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ARCHITECTURE A water tower and new home rise from the ashes Railroad District project includes tiny guest house Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 15, 2015 at 3:48 PM Updated Oct 15, 2015 at 9:01 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 15, 2015 at 3:48 PM Updated Oct 15, 2015 at 9:01 PM » Social News It’s been a long road back from that Halloween night two years ago when her newly-purchased, 103-year-old Ashland Railroad District home when up in flames. Though “heartbroken” by the fire, Sharon Harris began rebuilding a very different kind of home, something she calls “farmhouse industrial.” The home in the 100 block of 5th Street is done in a very personal style, with lovely wood floors throughout, real plastered walls and ceilings, found objects (such as box graters and bakery mixer paddles) for light fixtures and a breathtaking use of electrifying wall colors — mango, turquoise and cobalt blue. What really stands out, though, is the majestic, two-story “water tower” on the front of the house. It sports slanted walls and, she notes, is a typical architectural feature in the Northwest a century ago. This one is not for water; it holds her study and a view deck. Why a water tower? “I love them,” she says, ticking off all the other water towers in the Valley. “I wanted it — and I have the water rights on this land, if needed.” At the front of the three-lot parcel is a 192-square foot guest house, packed with charm, color and amazingly efficient use of space, including stairs to the bedroom loft with bookshelves and handholds built into the steps. Harris, 52, a former longtime resident of the outbacks of Alaska and Idaho, knows her way around a hammer and saw — and, she says, did most of the plans, plaster, tile, wood trim and even schlepping of large timbers. She was the general contractor and used On Point Construction for most of the work. Ashland Plastering did walls and taught her how to do it. She pulled a lot of historic wood out of the burned house and recycled it where possible, including newel posts for her staircase, one of which still shows the shadow of the old house numbers — 155. Harris went to a Portland quarry to pick out just the right color rock for the fireplace and an outside wall. Corrugated metal roof and vertical kitchen beadboard stretch the farm feel. This is the fourth house Harris has built — and the first one she built without a partner, making the job doubly hard. It was consuming enough, she says, that she had to abandon her budding business, Radical Oil, in Talent. It was a seed oil venture. “It was a lot of hours and a lot of sore muscles, with a tremendous amount of people helping,” she notes. “I learned to use my body as a tool.” Laughing, Harris says she surrendered to the fact that people like to hang out in the kitchen, so she made that the center of the house, with fireplace, cooking island, big farm table and lots of room around stylish, brushed nickel appliances. Green features include closed cell foam and blown-in cellulose insulation, all LED lighting, on-demand water heater, gravel-on-thermal insulation in floors, Energy Star appliances and just one natural gas heater, with no HVAC or ducting. Why the Railroad District, which is quite an expensive neighborhood now? “I’m thinking to the future. I want this to be my last home," Harris says. "I fell in love with the old historic house when I walked through here on my way to yoga. I want to be in the heart of the city, where I can walk and bike. I wanted to live in a community and here it is.” John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 15, 2015 at 3:48 PM Updated Oct 15, 2015 at 9:01 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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