My Fair Lady home on Christmas Tour of Homes

Guests on the annual Christmas Tour of Homes, a fundraiser for the Tuscarawas County Heritage Home Association, will be impressed with one stop on the tour – the My Fair Lady home owned by Randy and Sharon Feemster of New Philadelphia. The home is located at 552 Fair Ave NW and is a must see for the wallpaper alone.

The 31st Annual Christmas Tour of Homes will be Dec. 14 from noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 presale and $20 at the door. All the homes featured in this year's annual Christmas Tour of Homes are in New Philadelphia, making them easily accessible for guests. Four of the nine sites are on East High Avenue. The JE Reeves Victorian Mansion & Museum in Dover will offer a special rate for that date too.

Sales begin Nov. 24 at the Geib Funeral Homes of Dover and New Philadelphia, First National Bank - Dennison location only, Pam's Posies in Dover and online until midnight Dec. 12 at the Tuscarawas County Heritage Home Association.

Sharon Feemster found their beloved home when a coworker brought in a copy of a newspaper. It was just a week after she put a photo of a home she cut out from a magazine on a dream board.

“I was bored, and I was looking at that paper, and I saw an ad for a painted Victorian lady home for sale,” Sharon Feemster said.

Two days later the couple bought the home. After moving in days before Christmas in 1996, they have designed it to reflect a variety of styles and their interests.

The home includes Victorian style Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper that is layered in colorful designs on the ceilings. Other rooms are decorated in themes including an Art Deco bathroom and a 1950s room and bathroom. Other themes include the President McKinley hallway, Custer room and Titanic room. The Persian room features a rug that is 50 years old and still shows vibrant red accents. The home is filled with antiques and collectables.

The front living room features a collection of Maxfield Parrish prints from the early 1900s. Known as the “painter of light,” the Feemsters know the names of all the works in their collection.

The Feemster home has been better known for the years they went all out decorating for Halloween. Now, they’ve used much ingenuity to decorate one of their Christmas trees with a handmade tree topper.

“It's not one piece, it’s all layered and that’s a feathered boa,” said Randy Feemster. “There's no store-bought top like that one.”

Inside the boa, tall white feathers spring from the treetop.

The couple hope that guests will find their home as welcoming as they do.

This includes the couple’s collections.

“The things that I've collected, that's my life, that's our life,” Randy Feemster said. “That’s my story, the things that I've collected."

Tour stops include:

Sacred Heart Church

Located at 139 Third St NE, New Philadelphia, ticket pickup starts at 11:45am. Built in 1928 in Romanesque style with a notable Bell Tower by Frank L. Ritter, the church features stained-glass windows (installed 1941-45), a Rose Window modeled after Santa Maria in Tuscanella, Italy, and a 2012 Kegg Pipe Organ. Site closes at 4:00pm.

The Chris and Marsha Smith Home

Built in 2003, this brick ranch features birch and oak woodwork, three fireplaces, a master suite with walk-in closet and balcony, and over 100-year-old stained-glass windows saved from Emmanuel Lutheran Church.

The Michael and Anita Exley Home

A 1970s home known for outdoor decorations like the Singing Snowman, plus a Pre-WWII Lionel train and heirloom ornaments. Inside, there are over 50 Santas and a rotating tree with meaningful ornaments.

Randy & Sharon Feemster Home

Randy and Sharon Feemster welcome visitors to their plaqued Heritage Home and particularly to lovers of Victorian antiques and collectibles. 

The Todd and Peggy Bonvechio Home

A family-built single-story brick home from 2017, designed to display collected antiques. The open-plan space has barn-sourced hardwood flooring, custom birch cabinetry, and a pantry door from their old home in Gnadenhutten.

The Lawrence Home

An American Foursquare (1900) with restored original woodwork, quarter-sawn oak floors, and classic architectural details.

The Edward and Stacie Heck Home

This 1900 Georgian Revival features leaded glass, dentil molding, fluted columns, Georgian wainscoting, pocket doors, a grand staircase, a ballroom, and other period details. Built by newspaper founder William T. Alberson.

The Mike and Jill Wasson Home

Originally built in 1901 and fully renovated in 2024. The Wassons are celebrating their first Christmas in New Philadelphia.

The Buss Home

An 1868 Italianate brick house with an ornate porch, high ceilings, decorative moldings, five fireplace mantles, and leaded glass accents. Survived a fire in 2021; now restored and decorated for the holidays.