2134 WINTER STREET | Laura and Jim DeMay
Sponsored by Catawba Brewing Co.
Laura DeMay purchased this 1941 traditional bungalow in 2013 from Laura Smail. She is the fourth owner named “Laura” to live in the house—so it seemed destined to be. There’d been no significant updates to the home, so Laura began making aesthetic changes to update the space without altering to the structure. She painted, added new lighting fixtures, and thick crown molding (her favorite decorating accessory!) to every room. Various shades of light gray are used throughout the interior for continuity to help the separate spaces seem more open and flowing.
The kitchen was original, with no major updates or modern conveniences. After washing dishes by hand for over a year, Laura added a dishwasher and disposal. She also had the large island rebuilt, replacing its homemade open bare wood shelves with drawers for enclosed storage space. She chose pale blue walls to highlight the all-white kitchen counters, cabinets and stove. She installed shiny white open shelves above the stove, to modernize the space while keeping the original feel of the home. After using the oven to reheat meals, she caved and added a microwave. But the original stove, with its one working burner, made it through unscathed! It’s the focal point of the kitchen and too beautiful and unique to replace!
When Laura and Jim married in 2016, they sold Jim’s home on Pecan Avenue and chose to live in the Winter Street house, because they loved it’s wonderful front and back porches. They are learning to love sharing one tiny bathroom. Their most recently completed project was the kitchen floor. In one marathon weekend, they replaced the old yellowed and chipped tile floors with new light gray floors. It changed the whole feel of the kitchen, making it more cohesive with the rest of the house, which was already all hardwoods. The kitchen sunroom is their favorite room, because it’s so sunny every morning and feels like a treehouse overlooking the backyard. They left in it’s pine paneling because it reminds Laura of her grandmother’s house growing up. Original hardwoods throughout the home are worn, scratched, stained, and in a word… perfect!
They love spending evenings grilling out on the high back deck overlooking their wooded yard, which is populated with rabbits, birds, and raccoons. The covered front porch is their favorite place to catch up with friends and talk to the many passersby, much to the delight of their dog, Lilly.