How long have we been talking about moving to the downtown area of that magical city called Charleston? Way too many years, that’s how long. Now it is finally happening!
If you are so inclined, please join us on this journey (blog) as David and I embark upon the major renovation of our recently purchased house located in Hampton Park Terrace. It truly will be the rebirth of a Charleston home.
I could fill you in on how we agonized over the decision to sell our home on Seabrook Island which we built in 2006. I could tell you about the 3 year (at least) search for the perfect house downtown. I could tell you about the above or below the Crosstown decision. I could tell you about the many wonderful coincidences that happened to bring us to our new/old home at 10 Sutherland. (Doesn’t that just roll off your tongue?) But I think at this point you would be more interested in the immediate process as it is happening. We will save those stories for another day.
October of last year I found myself scouting around Hampton Park Terrace looking for homes that weren’t on the market and needing love. On the list were 10 & 12 Sutherland Avenue. I emailed our real estate agent, Marshall Walker to see if he had any information on them. Of course he did. He is the unofficial “mayor” of the UP (Upper Peninsula).
The owner of 12 Sutherland was not interested in selling. It was her grandparent’s home and she intended on renovating it for herself. As for 10 Sutherland, it was in the process of being purchased by a contractor who intended to renovate to sell. I logged this away in my mental filing cabinet but the possibility of that seemed too distant. The search continued.
As the New Year began, so did the action on the sale of our home on Seabrook Island. After 11 long months might we actually sell our house? What shall we do? Referring to my mental filing cabinet, I pulled out the 10 Sutherland folder. Wonder if the contractor would be willing to let us join in the renovation and purchase the home from him when it was completed? The answer was, “Yes!”
After many talks and a lot of thought we decided that we wanted to buy the home from the contractor and be in total charge of the renovation ourselves. (Those Ellsworths are some crazy folks, ya know?) So on April 4th (the 17th anniversary of our first date) we closed on the property know as 10 Sutherland Avenue.
The purpose of this blog is to keep a record of this journey that we are about to embark upon. I plan to have lots of pictures and written information that will become part of the property’s legacy for future generations.
Many of you have expressed interest in this project. If you are so inclined to join us, please feel free to sign up for future segments. We would love to have you come along on our journey.
Simply Sutherland 
I can’t wait for the day that you will be able to move in. You are gonna love it here in the “hood” and you will be a great addition the great mix of us that call it home now. I walked this afternoon and almost walked over your way. Belinda
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Can’t wait to see the finished product
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I am so excited for you and David! I look forward to sipping some sweet tea on your front porch and…wait will you have a driveway?😉 Can’t wait to watch your this house turn into your home.
Tiffany❤️
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Thanks T! 🤓
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You betcha I’m interested in your renovation journey! (Better you than me!)
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Thanks, Marie! 🤓
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Best wishes to you both. Not surprised at all that you are taking on this adventure. Positive it will be beautiful.
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Cindy and Dave, I am in awe of this undertaking!
So excited to see all the progress into what I know will be an ” unimmitable “Cindy and Dave’s home
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I’m so excited for y’all!! Makes me want to go buy a house and renovate!!
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What an exciting project! Have fun with it. I know it will be beautiful and authentic when you’re finished.
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shine that hose up good! tell Dave not to act like Tom Hanks in the movie Money Pit !
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Good luck! Can’t wait to see the transformation!
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I’d love to help you when my life slows down after the wedding in August (unless you think you’ll be done by then) 😉 I love knocking out walls and I do think I’m a pretty good painter ~ anything I could help with.
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Thank you Amy! We have hired a contractor who has a great team of demo guys, electricians, etc. to help pull this miracle. I so appreciate your offer. Sounds like you are going to be pretty busy yourself. Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! 🙂
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lookn forward to see how new home turns out, and ur up s and downs , cause no old house is perfect 🙂
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Love it! What a great opportunity for both of you! Looking forward to seeing and reading along, and let me know if you all need the services of a landscape architect…I’ll try to find a good one 🙂
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Thanks! Hoping not too many headaches. We’d love your input! Even though the yard is pretty small. Y’all need a trip to Chucktown one of these days. 🙂
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