Jack and Ruth Hart’s home looks as good as new this year, after it transformed from outdated home with white siding, a green roof and crooked windows to a refreshed beige home with updates inside and out.
“I love it,” said Ruth Hart. “I love the color, we like the way it looks and the way it holds the heat.”
The couple decided to make improvements to the home and property last year. They believe the home is from the early to mid 1900s and have lived in the home for 21 years. Unlike most couples who move to a smaller home when they get older, the Harts said they had the perfect small home, it just needed updates.
“It looked awful,” Ruth Hart said. “The windows were uneven, the heating was bad, air was coming in and it was looking bad.”
So Jack and Ruth along with their son Jack Jr. began a nearly six-month project to re-do the siding, even up and replace the windows, fix drywall and add a new air conditioner and furnace. They also made yard improvements and did electrical work.
“It was hard work, it was time consuming,” Jack Hart said.
But the hard work paid off, and after an anonymous recommendation to the Village Association of Batavia, the Harts were awarded the Batavia Property Improvement Award April 22.
“It was a huge improvement,” Barb Carney, of the village association, said about the property. “You could just see they concentrated on not only improvements for the economy, but they also paid attention to charm. They made some yard improvements that added ambiance to the property.”
The award is given to the nominee with the best exterior improvements that keep in line with the general style of the original structure. Carney said the committee also pays attention to how the property improvements impact the village.
“We hope it encourages neighbors to make improvements to their own properties,” Carney said. “and help make Batavia a better place to live.”
The Harts’ property improvements have already caught the attention of passersby.
“Because of where we are located everyone has noticed it,” Ruth Hart said. “People have noticed it, they have congratulated us.”
Property improvement award winners receive the Batavia Property Improvement sign to be placed in front of their property for 30 days. They are also pictured on the village website www.vaob.org.
To nominate a property for the award contact Barb Carney at info@vaob.org.