Ty: Early on, we were afraid to make changes to the inside. We respected the house and everything that had been done to preserve it. But we also wanted to make it our own. We wanted it to be usable for a family. Our son is in junior high, our daughter is in sixth grade, and we have a dog and a cat. We wanted a home that could go from a place where our kids hang out with their friends, to a place for family movie nights, to a place for big gatherings. Micah’s an interior designer, and she’s organized the house to be functional but also beautiful. There are no rooms that are just for show.
A big impetus for making a lot of the interior changes was that in 2023, we were part of an annual house tour called Christmas In Salem, which benefits the nonprofit Historic Salem, Inc. That was a kick we needed to do some design updates, like wallpapering the dining room. And Micah hand-painted the kitchen cabinets. Now, Micah is the chairperson of the Christmas In Salem tours.
Micah: Yes, in addition to falling in love with Salem’s history and architecture, we also fell in love with the community, and we’ve both gotten really heavily involved. Ty is on the city council. I’m involved in our kids’ schools, and I’m president of the Salem Common Neighborhood Association. We love living here, and we love giving back to the community.
