Deborah and Steve Hill, newcomers to the Old North Knoxville neighborhood, found that when you now own one of the most prominent homes in the neighborhood, everyone is eager for you to share it on the annual Victorian Holiday Home Tour. The couple said they are happy to oblige. Their Scott Avenue home will be among those open to the public Dec. 2-3 for the tour.

The house they bought on Scott Avenue not only gives Steve and Deborah Hill a commanding view of the Old North Knoxville neighborhood, but on a clear day they can see Mount LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains from a second-floor balcony.

The view inside the house is also grand, with all the features the two say they love about older homes.

"High ceilings, woodwork, hardwood floors, craftsmanship, fireplaces," said Deborah Hill, as she ran through the list.

An older home puts demands on its owners that ha newer home doesn't, but Steve Hill sees that as as part of the appeal. "When you buy a new house, it's finished, but there is pride in being able to do something yourself to a house to make you," he said.

The public will have a chance to share this fascination with vintage houses when touring the Hills' home and others during the 18th annual Historic Old North Knoxville Victorian Holiday Home Tour December 2-3.  The tour will include eight homes this year, plus First Lutheran Church (1207 Broadway) and the Time Warp Tea Room (1209 N. Central Street) where the Old North Knoxville Inc. neighborhood organization holds meetings.

Steve and Deborah Hill say they are excited about being included on the tour, and they are working hard to get the house decorated and ready. It will be a challenge, as the home they bought at 505 E. Scott Avenue is one of the biggest and most elaborate in the neighborhood.

Built in 1889, it was originally the home of Swiss immigrant David Getaz of the Stephenson & Getaz building and architectural firm, which was known for building the old courthouse in downtown Knoxville. Another widely known resident of the home was W.H. Sterchi, one of the founders of Sterchi Brothers Furniture.

The house's present owners have lived there for just about a year. The Hills bought the house in January 2005 and moved into it in November of last year. In between, they worked on the house - painting, refinishing wood, stripping wallpaper, spackling, caulking around windows and generally cleaning the house.

They contracted to have major repairs and improvements made to the house, including a new central-heat-and-air system on the second floor, extensive roof repairs, turning the unfinished attic into a third living room, adding a 2,000-square-foot addition on the back of the house that includes a garage, sunroom and sewing room, and others.

They started with a house that was already large and now has about 6,500 square feet with the additions. They share this home with their sons, John and Adam Hill, who occupy the third floor, and their niece, Randi Treadway, who lives in the guest house out back.

With the exception of the kitchen, where they added modern appliances, and the interior of the garage, the couple said they have tried to keep the additions to the house in character with its Victorian style. This means high ceilings and trim around doors and windows that matches the woodwork in the rest of the house.

		Woodwork like this in the foyer of their Old North Knoxville home is one of the reasons Deborah and Steve Hill say they will take a vintage home over a new one any day.

Doing such extensive work on a home is not really something new for the couple. "We've redid several older homes," Deborah Hill said. Her husband said the couple lived in vintage homes on Tazewell Pike, Kingston Pike near Sequoyah Hills, and others. Both grew up in the the Gibbs community. Steve Hill sells real estate for Elite Reality, Inc. in Powell and and is a chaplain at St. Mary's Medical Center. Deborah Hill is a marriage and family counselor with her practice based on Homberg Drive in Bearden.

Being in real estate, Steve Hill was aware of the house on Scott Avenue. It was not on the market a the time, but the couple decided to take a direct approach to try to buy it.

"We are not above just knocking on someone's door and asking if they would like to sell their house," Steve Hill said.

That's what they did at 505 E. Scott. Its owners were not interested in selling at first, changed their minds a few times, but finally sold the house.

Now, Steve and Deborah Hill say that they have found that they have acquired an excellent neighborhood in addition to the house. "One thing we like about this house is we have neighbors," Steve Hill said. "It's the kind of neighborhood where people stop and say 'Hi," "his wife said. "They're out walking their dogs and pushing their children in strollers, and they'll stop and speak and tell you who they are."

Deborah Hill said it didn't take long at all before she and her husband were made to feel a part of the neighborhood. "We moved last year the day after Thanksgiving, and the neighbors across the street fed us, she said. "Yes, that was Tom and Donna," Steve Hill said, referring to Tom and Donna Brechko, who invited the Hills over for a belated Thanksgiving dinner.