Several other people were there to make
offers on the unit, but Hattie prevailed.
Soon she was updating it with $7,000 in
new appliances and taking out “hideous”
chandeliers and painting everything. “We
had planned to use it as an investment and
rent it out ourselves. And then Ed said,
‘Let’s move there.’ I thought well maybe I
should move there — I’m almost 80 —
before I have to move to The Mayflower. So,
we started fixing it up,” she adds.
Since she had owned a home for years
that was full of her favorite possessions
and reflected her lifestyle — Thanksgiv-
ing dinners for 24 and more — it took
some extra work to make the 1980s condo
what she wanted and needed. “We were
able to raise the ceilings from eight feet to
nine and a half since we moved overhead
pipes. We basically gutted and opened up
the whole space. We added the balcony
back on,” she explains.
As we toured the rooms, Hattie gave
Abby full credit for the ingenious space
planning. “She has a lot more ideas than I
do,” Hattie admits. There are ample built-
ins throughout and pretty much a place
for everything. “This really does feel like
my mom — it feels like her home,” Abby
adds.
SPRING | SUMMER 2019 63