It was a stroke of bad luck in the workplace that led Theo Harris to finding his own home.

A real estate agent with Re/Max Greater Metro's Towson office, Harris was walking in the Stoneridge neighborhood after failing to close a sale on a nearby home when he came across a 1950s-era corner rowhouse that caught his eye.

The house, he learned, had been vacant for about six months after its owner died. He left a note on the door expressing his interest in purchasing the property, and in November 1997, he bought the home - his first - from the owner's children for $90,000.

Now, a stone's throw from the frenetic Baltimore Beltway, yards from Towson Town Center and smack dab in the middle of Towson, Harris and his fiancee, Shari Lineberger, have created a serene little corner they call home.

The brick-front townhouse, just off York Road, is minutes from most anything the couple could want, but standing in their yard, you'd never know it. "We love the elegance and architecture of the city and we love the convenience and greenery of the country," said Harris, 33.

Harris and Lineberger, 29, had been dating long-distance for 18 months, and Lineberger, now a paralegal for Marriott International Inc., moved to Maryland from North Carolina shortly after Harris purchased the house.

With its old windows, gray carpet and musty smell, the house seemed very depressing at first, Lineberger said.

So they got to work bringing the home back to life.

Renovations, which would total about $50,000, became a family project: Harris enlisted the help of his father, two brothers and a cousin in painting, setting drywall and removing old carpets.

"I feel like with this house, we have a lot of family-and-friend input," Lineberger said.

The couple pulled up old carpet to expose the original wood floors. "Everything was carpeted except the kitchen and bathroom, which had linoleum," Lineberger said.

The couple rebuilt the front porch with red brick and white fluted Greek columns. The old porch was removed during sewer-line repairs, allowing them "to personalize it a little bit more," Lineberger said. The open porch now holds a wrought-iron table and chairs.

The front door opens to the living room, which, painted yellow, has large windows overlooking the porch and the side yard. The room, which connects to the dining room and the kitchen, is decorated with artwork from friends and by an intricately painted bookshelf salvaged from a downtown Baltimore mansion. Recently, they added white crown molding.

In the kitchen, Harris installed white tile behind the counter and on the floor, replacing the vinyl flooring. The room is painted a light green and has a wood-paneled ceiling.

The dining room, which used to be a TV room, sports a crystal-and-brass antique chandelier, a gift from one of Harris' clients.

The room used to be "a little bit depressing," Lineberger said. Now, the room is painted the same yellow color as the living room. Greek artifacts - including a 2,500-year-old urn - are displayed in a glass case.

"I love antiques and I love history," said Harris, who moved to Baltimore from Athens, Greece, with his family at the age of 18.

An oak staircase leads to the home's second floor.

The master bedroom is painted a dark salmon color. Sheer curtains inset with cloth leaves hang from the windows, and a green floral Ralph Lauren sheet set, which Lineberger describes as "kind of Victorian-looking," covers the king-size bed.

Lineberger pulled the room's color scheme from a Renoir print hanging on the wall, she said.

"I wanted something a bit serene for the bedroom," she said.

One of the bedrooms serves as a walk-in closet. Clothing racks line the walls, and dried flowers sit on a table. The room, with its floral curtains, reminds the couple of a dressing room.

The third bedroom serves as a guestroom.

In the bathroom, the couple replaced everything but the bathtub, which was too heavy to move. Now, the bathroom is entirely white, with tiling extending halfway up the walls. A white wood and chrome shelving unit, taken from the kitchen of a home Harris renovated in Canton, faces the sink.

The couple renovated "the basement from scratch," adding a bathroom and a second guest bedroom, Harris said. He uses the basement, previously unfinished, as a home office.

The basement is "designed as a family room," he said, adding: "I love working out of home."

The fenced-in back yard was large enough to hold an outdoor dinner for 60 for Harris' 30th birthday party, he said.

The couple's wedding is scheduled for Valentine's weekend next February, but they don't have any immediate plans for a family, even though they describe their neighborhood as child-friendly.

"Half the owners are the original owners. Half are young professionals," Harris said.

"It's a great starter home," Lineberger said.