History becomes modern in 63rd annual Haus und Garten Tour
Blending history, preservation and contemporary design, the 63rd annual Haus und Garten Tour celebrates homes and gardens in German Village this weekend.
One can explore unique, curated selections of residences where the past intertwines with modern aesthetics.
Featured homes are picked by tour chairs, pending the homeowner's consent. One such homeowner opening their door to the public is Sally McDonald.
McDonald and her husband John bought their 2,900-square-foot house at 205 Jackson St. in 1996 for $350,000. The purchase came with an adjacent vacant lot, the former home of E&C Lang Company.
At the time, this lot was used to store enormous stone slabs. Now known as Lang Stone, the company has since relocated but is still running today, kept alive by fifth-generation Langs.
“I started coming down here (German Village) in the '70s and it was not restored like that,” said McDonald, owner of InteriorWorks. “It was still cute and charming and, you know, but gradually, they've turned over one after another and the lot became rental property.”
The house at 205 Jackson St. was no more than dirt floors, blacktop and beams. After lots of hard work and renovations, McDonald said she is thrilled with her new home.
“I love the wood floor, and I love all the light that comes in,” said McDonald. “We have an awful lot of light with the big wall of French doors and skylights.”
But she was not finished yet, as just last year, she redid her kitchen, adding new granite, backsplash tiles and more.
Continuing to showcase the mix of history and modernity in German Village is of paramount importance to the German Village Society Executive Director Sean Kessler.
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“There are lots of house and garden tours in Columbus now, but this was, if not the first, one of the first to happen,” said Kessler.
The uniqueness of these houses, both inside and out, is a huge draw not just for Columbus residents, but tourists from outside of Ohio.
“I was only six months on the job, and I had people coming here saying, ‘Yeah, we're from Baltimore, we come every year; this is our girls' trip.’ So, yeah, you know, it attracts (people) from all around,” said Kessler.
Kessler knows that each homeowner brings their own style and execution into both the interiors and exteriors of their home, giving visitors a lot to look at and leaving everyone with something to love.
Haus und Garten Tour at a glance
Saturday’s preview tour runs from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a cocktail party from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. and private dinners at 8 p.m. Sunday’s tour occurs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with German Village residents opening their doors.
Saturday’s $125 cocktail party tickets and $200 private dinner tickets, as well as the $25 tickets for Sunday's tour are available online at germanvillage.com, as well as volunteer and sponsor information.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Haus und Garten Tour brings in contemporary design to historic homes
