Author: John Griffin

A lot of us live with creaky floors and too few baths, if the house
has the right feel. If it hasn’t got it, you have to work twice as hard
to make a house feel livable and inviting. What could be better than a
great, older house that has all the needed modern updates but maintains
it original and welcoming qualities?

Military personnel returning after WWI had seen Europe, many for the
first time. Memories of family members, who had emigrated here only a
generation or two before, were still alive. This created a new
appreciation for English cottages, Norman chateaus, and Mediterranean
villas in America.

The construction of Rhodes College in the University Gothic style
solidified the Tudor Revival’s preeminence around its campus. This
latter-day English cottage on West Drive was seen as part of the
village surrounding the cathedral of learning. So when Hein Park was
laid out, just east of the campus, it had winding lanes that followed
the flow of Cypress Creek, evoking the feel of villages in the English
countryside.

Built in 1932, this house is largely brick outside, with decorative
stonework accenting the entry and chimney. The main windows feature
diamond-patterned panes constructed to resemble medieval leaded
casements. The landscaping is well established, with perhaps the
largest Japanese maple in town anchoring the front yard.

Inside impresses immediately. The living room floor is lowered to
add height. The walls cove up to the ceiling, creating a vaulted room
that could aptly be called “old world.” The kitchen has cabinets that
run all the way to the ceiling, many with glass fronts. Black and
stainless appliances finish out the look.

The two bedrooms downstairs include an original master with en suite
bath. The entire attic has been finished out as a modern master bedroom
with tons of floor space, double vanity, jet tub, shower, and more
closets than you usually find in three Midtown houses. All the
amenities are here, including a new rear deck and two-car garage, but
what matters most is that all the updates were accomplished with no
loss of comfort or character. •

787 West Drive

Approximately 2,700 sq. ft.

3 bedrooms, 3 baths; $329,000

Realtor: Sowell & Company, 278-4380

Agent: Linda Sowell

A shotgun can be the perfect first or last house. It isn’t so large
that it’s a chore to maintain, and it’s one of the least expensive
houses to buy — all-important if you’re looking to eliminate the
superfluous and focus on the essentials.

This shotgun has not led an easy life. It had become a low-end
rental property with aluminum windows and was stripped of its interior
trim. There wasn’t much in the way of heat and air and even less in the
way of charm.

Fortunately, it was rescued nine years ago, and a slow, sensitive
renovation has updated the services and restored the finishes. Wide
exterior trim was installed around new, insulated windows and doors. A
period oak door with flanking, paneled shutters was installed at the
front. The porch was rebuilt with an antique brick foundation and wood
flooring. Old Arts and Crafts copper lanterns were added as the final
grace note at the entry.

The interior received even more attention. Antique, four-panel doors
with 1920s brass hardware, salvaged from Davies Plantation in Lakeland,
were installed throughout. Enclosing the back porch provided room to
add a laundry as well as glass-fronted, floor-to-ceiling cabinets that
provide pantry space next to the kitchen. And a central heat and air
system was installed, along with charm.

The comfortably scaled living room runs full-width across the front
and is enhanced by 10-foot ceilings. The bedroom is in the middle, with
a side hall passage to the rear. The kitchen has an assembled look,
with one wall of built-ins accompanied by furniture cupboards and a
central work/dining table.

New pine floors, stained a medium brown, were installed in both the
kitchen and bath. A vanity with a tri-fold, mirrored medicine cabinet
was also added. A large floored area in the attic is available for the
extra storage everyone needs.

You might think a shotgun is just too small to be livable. But
remember way back before texting, when we valued every vowel? Now we
communicate rather well without a lot of them. So, maybe a little,
well-renovated shotgun could now be the perfect “nw hm 4 u.” •

1069 Meda

Approximately 750 sq. ft.

1 bedroom, 1 bath; $98,000

Realtor: Kendall Haney Group, 725-1968

Agent: Nick Dacus, 729-3411

Tudor Revival cottages, like the concurrently popular Craftsman
cottages, were exemplars of hand-wrought details and rustic finishes.
The exterior of this house features half-timbering above rubble masonry
veneer, suggesting great age, as if the house had survived eons with
numerous alterations. The rubble is composed of quartz with some geode
inclusions, red and gray granite cobblestones, and even a half-brick or
so thrown in for variety.

