“We had no family ties in Oregon” said Gavin, “and as Corey is an engineer and me, a printer/pressman, we knew we could find employment anywhere that had jobs, so we started scouring the country for the fixer-upper in a great community that would become our forever home.”

A realtor found their new home-to-be, in the historic Washington Square area. The boys bought it, sight unseen.

“We wanted a home built by 19th century craftsmen. Unique trim, carved by hand; high ceilings; lots of large, single use rooms: rooms for entertaining, for quiet conversation, a library. And we wanted every room to be re-crafted with our own hands.” Gavin said as he held out his own hands. And have they been busy!

“We looked at many houses, but none came together in the right way before we found “Gavin Hall.” Gavin said. Gavin Hall is a natural combination of their actual names.

During our extensive and hilarious tour (the boys are warm, friendly and have a great sense of humor) we saw some amazing woodworking like the front staircase. The kitchen is always a favorite area of interest and this kitchen did not disappoint, complete with a butlers pantry and dumb waiter. My personal favorite is the in-floor call button for the maid/butler in the dining room. One of the more historically interesting features of the home are the light fixtures that were all originally gas, now converted to electric lights.

Love it or hate it, everything you see in the house, past the front doors, is the product of a previous owner's vision of what a home looks like within this house. Gavin and Hall are not "embracing an open floor plan," but believe that just because something is here now, doesn't mean it fits their vision of home.

They had a goal of finishing the residing portion of this 5,000-plus, square foot home. That was completed during the recent unusual weather we experienced in Oswego, during the first week of November. With that done, Gavin and Hall will move inside and start the renovations in their own, unique style.

Gavin and Hall are private people and are both a bit shy. “We love our neighbors and friends, but our home is our sanctuary.” Gavin said. “It is with that in mind that we have invited iHeart Oswego in, to share with you, our community, the transformation of a big, neglected house into our beautiful home. We want to give our community the chance to peek inside one of these historic houses.“

Gavin and Hall will be sharing the progress of the renovations over the course of the next year exclusively with iHeartOswego.com. We will bring you updates as often as possible. Stay tuned.