A work in progress
Greg and Melody Edwards’ home in Priest River, Idaho is located in one of the older residential sections of town.
The house is by no means one of the new, presumptuous mega-mansions – the kind that seem to shout “Look at me” – that one sees while driving in and around Bonner County these days. But the house is a source of much pride to its owners.
“I absolutely love this house,” Melody said recently with a wave of her hand that encompassed all that she and Greg have accomplished since 1989. That’s when they started remodeling and enlarging what was then a too-small and nondescript older home built for a Judge Booher about 1917. The upgrade culminated in 2005 when the couple expanded the two-story frame home from 1,600 to 2,350 square feet.
In addition, they constructed a separate three-car garage and a deck that wraps into a rebuilt front porch on the house.
“Every couple of years we’ve done something major,” Melody said, adding that now they plan to concentrate on completing the landscaping.
Greg grew up in the house, which he and Melody purchased from his parents. It sat on two lots that also contained a another small dwelling that was used as a rental. They tore down that home to expand the yard.
Although they hired a construction firm out of Newport, Wash., to do some of the work, the Edwardses have actually done a great deal of it themselves, aided by considerable help from their friends.
“We have the greatest friends,” Melody enthused. “They laid sheetrock, mudded, spackled, laid floors, wired for us and did any number of other things.”
Melody refinished an old clawfoot bathtub that was removed from the second story so the plumbing could be redone and had it reinstalled in the new bathroom that is part of the addition along with a lovely master bedroom and closets. She used an acid to clean the tub and make it more porous and applied a new finish with a bathtub epoxy kit from Home Depot.
Other features of the refurbished home are new windows, including two identical bays tying the living room and dining area together, a new kitchen featuring handsome, solid-oak built-ins purchased second-hand from friends and an electric hot water system for heat.
The Edwards’ original plan was to sell the house and purchase property near the Priest River Airport.
“The place was up for sale for a year,” Melody said, “and we didn’t get a single bite.” They reevaluated and decided to stay where they were.
“We’re so glad we did,” she said.