An old home, a modern look

An old house built more than a century ago by a Moscow homesteading family has undergone a fresh new transformation.

For their efforts, current owners Brian and Morgan Points will receive an award from the City of Moscow tonight to celebrate the remodel of their Almon Street home.

The Moscow Historic Preservation Commission will present the Points with an Orchid Award, given annually to recognize examples of historic preservation in the community. The other Orchid Award winners this year include the American Legion cabin, Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse, homeowners John Burns and Aubrey Johnson, and Boise architect Danielle Weaver.

The Points moved into their Almon Street home five years ago when they moved to Moscow from Indianapolis.

The house was built in 1890 by the Mix family, who moved to Moscow in 1883. Members of the prominent Mix family include the first graduate of the University of Idaho College of Agriculture, a state senator and the owner of KRPL radio station.

The Points, wanting a place with land that was close to downtown, bought the house sight unseen.

The original home was 2,400 square feet, and a previous owner built a small addition with a kitchen in 1960

The Points decided to expand and modernize the addition by building a renovated kitchen, a bathroom, laundry room and an upstairs family room.

Morgan Points owns a local architectural design company with her sister, so she drew upon the same expertise she uses to help her clients with their homes.

“I’ve done it for the last five years, so getting to try out all the things I wanted to do on other people’s houses, getting to do it for myself is really fun,” she said.

With the help of local contractors like Richard Smith and River Cabinets, the Points created a new addition designed to match the rest of the home.

“I didn’t want you to walk in and feel like ‘Oh, this is the new addition to the old house,’ ” Morgan Points said. “I want it to be a better version of the old house but not feel like it was disconnected.”

They matched the red oak floors, windows, molding and trim to the rest of the house. They added pocket doors built in 1880, added tile flooring to the bathroom and transformed the former mud room into a breakfast nook. They repainted the walls, added light fixtures and modern appliances.

In total, the new addition is approximately 1,200 square feet. It was such an extensive project that the Points family had to move out of the house for eight months while construction continued. The bulk of the project started last fall and ended this past spring.

They said Moscow Historic Preservation Commission members Cynthia King and Nels Reese heard about the remodel and nominated the Points for an Orchid Award after observing the home themselves.

“We were very flattered,” Morgan Points said about the award.

Brian Points said it was a fun project because, while the home needed upgrades, it was structurally sound and gave them “so much to work with.”

“It’s an awesome house to start with and then what Morgan did that made it work was build according to a style that fit very well,” he said.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.