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updates that Lauren added to, but she was ready for a whole-house challenge. “Eric’s used to my wild ideas. He’s been doing this with me, making big life decisions and trusting that it’s gonna work out. So, he was sort of like, ‘Sure, let’s do it.’” The Rubinsteins worked with Linton Architects to tweak some of the rooms and update the flow of the home. Raleigh-based interior designer Roux MacNeill Studio helped Lauren with lighting selections, hardware and fixture options as well as paint and bold wallpaper. General contractor Kennedy Building Company, based in Hillsborough, provided the skill and muscle to turn designs into reality. ABOVE Xavier plays the piano for his mom and the family dog, Jojo, a 7-year-old Labrador-pit bull mix. BELOW The moody dining room connects the kitchen, main hallway and other living rooms. “When you first walk in, you can Original glass French doors and cabinets were moved and refurbished. see the stretch of the house,” Lauren says. “It appears really grand but, at the same time, pretty intimate.” The first room on the right has a wall that was shifted inward to make room for a half-bath near the central staircase. Though the room is slightly smaller today, there was still space to install a new floor-to-ceiling bookcase with an opening for Xavier’s piano. Notably, this space was also used for musical purposes by its first owners. The home was originally built by Rose and Rose Architects for Nathan Dexter “Deck” Holland and his wife, Lula Holland, who would play the piano and sing hymns in this room after church on Sundays, according to granddaughter Phyllis Phelps, 85, of Donora, Pennsylvania. Phyllis’ paternal greatgrandfather was a carpenter, and her grandfather and his younger brother, Carey Holland, founded the Holland Brothers Furniture Company in 1902 in downtown Durham. On the left side of the entryway, a colonnade marks the formal living room with an original fireplace, which area were removed to expand the kitchen. Glass French doors slide was refitted for gas heat. Oak wood floors lead to a light-filled sunroom into pocket walls allowing dining guests to move freely between the with black and white marble tiles and wraparound windows that offer a kitchen and the front living space. view of the 0.43-acre lot that was landscaped by Garden Environments. Across from the kitchen, the family often hangs out in the den, which A row of star magnolias outside overlook the yard and pool. has a fireplace and a “hidden” door that leads to the porte-cochère. The The dining area opens into rooms on three sides, and large windows Rubinsteins also enjoy the new enclosed back porch that they now use bring in natural light. Along one side, two glass cabinet hutches flank the as a game room. One wall of windows is actually an accordion door that opening to the main hallway and central staircase. Another side connects folds open to the multi-level deck leading down to the 14-by-47-foot to the spacious white kitchen with brass fixtures. “We went with brass concrete pool and a large, in-ground hot tub. Flames dance in a gas fire really almost all throughout the house because of its classic look,” Lauren pit beneath a poolside pergola. Another accordion door downstairs in the says. “It’s a throwback to the era of the home. You can see in the past 18 finished basement opens to a kitchenette area – aka the “snack shack,” as months they’ve tarnished quite a bit, and I really like that aesthetic.” the family calls it – adjacent to the pool. A marble-topped island stretches across hardwood floors, which The basement is fully renovated. The boiler room is now a spacious replaced the original linoleum. Two small pantries and a breakfast living area with built-in storage cabinets and original hinged 44 | 2024 VISITORS & RELOCATION GUIDE