FORT THOMAS, Ky. – One Northern Kentucky family lives with the past—not their past, but rather, their home’s past.
A couple from Birmingham, Ala., came to Fort Thomas looking for a home to buy. So each house that they looked at with their Realtor, they photographed the outside, so that they could compare the homes they liked. When they showed photos of the home on Riverside Avenue to their friends and family, everyone questioned who the person was in the second-floor window. The house was empty with no one living in it at the time that they looked at it.
This observation, however, did not deter them. They saw a lot of potential in the house.
In 2000, William and Darcy Hoffmann, became the fourth owners of the 1918 Tudor-style home in Fort Thomas, Ky., with the hopes of creating a warm, inviting space to entertain their friends and family in.
The Hoffmanns moved into their dream home, and started imagining about what they could do with the high ceilings, great natural light and solid structure. They thought restoration.
As soon as they bought the house, the renovations began, Darcy said.
"We have spent the last nine years lovingly restoring almost every room in the house; every door, baseboard and molding was stripped and repainted. It was a labor of love and we’ve rehabbed the house to fit our family’s personality."
Most rooms have new ceilings with recessed lighting, Darcy said. The home features new wood windows made in the original style, new heating and air, new plumbing, and new electrical.
One of their proudest accomplishments was the remodeling of the kitchen. Over a six-month period, the kitchen was taken down to the studs and rebuilt with new windows and doors, custom cabinetry and professional-grade appliances. It was at that time that she said they noticed some activity from something or someone other than themselves.
When they started their renovations, Darcy said at night they would hear what sounded like pacing and the sound of a rocking chair, back and forth, on the third floor, just above their bedroom. William would get up with a baseball bat to see what the noise was, or who the noise was, but there was no one there.
"It was a distinct sound like a creaky, wooden rocking chair," Darcy remembered.
The Hoffmanns concluded it was none other than one of only three previous owners coming back to oversee what they were doing to her Briarcliffe neighborhood home.
"We experienced the presence of the previous owner in the home almost every evening," Darcy remembered. "We feel she was very worried about the kitchen renovation and whether it would be acceptable."
The couple never felt scared but there were times that they would hear footsteps come from the third floor to the second floor and stop, waking them out of dead sleep most nights.
"We never felt scared or threatened. It was like having another person in the house," said Darcy. "The spirit never had ill intentions, just worried."
But when the kitchen renovation was complete, they never had another experience with her again.
"We decided she must have liked it!"
The Hoffmann’s home will be on this year’s Fort Thomas Tour of Homes on Oct. 24, from noon to 4:30 p.m. For more information about their home or the tour visit http://www.kypost.com/content/tourofhomes/default.aspx.
