Her husband, John Reuer, a popular professor at the N.C. State University College of Design, had died in 2002. Their traditional house, what Eleanor Reuer calls "pseudo-neo-Georgian," no longer fit her lifestyle.

The Cameron Park location was still ideal, though, so she decided to sell the house and build on the empty portion of her double lot.

For the new structure, mother and son wanted something modern and functional. The new house features a flexible layout, low maintenance and single-floor living for Reuer.

Drivers cruising past on Hillsborough Street will notice another striking feature of the house: its color, primary red. The house is a standout now, but that is not Reuer's long-term plan. Right now there is a parking lot between the house and Hillsborough Street.

"Everywhere except Hillsborough Street, the spaces around it are very tight," JP Reuer says. "My bet is, that parking lot on Hillsborough Street will [someday] have a structure on it. At that point, you won't see the house the way you see it now."

The long view from Hillsborough Street is not an important one for him. "I love looking at the house from walking the neighborhood, the views you get from a medium to short distance," he said.

The Reuers did their initial brainstorming over a series of Sunday brunches, working through seven designs before coming up with the final plan.

One of the main constraints was the narrow site. "I loved the idea of a tall skinny house," Eleanor Reuer says.

In addition to designing the house, her son, a licensed general contractor, was in charge of construction.

Energy efficiency was a priority. Beneath the red metal cladding is an air space, rigid insulation, sheathing and an insulated wall.

"It's all taped, so it's tight as a drum in terms of air penetration," JP Reuer says. "It's insulated properly. The cladding is prefinished, with a 25-year warranty, so it should be a long time before any painting is necessary.

As modern as the house is, it includes an old Southern feature: the screened porch. Instead of being tacked onto the front or back, the porch is set within the boundary of the first floor, flowing together with the interior to provide easy outdoor access.

Eleanor Reuer says, "The second time I was in Rome with John, I saw these little interior gardens I thought were wonderful. I have something like that here."

For her, all of the house's essential parts are on the first floor, including the living, dining and kitchen areas, as well as the master bedroom and bath, a powder room for visitors and a laundry room. At the back of the house are the garage and studio, where she does painting, printmaking and sculpture.

A separate apartment sits above the studio. Three bedrooms and two baths are upstairs. Those rooms are currently used for storage and for visiting family and guests. And for now, the separate apartment is a source of income. In the future, the apartment or the upstairs rooms could house live-in care givers.

Heat and light

The flooring downstairs is stained concrete with radiant heat. The radiant flooring, powered by a gas water heater, increases the house's energy efficiency. A solar water heater was ruled out to keep initial costs down. The low-maintenance stained concrete should never need to be refinished.

Getting natural light into the space from the south and east was the most important lighting consideration. Beyond that, JP Reuer wanted to provide a lot of control over the types and levels of light.

Much of the built-in lighting is on dimmers, and for more intimate lighting the space is furnished with floor and table lamps. Window placement maximizes natural light while maintaining privacy.

"I think about the experience of the interior more than what the house looks like on the outside," the architect says.

"In any bedroom, I want to have, if possible, windows on two different walls. Psychologically you feel better if you can see more of what's going on [outside]."

For JP Reuer, the house was an opportunity to create a transitional building, one that would act as a bridge between the historic Cameron Park neighborhood and ever-changing Hillsborough Street.

"It's OK to look a little bit different," he says. "You can still be a good neighbor. And [this house] is a good neighbor."

"I think it's what everybody wants in a house: easy living, maintenance," Eleanor Reuer says. "I love it, the color and the design. That all makes it pretty marvelous."

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