JimMcDade
08-02-2009, 03:47 PM
See: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/20/alienation-at-an-end/
Video tour:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/20/video-alienation-end/
In renovating the iconic space house on the side of Signal Mountain, builder James Faris took the carpet and mirrors off the walls in his first steps toward modernizing the saucer-shaped structure built in the 1970s.
In the process, Mr. Faris said he learned a lot about making things work.
"There's nothing standard on this house," he said. "It's definitely the most interesting project I've worked on in my career."
Mr. Faris bought the house at a December auction for $119,000 with plans to "greenovate" the two-bedroom, two-bath dwelling and rent it to vacationers or to locals for special events.
He spent four months and $75,000 gutting the house and renovating it and another $10,000 to furnish the home. Mr. Faris's wife, Nora, decorated the interior with futuristically styled armchairs, lamps and other furniture from Ikea.
Signal Mountain resident Cara Cameron recently attended a wedding party at the house. Green and white lights were brought in and arranged to rotate around the outside to give the illusion of a space landing.
"We were all talking about how we could live here," Mrs. Cameron said.
Currently Mr. Faris is renting the house for $195 a night, but the longer the stay the cheaper it gets, he said. Interest in renting the house has been good.
The home is listed on a popular vacation rental Web site vrbo.com, and Mr. Faris said he gets inquiries about the house every day.
In the spring, a photographer for the Italian version of Elle magazine found the house through a Google search. The photographer and a model spent three days there, with the model wearing stewardess-type outfits by different designers.
"It was fun to watch the process," Mr. Faris said, adding that it took more time to prep the model than it did to snap the pictures.
Video tour:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/20/video-alienation-end/
In renovating the iconic space house on the side of Signal Mountain, builder James Faris took the carpet and mirrors off the walls in his first steps toward modernizing the saucer-shaped structure built in the 1970s.
In the process, Mr. Faris said he learned a lot about making things work.
"There's nothing standard on this house," he said. "It's definitely the most interesting project I've worked on in my career."
Mr. Faris bought the house at a December auction for $119,000 with plans to "greenovate" the two-bedroom, two-bath dwelling and rent it to vacationers or to locals for special events.
He spent four months and $75,000 gutting the house and renovating it and another $10,000 to furnish the home. Mr. Faris's wife, Nora, decorated the interior with futuristically styled armchairs, lamps and other furniture from Ikea.
Signal Mountain resident Cara Cameron recently attended a wedding party at the house. Green and white lights were brought in and arranged to rotate around the outside to give the illusion of a space landing.
"We were all talking about how we could live here," Mrs. Cameron said.
Currently Mr. Faris is renting the house for $195 a night, but the longer the stay the cheaper it gets, he said. Interest in renting the house has been good.
The home is listed on a popular vacation rental Web site vrbo.com, and Mr. Faris said he gets inquiries about the house every day.
In the spring, a photographer for the Italian version of Elle magazine found the house through a Google search. The photographer and a model spent three days there, with the model wearing stewardess-type outfits by different designers.
"It was fun to watch the process," Mr. Faris said, adding that it took more time to prep the model than it did to snap the pictures.