Labor of Love

“It has been a labor of love,” smiles Marisa Morgan as she shows off old pictures and tells details of the work she and her husband Eric have done to their Lancaster city home, built by the president of Hamilton Watch Company in 1910. Nestled on a tree-lined street appropriately named Woods Avenue, it’s the perfect balance of city and neighborhood charm where they live with their three children. “It’s a quaint neighborhood,” describes Marisa. “My kids walk to Sacred Heart [Catholic School a few blocks away]. We can walk to market.” They bike everywhere. And she describes nearby Buchanan Park, with its city block of green space, as “sort of the hub of the neighborhood.”  

This isn’t the couple’s first rodeo remodeling a home. And they do have a couple edges over the average couple. “[Eric] can do anything he puts his mind to,” says Marisa of her handy husband. He owns a property management company, so he’s used to managing the process of fixing up homes. For the past 12 years, Marisa has been self-employed as an interior designer, and not just the decorating part. She actually enjoys the architectural planning even more, which came in very handy throughout the nine-year renovation process. The couple is so handy with their design-build roles, they started their own business, Nostalgic Porch Swing Company, making—you guessed it—porch swings, which are custom crafted. 

During the renovation, Marisa recalls: “Boards were missing in the living room; you could see through to the basement…All the walls had to be re-plastered.” They found molding under layers of wallpaper that they decided to replace to restore the home’s original integrity.

With a keen eye, Marisa and Eric removed closets and closet doors and created character in other places­—like the mudroom and dining room. The living room had many unnecessary closets, so she designed plans to take one out to create a parlor mirror. They found a cabinet face at nearby Building Character downtown and added it, along with crown molding, to one of the many closets downstairs to create a custom cabinet that looks like it was built in originally. A modern metallic ceiling and red walls make the dining space current, and a nickel slot machine on one side adds a fun quirk.

Renovation Versus New Construction 

So why choose to renovate an old home versus buy new? “For us, it’s the architectural details,” says Marisa. She laughs and adds, “the high ceilings, my husband is 6’5”.” 

One such detail that came with the old home is the powder room tucked down a small flight of stairs off the first floor. Quirky and cute yet historically accurate in its detail, a retro classroom-style door says “Co-ed Restroom,” and inside a miniature marble and granite basket-weave tile floor is true to the period. Morgan had a custom sink cut from marble salvaged from the Lancaster Trust Building. A window made of stained glass found antiquing in Adamstown lets in light with color.

Work in Progress

They’ve updated the 1970s kitchen with a fresh coat of white paint on the cabinets and new drawer pulls until they can build their dream addition. The most recent project was their master bathroom. The pièce de résistance, an antique claw foot tub, has to wait for the addition. It’s a work in progress.

Hanging in the living room is a collection of all the antique keys that came with and tell the story of the house, including an old milk key. At night they can see the clock tower lit up a block away, a reminder of the home’s history as they build new dreams with their family.

Above Par

Across town from the Morgans’ West Side neighborhood, Eden Road winds behind the Lancaster Country Club to another home on the Renovator’s Tour, a newer-yet-historic 1950s home with its own charm—and breathtaking views.  

Victoria Abadir opens the door to her cottage style home dressed in tennis gear, ready for a round at the club. 

The entrance-way is wallpapered with a subtle metallic zebra print and leads to a brand new custom bar in sleek white and antiqued mirrored backing next to a grand piano. The adjacent living room melds metallics with soft neutrals of beige and white. The star of the space—a present to Victoria from her husband Essam—is an oversized floral painting by Belgian artist Christiane David, who has a gallery in downtown Lancaster. Where Victoria admits she used to go and visit the painting until it found a new home on their living room wall. Built-in shelves display the family’s pictures and treasures from travels. One piece in particular especially stands out: a box labeled “Victoria’s.” It’s a “room box” depicting a tavern at Christmas time that her dad made upon her return from Australia many years ago. Harry Garman passed away over 10 years ago, but his daughter recalls proudly how he would custom create these room boxes every year to benefit the Lancaster Museum of Art’s Trees Galore fundraiser. Ironically, she says, he was this big 6’5” guy who made these tiny room boxes—big treasures for his own family and many more throughout Lancaster who received them.

