For Bill and Christine Elliott, readying their 18th-century farmhouse for the Sykesville Christmas Historic House Tour was mostly a matter of putting away the tools, spackle and paint.
The Elliotts' home - which is called the Moses Brown House by history buffs and "the haunted house" by neighborhood kids - is a work in progress after four years of renovations. While some rooms resemble construction zones, that hasn't stopped the Elliotts from decorating the house with the trappings of a country Christmas for Sunday's tour.
In the drawing room is a Christmas tree. Stockings hang from the family room fireplace and most of the deep-set window sills have displays of candles and greenery.
Their house is one of a dozen stops on the tour that includes seven other residences, the Town House (Town Hall), the Gate House, a municipal museum, a one-room school and the Old Main Line Visitor Center, once a railroad switching tower at Baltimore's Penn Station.
The town has all the trimmings of the festive holiday. Wreaths and candles hang in the windows of the Town House. Lantern lights and greenery line Main Street and town model railroaders have a Christmas train garden on display in an old Pullman Car near the visitor center.
Sykesville's is not the only holiday house tour in Carroll County. Westminster has scheduled one tomorrow. Both events raise money for nonprofit organizations.
Since the Elliotts moved to southern Carroll County in 1998, they have been sanding, painting, dry-walling and framing about half the house. The restored gray-green exterior, trimmed in deep red, gives no hint of the intense labor taking place inside.
The couple and their young son live in the cozy, 1764 log section of the farmhouse, which tobacco farmer Moses Brown bought from his brother and then modernized near the turn of the 19th century. He added the more spacious and formal stone Federal-style section in 1814.
Previous owners restored the log cabin section, giving the Elliotts a living space with three fireplaces, two baths and hefty doors to lock them away from the construction clutter. But the detachment has its drawbacks, said Christine Elliott.
"Through those doors, reality hits," she said pointing to the entry to the section of the two-story home that remains under renovation. "We have had delays in the work because we don't have to live in the clutter and we can take breaks."
She has taped bright orange directional arrows on the wide-plank floorboards and placed "please excuse our renovations" signs throughout the house.
Guests will enter the log cabin portion of the home first and see the family living quarters, which include a modern kitchen with cabinets made of pierced tin and wood saved from a chicken coop from the days when the property was a working farm. They will see original mantelpieces and the first of three corner fireplaces. Upstairs are the master bedroom and bath and the baby's room.
In the stone section, a wide foyer runs from the front door to a staircase open to the second floor and the attic. Off the foyer, the drawing room takes up the remaining floor space. It has the original mantels, cabinets and flooring.
On the second floor, the Elliotts are installing a new bathroom with an old claw-foot tub and restoring two more bedrooms. The attic level, which the family calls the loft, will have a computer room, a full bath and a guest room.
"We give ourselves timelines that we don't follow," she said. "My timeline was to have this all done two years ago."
The Elliotts might take a cue from John and Robin Kable of Westminster, who, after an eight-year renovation, are opening their house for their town's holiday tour tomorrow.
Also a work in progress, the Kables' effort started with a solid foundation of Maryland fieldstone. The original owners, the Sullivan family, fashioned the residence after English country homes and gave it a generous back yard to accommodate their love of gardening.
The Kables bought the house 10 years ago, only the third set of owners in the 62 years since the house was built on top of what used to be a neighborhood baseball field. They converted the attic into a bedroom and added on a kitchen, a sunroom and several bathrooms
The Kables' house is one of six homes built between 1920 and 1940 on West Green Street to be showcased on the Westminster Holiday House Tour. It is the only house in which visitors will be allowed to traverse all the floors - four, including a basement.
"The whole purpose of the tour is to highlight the historic character of Westminster," said Erik Fisher, the city's technical planner. "It makes the old town come alive."
Though old Westminster is the focus of the tour, modern living is an inescapable fact. The Kables will tidy up, but this is a comfortable home made for an active lifestyle.
"This isn't House Beautiful [magazine], this is Westminster," Robin Kable said. "People do live here."
Green Street will be blocked to traffic from Old New Windsor Road and Anchor Street for the event. To add seasonal flavor to the tour, musicians will stroll the street.
Several McDaniel College buildings will be open to the public, including the President's House. The city will light its Christmas tree at 5 p.m. at Liberty and Main streets.
Westminster's tour is from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds from the $12 ticket sales will go to Shepherd's Staff and Rape Crisis Prevention. Information: 410-848-7967.
Sykesville's tour is from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 and will be available at 12:30 p.m. at the Town House, 7547 Main St. or the Gate House Museum, Cooper Drive. Proceeds will benefit Sykesville Historic Commission. Information: 410-795- 8959.