Author: John Griffin

The 1920s and ’30s was a period of extreme romanticism in American architecture. We borrowed freely from Italian, French, Spanish, and English sources. Evergreen and Central Gardens were being built up at that time and contain the best Memphis has to offer in these styles.

The Tudor style, with its steeply pitched roof and multiple, forward-facing gables, was the predominant English architectural vein we mined, probably because it was concurrently popular (along with Gothic) for college campuses and ecclesiastical buildings. Tudor massing and detailing were also more adaptable to the residential scale than Gothic, but both came cloaked in an assumed mantle of sophistication.

On the more rusticated end of the English architectural scale falls the humble country farmhouse. A low-pitched roof, sleepy eyebrow dormers, and a casual mix of exterior materials set this house clearly in the Arts & Crafts tradition. Arts & Crafts favored the humble over the ostentatious. The English farmhouse was rarely chosen as an American romantic model — too bad, as the pair of houses on the adjoining north corners of Overton Park Avenue and N. McNeil (obviously built by the same hand) well demonstrate.

This house’s understated form is quite beguiling, particularly when handled with such finesse. A recessed front door highlighted with an applied post-and-beam frame draws your eye and feet to the entry. Bands of windows are set upon a continuous horizontal masonry course where the exterior brick changes to stucco. All of this glass is shaded by the deeply overhanging roof eaves that curve downward as if thatched.

The Arts & Crafts movement not only glorified the humble but also emphasized the builder’s hand and the different materials used in construction. In this example, the interior woodwork in the public rooms is of richly colored red gum. Also called tupelo, this was a treasured local hardwood available to Memphians at the turn of the century that offered the look of exotic mahogany. For my money, I’d rather have a red gum interior any day, but it’s now sadly depleted.

This house has just been redone and gleams like a new copper penny. The living room fireplace has a bracketed mantel shelf over a deeply colored tile surround. A silver-plated chandelier original to the house has been rewired and hung here. The kitchen was recently redone with solid-surface countertops, lots of storage, and good work space. There are double ovens and a down-drafted cooktop at a breakfast bar. The original butler’s panty still stands in the adjoining breakfast room.

A long hall runs down the center of the bedroom wing. The bedrooms are comfortably scaled, and the bands of windows further expand their sense of spaciousness. The third bedroom qualifies as a master suite with its own adjoining full bath but would also function well as a family room. Surprisingly for Midtown, there’s an attached two-car garage (which looks original) that’s also quite spacious.

The yard has also been recently landscaped. A new stone-and-pebble patio is well-sited between the glass-enclosed sun room and a large tulip poplar. It is a shady retreat at any time of the day, and a small hedge to make it into a “garden room” would add yet another English touch to this lovingly renovated Arts & Crafts cottage.

1436 Overton Park Avenue

2,500 square feet

3 bedrooms, 2 baths; $225,000

FSBO: Carla, 323-0031 or 634-0034

This house doesn’t immediately seem Craftsman. The style

is usually associated with cottages. If this is a cottage,

it’s more in the Newport, Rhode Island, scale, where summer “cottages” from the

same era ran 10,000 square feet or more. This one’s not quite that large, but the look

is definitely grand for the Craftsman Style.

It may be the location. Sited on the west side of

Kenilworth looking into Overton Park, is a particularly fine,

pastoral setting. The street is only one long block, but it’s filled with a rich

compendium of early 20th-century architecture. Most of the houses here are rather

stately spacious porches, sun rooms and built of fine materials like this home

of brick and stone and elegant green tile roof.

But all the details here scream Craftsman. The deep, unenclosed roof

overhang is supported by ornate triangular knee braces. The stone columns at the

full-width front porch and the porte cochere are massive. Matching stone

surrounds the window openings in a rusticated manner. Most tellingly, the upper

window sashes with their decorative light pattern

and the small, high windows at the overscale front door and sidelights are typical only

of Craftsman cottages and their more intellectual cousin, the Prairie

Style.

