good. I noticed parents walking their kids
to school and pushing strollers, as well as
young professionals out taking their run.
Just a block over, a vibrant commercial
area was sprouting restaurants and
sidewalk cafés.
It seemed our perspective had changed.
With our agent’s guidance, we put in a
successful bid. Since the house is in the
Oklahoma City Historic Preservation
District, we knew we had guidelines to
follow, but we were eager to get to work.
We gutted the sorry interior to the studs.
One morning we found a brightly colored
NOTICE on the front window, informing
us that we were “in violation of historical
guidelines” and that we were to cease
all work. It knocked the wind out of our
sails. Garrett was out of school for the
summer and thus nominated to go talk to
the preservation committee.
Apprehension soon turned to relief.
We met Angela Yetter and Katie Friddle
of OKC Historic Preservation—two
superwomen with a passion for historic
neighborhoods. They were very
professional and helpful, walking us
through the guidelines and explaining
what the end goals were. I give them
and the volunteer committees so much
credit: Thanks to their tireless eff orts, the
Historic District is beautiful, a time-warp
area of well-kept homes.
We stopped renovations to make
detailed drawings, adding product
descriptions and various lists, all to have
us placed on the agenda to get Board
approval. Yes, the guidelines were strict,
but they helped us think diff erently.
Only because of such diligence does this
district look so good. Box-store vinyl
siding and windows were not acceptable.
The exterior had to be restored using
period-appropriate materials. Forrenovations inside, however, there were
few restrictions.
Not much was left of the original 1910
interior. By now, though, we realized we
were appealing to an urban, high-tech
clientele (this area is fi ve minutes from
the state Capitol, fi ve minutes from city
center, and fi ve minutes from a huge
hospital complex). We found ourselves
interpreting period style even inside.
The farmhouse-style cabinets were
hand-painted, and that’s white pine
used as window and door trim. The
fl oors are wood, not laminate.
With “our family” extended to great
tradespeople, we fi nished the work in
seven months.
Would we do it again? You bet! We
suff ered frustration, but we learned a lot,
and we had fun. Looking at the before and
after photos, we’re proud of the outcome.
I hope this story will inspire OHJ readers.BEFORE“The preservation board members were professional
and very helpful explaining the end goals. Only
because of their diligence does this district look so good.”