Homes tour fuses history, personal touch

Clintonville homes are known for their historic charm.

And the homeowners on this year's Clintonville Homes Tour have taken their historic homes and made them their own with updated kitchens, room additions and new floors, walls and windows.

The tour will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 14. Tickets may be purchased in advance for $10 or on the day of the tour for $12. They're available, along with tour information, at www.clintonvillehomestour.com.

Drawing on inspiration from the newly renovated Whetstone Community Center, this year's homes tour features nine homes that have undergone extensive renovations. To conclude the tour, visitors can stop by the community center to view the results of the renovations there.

Proceeds from this year's tour will benefit the Whetstone Renovation Initiative, the community's effort to raise $500,000 in funds to support the community center renovations.

To qualify for this year's tour, homes had to have undergone renovations in 50 percent of their space or include an addition equal to 50 percent of the original structure.

Andy and Brandi Spittler, whose home at 319 Oakland Park will be on this year's tour, purchased their 1923 Sears & Roebuck home from his parents last year and have worked since to make the home their own.

Leaving the front living and dining rooms relatively unaltered to preserve the home's historic feel, the Spittlers gutted and rebuilt the kitchen and the second floor and added on a great room with a pantry, half bathroom and laundry room to the rear of the home.

The home now features Brazilian koa hardwood floors through most rooms, with Italian porcelain tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen.

Mr. Spittler created a "Buckeye room" in the finished third story of the home by refinishing and repainting the walls and adding new carpet. A wall, walk-in closets and a bathroom were added to the master bedroom to create a master suite.

In the home's backyard, the couple added on a composite deck, a stamped concrete patio and a koi pond.

When Bill Webster moved into his Victorian-era home in 2004, a fire had rendered the back of the 1,100 square foot home unlivable.

Webster installed a new kitchen and backroom, added a wall to create his own art gallery and refinished the original oak floors. Now the home, at 66 W. Pacemont, also will be featured on the tour this year.

The highlight of the tour of Webster's home will be the 1,500-square-foot Japanese-style garden Webster has spent the last three years creating. The garden features a large koi pond, a privacy fence, a bamboo border, granite stones and bonsai-style trees.

The garden also features an engawa, a traditional Japanese porch, that leads off of a traditional Japanese room, complete with a zen alter.

With the exception of the Japanese room and garden, Webster said he worked to maintain the historical home's original character.

"I try to keep all of my updates consistent with the style of the house The only major departure from that is the Japanese room," Webster said. "That contrast, as dramatic as it is, worked fairly well here."

Patricia Campbell found her dream house in Clintonville when she located a craftsman bungalow at 218 Montrose Way. Though Campbell has put her personal touch on the home, the renovations that make it eligible for this year's homes tour were largely done by previous owners.

Campbell put her stamp on the home, which she calls Moon Cottage in honor of original owners Dave and Norma Moon, by updating the windows, knocking down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, installing granite countertops and painting the interior and exterior in bright colors.

While Campbell said the renovations done by previous owners have taken away some of the original craftsman charm, she said she has worked to preserve that feel.

"This house already had things done to it that took away that true craftsman style," Campbell said. "I tried to make it look like whatever it was."