A planked, arch-headed front door opens to a vestibule with a handy
coat closet. The chimney, just beside the entry, is set flush with the
front door, creating a cozy recess known as an inglenook, a design
detail found in both grand and modest homes of the period, sometimes
with built-in seating in larger examples. This inglenook seems to
expand the living space and adds great visual interest.

Although wrapped in a Tudor exterior, this house has a floor plan
typical of many Craftsman bungalows. Its three original bedrooms are
strung along one side, and two of them are multifunctional. The front
bedroom, connected to the living room by French doors, makes a great
study or overflow entertainment area. These two rooms have diamond pane
windows, with the diamond lights in both top and bottom sash — a
quality detail not often found even in much larger houses.

The middle bedroom has had a wall of bookcases added and currently
is used as a den/media room. The rear bedroom, overlooking the placid
rear garden, is the largest of the three and is right beside the
classic black-and-white tiled main bath.

The original kitchen, breakfast room, and back porch have been
combined into one large space. Pale wood cabinets are a perfect foil to
black counters and appliances, and the floors are covered with
appropriately rustic brick pavers.

The surprisingly large attic has oak floors and several skylights,
creating a bright and pleasant suite of three rooms, a full bath, and a
walk-in closet that could be used as a master suite, room for a couple
of kids, or as office/guest quarters.

The rear garden, installed by the current owner, is an outstanding
visual and functional expansion of the house. A naturalistic streambed
begins in the far corner of the yard and falls over several fieldstone
slabs and boulders before ending in a deep koi pond. A two-level deck
stretches across the entire back of the house and runs alongside the
stream.

For solitary relaxation or having the whole gang over, this Tudor
Revival is ready to rock and roll.

296 Hawthorne

Approximately 2,700 sq. ft.

4 bedrooms, 2 baths; $269,000

Realtor: Sowell & Co., 278-4380

Agent: John Littlefield, 246-7376

This is a house very much in the modern mode, designed by local
architect Francis Mah. For many years it was home to Ward Archer Sr. (a
founder of the advertising agency that eventually became
archer>malmo) and his family. It has a low-pitched roof with
interior ceilings following the shallow slope and deep exterior
overhangs that protect the interior from the direct rays of summer
sun.

The floor plan brilliantly separates public from private spaces
while subtly integrating the interior flow to the exterior topography.
There is a gradual fall toward the street on this acre lot in old East
Memphis.

Mah used a favorite device of both Frank Lloyd Wright and his
Arkansas understudy, Faye Jones. They both loved to bring people into a
house under a low ceiling, and then the room heights soar in the living
area. Mah accomplished this by placing the entry on the uphill, garden
side, and then dropping the floor level of the forward-facing living,
dining, and kitchen to follow the gentle grade change. The private
bedroom spaces, baths, laundry, and study are all tucked away from the
street.

The current owner has lived in the house for three years and spent
much of that time updating the place. His attention to detail is as
rigorous as was Mah’s. An understated palette of finishes was selected
for the recent renovation and carried throughout the house. The work
included enlarging the master suite and enclosing the original carport
to create a separate media/guest house.

All the rooms are now a bold white. The kitchen is softened by
cabinets of a lustrous African fiddleback anagre wood with tops of
Calcutta gold marble. The original kitchen, though conveniently placed
between the dining and living rooms, was small and enclosed. An
interior wall was removed, allowing a large island to anchor this room
as a center for entertaining or family activity.

Part of the original master bedroom was converted to a walk-through
laundry center, handy to all the bedrooms. The newly enlarged master
bedroom has gently vaulted ceilings like the original part of the
house, and great walls of glass have a view to a shady rear porch.

The new master bath is well laid out, with lots of built-in storage,
and the new master closet has a tremendous capacity. All of this
results in a thoroughly modern mid-century house that is as chic and
sleek as anything in Memphis.

4500 Minden

Approximately 3,100 sq. ft.

3 bedrooms, 4-1/2 baths; $759,000

Realtor: Coleman-Etter, Fontaine 767-4100

Agent: Fontaine Brown

This house was built in 2005 and has a blend of modern and
traditional interior details: stained- and scored-concrete floors in
some rooms, mixed with oak floors in others. Lots of windows, recessed
lights, and broad, arched openings between rooms keep the interior
light and bright.

