Uptown couple Meredith Jones and Sam Ross made local headlines when their 105-year-old home was featured on HGTV’s House Hunters last July.
Now, the couple is headed back to the popular reality show to show off all the improvements they have made to their South Knox Street home.
The episode, set to air in March, will show Jones and Ross alongside two other couples. It’s a more condensed version of their first episode, which featured the couple searching for their dream home.
Off air, the search was basically over. By the time House Hunters came to Westerville to film in December 2013, Jones and Ross had already purchased their home in October. The show requires participants to buy a house before they can be featured, so for theatrical purposes it films the couple looking at two additional homes before settling on their actual property.
Jones and Ross have quite a bit to show off in their next installment. When sending producers her updates, Jones said she felt like they hadn’t done much work. But the program was eager to film again for its House Hunters: Where Are They Now? spinoff.
Walking into the foyer of the three-story, five-bedroom home, Ross says his favorite part is the new floors. When the house was purchased, he says, the floors were beaten up and in fairly rough shape.
Now, he says, the hardwood is back to its beautiful, original color and state.
To the left of the foyer sits the living room. Everything has been repainted, and the ceilings were resurfaced, Ross says. The ceiling was once fitted with fiberglass tiles. One of the more dramatic changes is the addition of overhead lights. The home did not have overhead lights before, and their inclusion required a lot of electrical work, Ross says.
The couple’s dining room also features contemporary, overhead lighting. A stove, original to the home, is positioned in the corner and used as a makeshift bar. There are two sets of shelves, also original, that flank the path from the living room to the dining room.
Not much changed in the kitchen, the couple says, adding that they have new appliances and an island.
The first floor is Jones’ favorite part of the house, she says, adding that she loves how “bright and shiny” it is.
“The living room and dining room had the most dramatic changes with lights, walls, floors and ceiling,” Jones says.
The second floor leads up to Ross’ favorite part of the house—a room that Jones has fondly nicknamed his “nerd nook.” House Hunters was trying to get away from the concept of a man cave, she says, and asked her to come up with another name for the room that houses Ross’ extensive film and comic book collection.
Because of copyright issues, the “nerd nook” could not be featured on the program. In the room is Ross’s Xbox and a flat-screen television. He also has action figures and posters set up around the room.
“There are probably about 200 (films) and 300-400 comic books,” Ross says.
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The couple says it was amazing how the producers of the show knew what images could and could not be filmed, and they were quick to remove them from the sight of the cameras.
Across from the “nerd nook” is one of the five bedrooms, turned into a giant walk-in closet. Both Jones and Ross use the closet, though it was Jones’s idea to outfit it with a chandelier. There are steps in the room that lead to the third story—or the attic—where the couple’s master suite sits.
The master suite has the appeal of a loft. There’s a reading nook by a set of windows that also serves as a dog bed, a corner used for office space and an attached master bathroom.
Out of all the older homes the couple considered, they said they didn’t find another one with as much attic space.
“It’s nice having that third-floor retreat,” Jones says.
Overall, the couple say they are beyond pleased with the way their house has evolved into a home. So pleased, in fact, that they can’t think of a single thing they would change about their experience with HGTV.
“I don’t think there’s anything we regret doing,” Jones says. “We would definitely do it again. We did do it again.”
Hannah Bealer is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
