We actually weren’t really looking to buy a home at the time,” says Kristie.
“We saw this place and wanted to move on it immediately,” adds Matt.
The place was a 3,500-square-foot, three bedroom, two and a half bath home. Located on a charming brick street in a quiet area of the neighborhood, the home was newly built in 2006 and boasted a full attic and a finished basement. Not only that, it had lots of windows, porch details, pocket doors, a working gas fireplace…in short, nearly everything they were looking for.
The home had gone into short sale status, but luck was on the Toddys’ side again because a small regional bank owned the property and they were very easy to work with.
“This was the only house we looked at,” says Kristie. The sale was completed December of 2012.
The large, open rooms are just right for the couple’s weekly gatherings of friends from church.
“With the flow of the house, we have lots of room to spread out,” says Kristie.
They also have a large dining table to host their guests, thanks to Matt’s woodworking skills. With undergraduate and master’s degrees in Architecture, as well as a job in the field, it’s nice for Matt to put some of his studies to use for personal projects.
Built of Red Oak with an ebony stain, the dining table anchors the room. A large frame made in the same style displays a map on the wall. In the living room, Matt built shelving along the sides of the fireplace. It was one of the first projects completed, as the living room is their favorite room in the house.
“Matt has an eye for design,” says Kristie.
Future home projects include changing light fixtures throughout and a total makeover of the backyard.
“We’d like to add a sunken fire pit with seating,” says Matt. Moving the fence and adding more flowers are also on the list.
The Toddys are very pleased to have found such a perfect home in a growing and changing neighborhood. They are most excited for the revamped Bodega to open, and the new The Market Italian Village on Summit.
“This is very much what I imagined our home to be,” says Matt.
At Home is a monthly column on Columbus Underground focused on urban home remodeling and style as well as older home renovations and unique homes in Columbus. If you would like to have your home featured in the At Home series, please send an email to me at [email protected].
