Harleysville Couple Renovate Vacant Lower Gwynedd Property, Saving Its Landscape from Deer Decimation

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lower gwynedd revised home
Image via Jose F. Moreno at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Coles newly revised home in Lower Gwynedd.

Despite its overrun landscaping and dated interior Karen Cole fell in love with an unoccupied Lower Gwynedd home. She then convinced her husband, Bob, of its potential, and the pair set out to modernize the residence. Terri Akman reported the result in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Coles had been in their Harleysville Colonial for 40 years when the moving itch hit Karen.

Bob was more complacent, but the across-the-county site she found was hard for him to resist. It sat on a quiet, private street. And it abutted the Wissahickon Creek.

The unoccupied structure, however, needed work. A lot of it.

For starters, the landscaping was so overgrown, deer were feasting on it, leaving it looking decimated.

After the purchase transaction closed, the couple unleashed renovation contractors.

One of their first erasures was the 1990s pink marble floors. They also updated the internal tech capabilities with a smart system for lighting and music. And they addressed the landscape damage, which Bob augmented with a hand-crafted beehive.

To ensure steady views of all that beauty, large-scale windows became plentiful.

Karen commented that the revisions created a spot where they “… could feel that the natural world was part of our home, inside and out.”

More on this Lower Gwynedd re-do is at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Bob Cole’s beekeeping hobby is one that others can explore.

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