The primary living spaces are clustered across the back and are
oriented to the rear yard and patio. They consist of a den that has a
fireplace with gas logs and a dining room; both have oak floors. The
kitchen has a jazzy appeal, with its cherry-stained cabinets topped by
black granite, black appliances, and a shiny black subway-tile
backsplash, highlighted by lots of recessed can-lights. A stained
concrete floor with a compass rose design completes the kitchen
décor. Double windows over the sink have a view to the yard and
fill the space with morning light.

The adjacent den also has double windows and a full-view glass door.
The owners have installed a tall pottery urn used as a gurgling
fountain adjacent to the patio. Azaleas are in bloom under the shade of
an oak, and dwarf magnolias have been installed as an evergreen
hedge.

The front of the main floor has the entry, which leads past a living
room, a powder room, a laundry, and the master suite. The living room
would probably function better as a library/home office.The attention
to quality throughout is shown by the use of real stone, with a
granite-topped piece of furniture used as the vanity in the powder
room, and pale travertine in the master bath. Upstairs are two
additional bedrooms and another full bath, also featuring a travertine
vanity top.

The exterior has siding on the main level with a change to wood
shingles in the front gable. A tall dormer, double columns, and a
wooden porch-rail ornament the inviting street facade. Even the red
roof is a knowing nod to turn-of-the-century taste. It’s a delight to
see such livable new construction fit so seamlessly into an older
Midtown neighborhood. •

940 Philadelphia

Approximately 1,700 sq. ft.

3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths; $219,000

Realtor: Sowell & Co., 278-4380

Agent: David de Ponte, 240-8474

Living on the Mississippi is as good as it gets in Memphis. Residences overlooking the water get the best breezes in the city, world-class views of passing river traffic, and glorious sunsets.

This condo unit was one of two built in 1984 atop an existing three-story building with interior parking at the foot of Union Avenue. There is nothing between it and the harbor but Riverside Drive and the cobblestone landing.

The layout of this condo is unusually adept at orienting you to the outside. The interior is wrapped by 1,800 square feet of private deck — larger than many houses. The living and dining rooms and even both bedrooms have doors that permit direct outdoor circulation.

The first owner of this unit commissioned local woodworker Stephen Crump to build custom shoji screens for the living room, which has deck on three sides. The floor-to-ceiling screens are set into oak tracks and allow sun and views to be precisely modulated.

The dining room is two steps above the living room to provide better sightlines to the west. The deck steps up to the rear, staying level with the dining area and both bedrooms. The foyer has slate floors that are carried through to the wet bar and on into the kitchen.

Even though the kitchen has no exterior walls, a huge skylight fills it with natural light.

Counters are a richly colored granite, and all the appliances, including the stacked washer and dryer, are stainless-steel. Double wall ovens, a five-burner gas cooktop on the kitchen island, and a wine fridge at the wet bar make entertaining a breeze.

But that deck — oh, that deck! Wrapping part of the south and all of the west and north sides of the unit, it’s certainly unique in scale for downtown living. It offers almost as much square footage as the whole residence and more than doubles the space available for entertaining. What could offer a better scenario for living on the river? •

34 Union

Approximately 2,200 sq. ft. $649,000

Realtor: Crye-Leike,

754-0800

Agent: Rick Travers,

218-3961

When Robert M. Carrier moved his family from New York to Memphis in 1926, he sent his architect, Bryant Fleming, on a buying trip to England to gather elements for the house he was building here. Fleming had worked with W. J. Dodd, who designed the Hunter Raine house in 1904, just around the corner on Central. He also designed Cheekwood, built in Nashville in the early 1930s. It wasn’t a pewter tankard or two, nor even Wedgwood service for 24 that he had in mind.

Early Tudor mantels ornamented with mythical beasts, rooms of fine wood paneling, and a museum-worthy collection of paintings on glass to be incorporated in the leaded casement windows are part of what Fleming acquired on his grand tour. The resulting house feels like it could have been built during the late 16th or early 17th century in East Anglia.

