Renovated smaller gem pops to the rhythm of classical music.
“It was the smallest home on the tour and people loved it,” said Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Stephanie Stallings. “The Home Tour is such a success because people love being invited in to see these beautiful private homes. Some participants provide food and hire a bartender. Symphony musicians play in the homes and the whole experience takes an entire afternoon, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.”
Previously, the Flagstaff Symphony Guild, the fundraising arm of the FSO, created the late-summer event to support the orchestra through ticket sales and promote the upcoming season. This was the first year the orchestra hosted the Home Tour, inviting businesses to participate with sponsorships to generate funds for the non-profit organization, in addition to ticket sales. All proceeds from the event support FSO concerts, education and community outreach programs.
Local realtor and Home Tour participant Lori Anna Harrison says it’s not always easy to ask people to open their doors for 150 to 200 people to walk through their homes. “For some, it is a party that they are thrilled to host. To me, it was both exhilarating and also made me feel vulnerable. I was putting not just my home, but my art, my vision, on display. Other homes I have remodeled had not been open to public opinion.”
Feeling the fear, but doing it anyway, Harrison showcased her renovated 1,326-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home in Continental Country Club that was built in 1976. She purchased it for $515,000 in April 2022, at the height of the real estate market, and completely remodeled the space, starting with durable luxury vinyl tile, replacing tired fixtures with trendy matte black hardware, adding a hand-selected granite slab for kitchen countertops and travertine ledger stone to the fireplace wall.
“I call it ‘Living Large in Smaller Spaces,’’ she said. “Part of the challenge was taking dark rooms and transforming them with natural lighting. I added two large skylights in the living room, removed the beams, added a skylight in the hall bathroom and removed two small windows in two of the bedrooms, and added sliding glass doors with Romeo and Juliet balconies for aesthetics and natural light. These were small improvements that made a big difference.”
Fresh paint and a new driveway were designed to make the exterior flow to the interior. “I love modern, clean lines mixed with tons of natural light,” she said. The project was completed in seven weeks and cost just under $100,000.
As a top-selling realtor, Harrison’s superpower is helping home buyers and sellers see what she sees when she enters a home. This ability to look past broken tile, stained grout, old carpet and popcorn ceilings, and imagine the possibilities is a skill she has honed since childhood.
“As a curious child, a hobby of mine was to look at homes and reimagine the spaces. Strange as it may sound, I would spend hours looking at architectural magazines, specifically, at renderings and floorplans and imagine placing furniture in those spaces. And then imagining what it would feel like to live in those homes,” she said. “Electing an interior design class in high school was like playtime and it was so much fun to select pattern, texture and color for projects.”
Harrison’s father would take her and her sister to walk through newly framed homes in their Flagstaff neighborhood after church on Sundays. “It was like playing in a treehouse and it was so much fun to pretend the homes were finished and that we were going to move in,” she said. “Still to this day, I love the smell of lumber and new construction, so nostalgic.”’
Today, Harrison says homebuyers are seeking turnkey comfort and living in smaller spaces now more than ever because of affordability, higher interest rates and inflation. “The tiny home movement has swept the nation. The reason for this shift is the practicality of reducing monthly rent or mortgage payments as well as utility bills. People are buying freedom and flexibility these days, not just the American Dream. They are simplifying their life, focusing more on lifestyle versus the white picket fence.”
During the Home Tour, Harrison was able to exhibit the kind of home people are looking for today.
“One of our volunteers was asking guests throughout the day about their favorite home and it was, by far, Lori’s house,” said Stallings. “A home that’s beautifully decorated and thoughtfully renovated is a big draw – that’s what we learned. It doesn’t have to be big and flashy.”
“This was the opportunity to be on stage and hear both the good and bad from the audience,” she said. “I’m so thankful I overcame the fear of putting myself out there and opened up my home. The responses were overwhelmingly positive and felt like validation of my vision and execution.” FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
Photo courtesy of Shane Brandolini, Flagstaff Real Estate Photography: Realtor Lori Anna Harrison opened her new home to guests after replacing the flooring, adding granite countertops, building a travertine stone fireplace wall and incorporating other improvements that turned a dark, dated house into today’s American dream.