This house has just been completely renovated. All mechanical systems

have been replaced and enlarged, but what’s most telling is how gently the interior

has been updated. Main public rooms are unaltered. On the ground floor, only

rear service spaces have been rethought to create an open kitchen, breakfast area,

and family gathering room.

The living room runs the full width of the house, and it’s breathtaking.

The quarter-sawn oak staircase rises on the same end as the front door. The

arrangement leaves lots of room to group furniture around the massive fireplace and

its flanking, new lighted bookcases. The wainscoted dining room with its

own massive fireplace also has its original china cabinets for storage. Beams in both

directions on the ceiling here create an intricate coffering. All of the brass

door hardware has been lovingly stripped of paint another elegant touch.

The new kitchen is larger than expected. Granite-topped cabinets fill

all four walls, and there’s still room to add a big work island. The rear family room

has lots of windows and French doors out onto a private backyard and large

patio. A two-car garage out back has an unrenovated second floor that

would make a great home office or guest quarters. And there’s even a finished

playroom in the basement.

Upstairs is a master suite with three additional bedrooms and bath. The

third-floor attic has been finished and is perfect for a media

room. It’s also got another full bath and a two-room cedar closet

for off-season storage.

But the second-floor master is the stunner here. This suite runs front to back

down one side. The doors were carefully aligned so that uninterrupted park views are

guaranteed. The front room of the master is a sitting room with fireplace. Next are

two closets and then the sleeping chamber. A bay window here is an inviting spot for

a chaise or a writing desk. At the rear is a

large, new bath. There’s a glass-enclosed shower, a long marble-topped vanity with two

sinks and a make-up area. A spa tub nestles in the back corner where a wall of

windows fills the room with light. The views out

back are as park-like as out front and perfectly compliment this top-to-bottom

renovated “cottage” on the park.

343 Kenilworth Street

4,500 square feet

4 bedrooms, 3 full baths and

2 half-baths; $620,000

Realtor: Marx and Bensdorf,

682-1868

Agent: Susan Overton, 336-5170

First open house Sunday,

May 26th, 2-4 p.m.

This was one of those back-from-the-borders-of-hell jobs. At some low point, this cottage was converted into a triplex — an ignominious fate for sure. Fortunately, a kind-souled woodworker bought it in the 1970s. The house was gutted and rebuilt top to bottom. Ah, sweet salvation.

Typical of turn-of-the-century Queen Anne cottages, the entry porch runs across the front and turns a corner down one side. A half-light front door, with intricate detail below and a transom above, is set at the end of this turn. Decorative glass, possibly etched, would add interest to this entry as would reinstalling the street numbers in black and gold on the transom.

The front yard is most appealing. A hand-laid brick walk leads from two boxwoods at the street to the porch. An off-street parking space is nestled under a tall, westerly shade tree. The wide front porch is most welcoming, and a trellis with a sweet autumn clematis would easily make this picture-perfect.

The living and dining rooms were opened up, leaving only the exposed-brick, wood-burning fireplace as a divider. Floors of pecan were installed on the diagonal, adding another modern touch to the public rooms. A wall of storage shelves was built across the rear of the dining room from floor to ceiling and will hold a lot of china, a ton of books, or both.

The kitchen and breakfast were also opened up to each other. The kitchen was built of rough-sawn lumber both on walls and cabinets. It’s probably an element that won’t prove timeless and could do with a rethinking. The layout, although not large, is efficient, and there’s both a large pantry and an adjacent window seat with plenty of storage. There’s also a rear laundry/mud room which connects to a deck and brick patio out back. The rear yard is privacy-fenced and invitingly shady. There is, however, not much landscaping besides grass, so it’s either badminton or off to the garden centers. You choose.

Two bedrooms and a full bath occupy the remainder of the ground floor. The middle bedroom has a full wall of closets and a bay window, both of which add immeasurably to its appeal. The rear bedroom has a walk-in closet with beadboard-covered walls and ceiling that look to have originally been part of the back porch. Either of these rooms could easily double as a home office or den, which is always handy.

