Angella Theirse: Improving the Neighborhood, One House at a Time

Angella Theirse: Improving the Neighborhood, One House at a Time

Angella Theirse has remodeled more than her fair share of homes over the past 30 years. Her current project, a two-family rental property in Dorchester, is clad in royal blue siding that is just one of the many materials she purchased for the project at the Reuse Center at Boston Building Resources. “I loved the color when I saw it,” she said.

Inside the second floor apartment, many other materials from the Reuse Center have been installed, including cabinets, windows, appliances, flooring, lighting, and paint. She is keeping and restoring many of the home’s original features, including woodwork, hardwood floors, built-in cabinets, and an unusual bookcase built into a wall that opens into two rooms. “It’s a nice big house,” she says. “It’s coming along very, very, very well.”

Angella’s first house was a triple-decker near Fields Corner that she purchased from her aunt in 1992. The house had been damaged by fire and needed a lot of work. “I was living in the projects at the time, and I said, You know what? If I’m going to make a change, this is the opportunity to do it now.”

She and her family lived in one part of the house while working to restore the rest, learning the remodeling process as she worked. “We did each floor to each floor, pocket to pocket,” she remembers. Over the years, she has remodeled many other properties and experienced a lot of ups and downs. “I came through some thunderstorms.“

Her strategy is to look ahead and be prepared with the materials and resources she may need to take advantage of opportunities. With work on the blue house nearing completion, she is setting her sights on revisiting the Fields Corner house where her journey began. She has a shed full of materials she’s planning to use. “I already have everything ready, from windows to tubs to sinks and appliances.” That way, the work won’t be slowed down. “If we have the material on site, we can keep going.”

The “treasure hunt” quality of the Reuse Center keeps Angella coming back. “I love going in there because you never know what you’re going to find: appliances, windows, lighting.” Even when she was physically drained by cancer treatment, she found time to stop by, browse, chat with BBR staff, and visualize her next renovation project. “You’ve just got to keep going,“ she says.