Fleming was an accomplished landscape architect, and he designed the site to provide a stunning milieu for the house, siting it on the mid-level of a three-tiered plot with its main entrance on the rear, off a central garden court. The street front has a magnificent brick and stone balustraded terrace looking west over a sunken lawn.

The interior details are as sumptuous as you could imagine and then some. The entry and living room are floored in a checkerboard of antique marble and slate. The ceilings are beamed with antique timbers. The formal rooms have plaster ceilings with ornate strapwork and decorative pendants. The great hall, library, and sitting rooms have walls of hand-carved paneling. These include full-relief figures and bas-relief masks on the over-mantels. Every surface is rich with historical detail.

The kitchen is a spacious room with recently redone glazed cabinetry. Granite tops, tumbled marble backsplashes, and a limestone floor with inset slate diamonds equal the quality of the original materials in other parts of the house. The kitchen is large enough to hold a comfortable seating area; a separate breakfast room and dining porch overlook the entry garden court.

The detailing isn’t spared upstairs, with the same eight- and 10-inch-wide oak floors found in the great hall and the dining room. The master suite has a manorial bedroom, a morning room, two dressing rooms, and two baths. The other bedrooms aren’t bad, either. There is a guest house across the garden court and a pool and tea house on the uppermost level.

Probably no other house in Memphis is built with such richness of architectural elements. One step inside this house and the elegant assemblage of historical relics will make you feel as if you’re embarking on a grand tour of your own. •

Carrier Hall, 642 S. Willett

Approximately 9,000 square feet, including guest house

5 bedrooms, 5 full and 3 half baths $975,000

Realtor: Coleman-Etter, Fontaine, 767-4100

Agent: Debbie Rodda, 229-4334

Bungalows are a little less fancy than some house styles and are usually quite cozy. Often, that translates into being a little bit dark. But there are exceptions. This bungalow, with its beautiful exterior of stucco and rough-cut stone, was built in 1922 and is sited on a rise. It’s definitely brighter than expected, due to more and larger windows than found in the typical bungalow, along with a new, light color scheme inside and out.

The house was owned by the same family for the past 85 years. It’s just gone through a year-long renovation from top to bottom. If you’ve avoided bungalows for the usual reasons, you should see what a difference a pale palette and a newly opened floor plan can make. The dining room, breakfast area, and kitchen have been united down the north side of the house to keep the kitchen — and the cook — in the center of the action.

The whole interior has been unified with a neutral color scheme set off by white trim and doors. Dark-stained kitchen cabinets are the only reminder that bungalow interiors often had the trim and doors stained dark.

The cabinets here are offset by lots of recessed lights and pendant fixtures hung above the new breakfast bar. The new kitchen floor and that of the rear mud/entry/laundry are a light travertine with an accent of dark slate. It playfully reminds you of the old white ceramic tile with black accents so common in Midtown kitchens and baths but in a very contemporary manner. The dark slate also ties visually to the deep-toned granite counters used throughout the kitchen.

This was originally a four-bedroom house with two full baths. In the renovation, one of the three bedrooms on the ground floor was converted into a master bath. Now, there is a spacious suite with two vanities, a huge shower, and a walk-in closet — not a bad trade-off. An elegant, old claw-foot tub was given pride of place in the main bath on the ground floor, and it feels just right there.

Bungalows often have a rear second floor pop-up (called an airplane around here) that usually holds one or two bedrooms. Here, those rooms have been updated as a second master suite, pleasantly removed from the activity of the ground floor. There’s a large oak-floored bedroom, two big closets, one of which is cedar-lined, a bath, and a large sunroom that could be a sitting room or office.

In addition to the spatial changes, the house has a new, enlarged electrical service, new heat and air systems, new thermal wood windows, and even new exterior insulation. Don’t let a preconceived notion of dark bungalows keep you from noticing this beacon on a hill. •

249 Avalon

Approximately 2,600 sq. ft.

3 bedrooms, 3 baths; $359,000

Realtor: Midsouth Residential, 507-4680

Agent: David Lorrison, 484-8663

The history of family estates in Memphis seems forever intertwined with subdivisions. Often a generation or so after a rural retreat was established, and as the city grew in that direction, the heirs carved up the acreage and divided the proceeds. Fortunately, Memphis still has many such grand houses on, of course, circumscribed lots.