Upstairs was probably only storage before the renovation, but every inch was reclaimed and put to maximum use. The narrow space at the rear where the staircase enters has a long wall of closets providing more storage space than you can imagine. The central area is now the master bedroom. A cross gable has had another full bath tucked into it. The roof is not generously scaled over this bath, so if you are a wee-bit short and occasionally overwhelmed in big spaces, you’re gonna love this. There is even a second-floor balcony off the master suite looking over the backyard. It, too, is not overlarge, but for a private spot to sit tucked into the trees and rooftops of Midtown, it offers all the salvation any soul could need. And that’s sweet.

2002 Harbert Avenue

2,200 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 2 baths; $139,500

Realtor: Coleman-Etter Fontaine, 767-4100

Agent: Faith Gary, 682-2588

Lucian Minor Dent worked as an architect on the restoration of Williamsburg, the 18th-century capital of Virginia. By the 1940s, Dent was busy in Memphis but his eye for classical massing and detail shows. In 1950, he began St. John’s Episcopal Church at Central and Greer based on Bruton Parish Church, built in 1715, in Williamsburg. Two years later he designed this story-and-a-half Colonial Revival home just south of the estate of the cotton merchant Hugo Dixon and his wife Margaret.

The home has only had two owners in its 50 years of existence and certainly has not suffered under their tenure. The floor plan begins with a center-hall entry flanked by living and dining rooms. Classical details (not typical of Williamsburg), which enrich the facade, include Tuscan columns at the entrance portico and main windows that run almost floor-to-ceiling. The venerable old boxwoods that flank the porch are typical of Williamsburg and don’t hurt either.

More room was ultimately needed, and this is where the true ingenuity of the plan shows. To preserve light and air while adding a sizable addition, two exterior spaces were carved out, one each behind the original living and dining rooms. As a result, all the original and new rooms have cross-ventilation, and most share a delightful view of the paved and landscaped courtyards.

The entry has a striking black-and-white marble floor. Public rooms have random-width, pegged oak. The living-room fireplace has had an 18th-century mantel lovingly installed. The dining room has a commodious china closet in addition to an adjoining butler’s pantry. Doorways were raised to eight feet tall, which enhances the flow of space through the public rooms.

A large, brick-floored den was added to the rear. Poplar beams were installed at the ceiling and wide old planks were used for wall paneling. An overscale, brick firebox with timber mantel is the appropriate focus. In addition to a wine closet and an ample bar, there is a small greenhouse and a perfect screened porch looking down to a pool surrounded by lush plantings. Not too shabby.

One wing of the new addition contains the master suite and guest bedroom. The master has a wall of built-ins (including media area) and a fireplace finished with a slate mantel feather-painted to look like marble. There’s a study, two bathrooms, and tons of closets. The guest room overlooks the pool and its bath has hand-painted walls featuring a delicate pattern of bamboo trellises.

The other wing holds kitchen, breakfast nook, mudroom, game room, and a four-car garage. The kitchen has been renovated to accommodate two cooks with two sinks and two stoves (one gas, one electric). The breakfast room overlooks one of the courtyards and its small fountain. Flourishing gardenias and creeping fig are protected by the microclimate of the surrounding brick walls, just as the inhabitants of this remarkable home have been sheltered by its elegant air.

1092 Audubon Drive

5,175 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4 baths

$595,000

Realtor: The Hobson Co., 761-1622

Agent: Mary Frances Pitts, 312-2942

Years ago, this was maybe a backhouse or garage. Its origins feel, rightly, lost in time. A drive meanders between beds of groundcover planted with understory dogwoods and redbuds beneath taller trees. Ultimately, you reach a wrought-iron fence set between brick piers. Only after you park and approach the gate does this board-and-batten house come into view, as if it had been hiding but suddenly changed its mind.

Brick between batten timbering surrounds the front door. A large conifer hides a spacious brick patio tucked under an enormous Japanese maple. Beds of surrounding perennials are now showing those first tentative buds. English ivy climbs up a tall brick chimney, and bits of stained glass sparkle. The elements recall the careful disarray you’d relish in a Cotswold cottage.

