Peter and Claudia Woods sold their family-owned business two years ago, retiring after working for decades in smoke and fire restoration. Today, the couple engages in a different lifestyle, but the theme of restoration still guides them.
The Woods — who live in Comer — have rekindled various hobbies and projects that were put on hold during their professional careers.
“I watched too many of my friends and colleagues, who when they retired, their business was everything, and they didn’t have anything to do but play golf, and they just kind of faded away,” Peter said. “So we decided we wanted hobbies, and we kind of overdid it.”
Among their more laborious endeavors is a full-scale renovation of their property — a century-old farmhouse.
Without the guidance of a contractor and no concrete timeline, Peter said they are simply “having at it while we live here.”
From the kitchen, to the upstairs hallway, to the living room, to its outer coat of paint, the historic house has been subject to ambitious modifications.
But a blueprint of the farmhouse’s future look is only one item on the couple’s list. The land also includes several spaces to facilitate passion projects.
“We bought this house because of the outbuildings,” Peter said. “The house was an added bonus — we like to renovate.”
Using the other “main building” on the property, the Woods have designed a workshop to accommodate their artistic ventures.
The couple works in tandem on what they agreed to be their favorite shared hobby: jewelry making. Peter works in lapidary, cutting and polishing stones to create cabochons, while Claudia specializes in crafting settings for the freshly cut stones.
The workshop also features a painting studio, where Claudia has been able to hone a skill that she’s always wanted to pursue.
“I’ve finally gotten to be an artist,” she said. “I had to work for a living all those years, and really wanted to just work at my art. I'm finally able to be a full-time artist, and for me, I'm busier now than when we owned the business.”
Peter often spends his hours meticulously carving scrimshaw.
Art is a staple of life beyond the workforce for the Woods, but is only one of their many hobbies that keep them occupied.
On their property is a 3,800-square-foot building that houses a complicated, long-winding track for model trains. Peter is part of a Gwinnett- and Athens-based model train club that uses his layout once a month to produce an open-house show, free to the public.
The track plan took 3-4 years to build, they said, looping in and out of walls and other objects.
But not even the time-consuming projects at home are fully satisfactory.
The couple jetted overseas this month for a tour of Great Britain. Claudia was especially excited to take her watercolor paints.
And while it all keeps Peter and Claudia Woods busy amid a surplus of free time, genuine interest is the driving force in their various hobbies.
“We like to play,” Peter joked. “I’m doing a lot of stuff, as is Claudia, but it's stuff we enjoy and want to do.”