Ages: 68 and 58

Occupations: Pat, retired from sales in computer industry; Theo, retired hairdresser

Address: 8405 Inverness Way, Carrboro

Development: The Highlands

Square Footage: 3,400

Acreage: half acre

Details: Two-story Williamsburg Colonial house with heart pine floors, brick garden patio in front yard, screened-in porch and patio in backyard and two-car garage. First floor: Foyer opening to stairwell, dining room, formal living room with fireplace and family room with brick, arched fireplace and built-in nook for firewood; kitchen with handmade cabinetry, including double-door pantry with swinging shelves, built-in desk and breakfast area; side entry from driveway and rear entry from backyard in breakfast area; mudroom off breakfast area with entry from garage and with rear stairwell and laundry area. Second floor: master bedroom with adjoining office, walk-in closet and master bathroom that includes a Jacuzzi tub and standalone shower; two bedrooms with adjoining bathroom; second bedroom has storage area off the back that leads to one-bedroom apartment above the garage, also accessed by rear stairwell.

Move-in Date: 1990

Nearby Landmarks: Horace Williams Airport, Orange County Landfill, Chapel Hill High School Where we live

Pat: When you see it from the street, it looks like a small house. That’s what I like about it. We like Williamsburg really well, so this is pretty much a Williamsburg house.

Theo: We go out there every year so I can see what they do. I try to mimic it. Our house is the only different one in the neighborhood because Pat designed it.

Pat: I didn’t want the house that they were trying to build for us. If I’m going to build a house, I want it the way I want it. Back then, they were building one house and they’d change it a little bit, but it was still one house. I wanted a Williamsburg house. I wanted a heavy crown molding. I really like that. All the old houses in Hudson, Ohio, have that.

Theo: When people come in, that’s what they see. They go, “Wow.”

Pat: These cabinets [in the kitchen] are the best. I’m from Ohio originally. There’s an Amish outfit in Ohio. They handmade them, and I trucked them out here. This beam [over the family room fireplace] came out of Ohio from a friend. I put that in the truck, too. The bricks [in the fireplace] were salvaged from an old auto dealership in downtown Raleigh. I like the look of used bricks, the dings in them. The hardwood is from the old Burlington mill factory.

Theo: There’s a lot of history in this house.

Why we chose our home

Pat: First, I went to look in Raleigh, and we didn’t like it at all. We came from Hudson, which was a very quaint town and very picturesque. We came to Chapel Hill, and we thought, “This is the closest thing we’re going to find.”

It was hard to find a lot. Everything’s up on a hill or down. This was in the price range that we could afford. It was a level lot with hardwood trees and some pines. Its location is great. It’s close to schools. It’s great access to 40 — it’s one light, and then you’re on 40.

The other nice thing about this land is the university owns the land behind us. It’s so nice to go back there and walk to the creek. The university is eventually going to build on it, but it’s nice for now.

Theo: The kids will go back there and play. The dogs will go back there. You don’t hear the traffic. I play tennis, and people always ask me where I live.

Pat: When she says she lives off Rogers Road, people look at her because it’s got a bad connotation [because of the landfill].

Theo: Then they see where we live.

Advantages

Pat: Proximity to schools, proximity to town, proximity to getting to the airport, which for me at the time was a big thing because I was traveling all the time. But you’re still in the country. You have the feeling of being in the country because of the quietness.

Theo: We still hear the owls.

Pat: There are two out there. They talk back and forth.

Theo: When I walk in the spring, I see them. They’re big.

Pat: Everybody in the neighborhood’s seen them but me.

Disadvantages

Pat: The only disadvantage we have so far is we just got annexed into Carrboro. That’s the only disadvantage, and that’s not really a disadvantage. That’s just life.

Oh, there are too many trees, too many leaves, too many squirrels.

Theo: Oh, that’s my complaint! Too many squirrels, too many deer. They eat my plants.

Pat: But that’s not really a disadvantage.

Our neighborhood

Pat: It’s a fun neighborhood. What makes it good is there are a lot of kids around.

Theo: It’s a nice neighborhood, friendly. We all have block parties.

Pat: Another great thing is there’s no homeowners association. When we moved in here, the developer asked us and the others here, “Do you want a homeowners association?” I said, “No, we don’t want that.” When they built the rest of it, they did put in a homeowners association there.

Making Our House a Home

Pat: I think the way it’s furnished. You want it to be appealing to people when you walk in through the door. We like it homey. I think it’s homey. We want it to be comfortable. Well, you can’t sit on that settee.

Theo: You do, too! It matches the house.

Pat: Right. I love the fireplaces. She wants a fire every night. Every night I’m hauling wood in here.

Theo: It’s just warm — the enjoyment.

Pat: She says it reminds her of her childhood.

Theo: I was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. After my dad retired from the Army, we moved to Chiang Mai. It’s in the north and cooler. Every morning we had a bonfire before going to school. Just looking at a fire, it just soothes you.

I live [in the screened porch] because of the mosquitoes. He doesn’t.

Pat: I live out front. [The patio with surrounding garden] is Theo’s crowning glory. I really, really like it.

Theo: It’s really pretty in the spring.

Pat: It’s fun to sit out here and have a glass of wine and yell out to the neighbors.