The Heart of the Home

Past the living room lies the hub and heart of the home. And while it’s a showstopper, this kitchen is not just for show. Victoria is an avid home cook who knew just what she wanted in this second renovation. 

The couple has been in the home seven years and in that time has realized that the original custom kitchen and dining room weren’t serving their family’s needs. A new plan allowed them to use every bit of the home’s space more efficiently with the flow of their lifestyle. 

So they switched the existing kitchen with the dining room and turned a sunroom off the original dining room into a breakfast nook off the new kitchen. The new formal dining room (formerly the kitchen) sits off the beaten path for special occasions. And the breakfast nook, kitchen and living area all flow in one open line, functionally and aesthetically. 

While cooking in the kitchen, Victoria says, “I can see the kids playing in the driveway,” which she couldn’t do with the old layout of the space. 

But perhaps the best view is from the expansive picture window overlooking the Conestoga River that separates their wooded backyard from the 7th hole of the Lancaster Country Club’s golf course. Flanking that window and counter area are a fridge and freezer, disguised in antiqued mirror like that of the bar area. “I wanted a separate refrigerator and freezer,” says Victoria, describing her need to be able to see what she has. She admits it’s a bit of OCD when she shows the alphabetized spices (which are cleverly tucked at the ends of the island inside inset cabinets only about 2 inches deep). 

“Horizon was really good about utilizing every inch of space,” she states.  “This kitchen is all about storage.” They also created custom cutting boards (separate for meat, fish, cheese and more) that fill a narrow space of about five inches. Horizon Kitchens of Mountville created the custom kitchen of the Abadirs’ dreams. Murray Construction Associates of Lancaster did the construction. And Victoria worked once again with friend and designer Alison McIndoe of AK Interiors. “Alison takes my ideas and pushes them a little bit further,” says Victoria.

“I knew exactly what I wanted,” Victoria says explaining how she measured the specs of appliances she wanted and taped them out on the floor to see how it would all fit. “I knew I wanted a big range—six burners and two ovens—and I knew I needed a powerful hood.” Her favorite feature on her GE Monogram range is the grill. “I grill everything on here [from] lamb chops [to] burgers.” 

Behind the range is a backsplash designed by AK Interiors, with Moroccan shaped tile in Calacatta marble from Tileology in Lancaster, another standout point in the kitchen. Horizon created a custom panel that literally mirrors the backsplash in the living room. “That mirror brings so much light into the living room,” says Victoria. 

The Jewel Box

Off the kitchen area is a small hallway where more counter and storage space house Essam’s coffee station, warming drawers that come in handy for the big dinner parties the family loves to host, drawers with snacks for their two kids, plus a small closet and powder room.

Victoria describes the bathroom renovation: “I said I want it to be a tiny jewel box,” and McIndoe helped her design it. All four walls are covered floor to ceiling in oval pearl tiles. McIndoe also designed a custom sink from marble that is cut intricately to echo the Moroccan shape of the tile in the adjoining kitchen. To save space, the faucet comes out of  the wall. From the midnight blue ceiling hangs a small chandelier that Victoria says reminds her of an earring, the perfect finishing touch for her little jewelry box bathroom.

Serendipity 

The small hall that houses the powder room and more kitchen storage space leads to the new dining room, where Victoria shows off her used furniture store find, a large Chinoiserie-style hutch. Designer friend McIndoe also efficiently helped her recover existing dining room chairs in a bold fuchsia fabric. New head chairs in the same color and an Asian motif complete the grand look. Mixed metals coexist beautifully in the space, from a polished silver tea set and gold mirror above, to a gold curtain rod and the frames that hold a triptych dear to Victoria’s heart. She commissioned Lancaster artist Freiman Stoltzfus to sketch trees that, unbeknownst to him, ended up perfectly representing their blended families. Serendipitously, the artwork hangs in the place where families gather around the dining room table, an even more endearing layer to the design behind the space that the Abadirs call home.  

But for tonight, it’s dinner at the country club’s pool. And the proximity cannot be more perfect for a couple whose life clearly revolves around and gives so much back to the community at the many events hosted at the Lancaster Country Club.