Annesdale set the pattern. The house was built in 1855 outside the city limits on a 200-acre estate that was subdivided 50 years later by Robert Brinkley Snowden. The family lands north of Lamar were subdivided in 1903, and Annesdale Park was laid out. Its success prompted a second development in 1906, carved out right around the family home south of Lamar and named Annesdale-Snowden.

Clarence Saunders built the Pink Palace as his residence in 1922, situated just north of the Memphis Country Club. Saunders suffered an economic reversal, and the 160-acre property was subdivided. The result: Chickasaw Gardens.

At the same time that Saunders’ estate was being carved up, the Pidgeon and the Crump families flocked to Goodlett, around Poplar and Walnut Grove. Six grand houses were constructed on Poplar, Tuckahoe, Gwynne, and both sides of Walnut Grove in the late 1920s and early 1930s by these closely connected families.

J. Everett Pidgeon built his home north of Walnut Grove. The house was designed by local architect George Mahan Jr. and modeled after George Washington’s Mount Vernon. So it seems only logical that Colonial Revival houses would fill the lots created from this country estate in the 1950s.

This Colonial Revival is graced with extra-tall windows, and the effect is enhanced by the old brick sidewalk that leads to the recessed front entry. White marble on the fireplace surround and hearth continues the classic touch inside. Unexpectedly, the dining room features a central domed ceiling with a hand-painted stone finish.

The kitchen has had a crisp remodel and incorporates an earlier breakfast room into the new space. There is now a large ell of work surface atop white cabinets with a tumbled marble backsplash. Amplifying the traditional feel, a new oak floor perfectly matches the rest of the house. A large storage wall offers pantry, laundry, and recycling areas.

The house’s other notable feature is a rear addition that includes a spacious family room with equally well-matched oak floors. Down a few steps beyond the family room is a very private master suite. It has taller ceilings and an attached bonus room suitable for office, nursery, or exercise space.

This is a lovely, well-kept house that readily conquers the challenge of finding a traditional home updated for modern living. •

224 Pinehurst

Approximately 2,477 sq. ft.

3 bedroom, 3 baths

$379,000

Realtor: Hobson Co., 761-1622

Agent: Allen Hamblin, 312-2968

My father, at age 84, likes to paint one side of the family home each year. He says it keeps the paint from ever peeling. I did not inherit his standards. I’ve painted the outside of my house twice in 30 years. In addition to being industrious, my father is very polite, so I suspect he thinks I should be living in a brick house.

This brick house sits on the north side of Central Avenue, across from the Memphis Country Club. What could be better than the view of that enormous expanse of turf, with shadows falling through the branches of tall oaks — especially when someone else mows that grass and rakes those leaves?

As for this home, there is one large oak in the front yard, smartly sited southwest of the house, and it must lower the summer afternoon temperature by 10 degrees or more. A little leaf raking for that benefit is not a bad exchange.

Built in 1941, the house has no modern trappings, such as cathedral ceilings or a master bedroom with a bath en suite. It does have level floors, all golden oak except for the ceramic tile in the bath and kitchen. The walls and ceilings are smooth and crack-free, and the windows have exterior storms and interior plantation shutters.

The house is set on a large lot with plenty of room, if you wanted to push out the kitchen and add that cathedral-ceilinged family room. Just as easily, the rear bedroom could have a dressing room and private bath added. But in these “less is more” days, this house works just fine as is!

There is already a large deck on the back, but an even larger screened porch would be my choice of additions. It would provide an alternative space where you could eat, sit, entertain, and even occasionally sleep.

The backyard is quite private with hedges all about. There is a detached carport for two cars and a small garden cottage. The rear landscaping is limited to several crape myrtles and one tree. That means you have room for a lap pool, a vegetable garden, or even a volleyball court. Without having to worry about the upkeep on this brick house, you could easily become a master gardener (or a master sloth) in your free time. •

3178 Central

Approximately 1,900 square feet

3 bedrooms, 2 baths

$165,000

Realtor: Hobson Co., 761-1622

Agent: Laurie Stark, 486-1464

Open house: Sunday, March 1st, 2-4 p.m.