Inside, it’s not even a surprise that the ceilings are a wee-bit low and the doors, of course, are round-headed. Even the firebox has a neatly arched opening. A finish of rough stucco on the walls and ceilings catches the changes in light. Dark beams resting, as they should, on corbels don’t lower the ceiling but make it seem taller. These interiors seem “felt out,” and they unfold slowly the way one proceeds down a garden path in spring.

There’s a cold entry and then you’re in the living room. The dining room is next with a bank of high, eastern windows. Wood flooring runs through these rooms. Down a step or two behind the dining is the galley kitchen. Black stone countertops and white painted cabinets add graphic punch, as does the overscale, vintage gas range with griddle. More stained glass and a large skylight don’t hurt either.

Out back is mostly deck (a lawn mower is useless at this house). There’s a screened gazebo with a hot tub. A tall, wooden fence and trees add privacy. There’s a detached storage building and an additional wall of attached storage running the length of the house.

The west side of the house has an office/guest room up front and looking out onto the patio. A middle bedroom shares the public bath across the hall. Though the bath is situated deep inside the interior, a skylight over the tub fills the room with light. The floor here is all tiled, and the walls have the same stained, vertical board-and-batten finish as the exterior.

The master suite extends to the rear (hence light and air from three sides) and has its own doors out to the deck and the hot tub. The private master bath has tile on both the floor and high wainscot. Yet another skylight over the decked tub allows you to pretend on occasion that you’re floating on some bucolic pool under the stars.

Be warned: This house will entice you. It’s like you knew it from an innate fantasy of what houses should be or from a childhood dreamland. Too bad we all don’t live like this.

2234 Monroe Avenue

1,900 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths

$199,000

Re/Max Elite, 685-6000 • Agent: Kendall Haney, 680-9922

If you were buying your first home in Memphis around the turn of the last century, this is the style of house you would likely be considering. It is being built in Cooper-Young 100 years after its heyday. Queen Anne cottages were the darlings of the late-Victorian era. Poke around older parts of North and South Memphis or any street in Cooper-Young and you’ll find plenty of them.

So why a new Queen Anne? Well, there’s been a large empty lot on a nice block of Blythe Street. A neighborhood non-profit that’s renovating and reselling homes in Cooper-Young decided to build a house on this lot. Much like those who rebuilt in the Evergreen corridor, the organization wanted a new house that echoed the massing, materials, and proportions of the area. A Queen Anne fit the bill.

Massing required that the house sit well off the ground so a back-filled concrete slab was used. Queen Annes were tall and came with a prominent roof, which suggested 10-foot ceilings and a steeply pitched roof. The tall ceilings add the grace note so often associated with older homes, and the roof not only “feels” right, it also adds tons of expandable attic space.

The exterior has a wraparound porch typical of the period. Cedar shakes create a fish-scale pattern in the front gable. Concrete board siding gives the look of wood but holds paint better and lasts decades longer — a significant improvement over the traditional material.

The interior is not finished but is far enough along that it should be completed before the end of the year. A big kitchen was planned from the start, with plenty of workspace, a breakfast nook, and access to a covered back porch. Other touches tell you this is certainly not a turn-of-the-last-century home. A small room with a built-in desk is a home-computing center. A master bath with separate shower, spa tub, and double vanity not crammed into a closet suggest good planning.

All of the finishes are not yet in place, but plans indicate a warm and inviting interior. A fireplace in the living room will have a wood surround and mantel. Floors in the public area will be wood. The kitchen will have maple cabinets and a dishwasher, stove, and microwave will be provided. The kitchen and bath floors will be tiled for easy care.

Both bedrooms have the luxury of outdoor access. The master in the rear has a door onto the back porch. A door at the far end of the front porch connects to the front bedroom. This allows the second bedroom to be used as a home office with its own entrance. All these features should make this new Queen Anne appealing to the young urban professional as well as a family looking for the character of an older home with all the amenities.

1057 Blythe Street

1,900 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths; $159,500

Realtor: Sowell & Co., 278-4380, Agent: Randall Wilder, 327-9900