Category: Real Estate

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.

Architect J. Fraser Smith came to Memphis to work in 1921. William Chandler hired him to lay out a development called the Village at the southeast corner of Poplar and Goodlet in 1938. The neighborhood became a bastion of Colonial Revival-style houses on large lots with gently curving streets.

The designs were inspired by those of colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. The excavations and exhaustive studies of that town’s architecture began in the mid-1920s and had a pervasive influence on domestic design for many years.

This house, built in 1945, shows all the hallmarks of the late Colonial Revival style. It’s got a steeply pitched roof with two front-facing dormers. The windows here, unlike the original colonial examples, are ganged in double or triple units. The exterior is sided primarily in shingles, but the two front box bays are sheathed in vertical tongue-and-groove wood. The whole exterior is unified by a light, earth-toned neutral color, with the trim called out in a crisp white and the centrally placed front door accented in red.

The living and dining rooms are across the front, each with a box bay window. The living room has a fireplace fitted with gas logs inside a nicely detailed period mantel. The oak floors are honey-toned and look like new.

The bedroom wing is pleasantly secluded. There are three bedrooms and three baths in the house, and a separate guest quarters attached to the garage holds a fourth bedroom and bath. Custom built-ins in the guest room allow this space to function as a home office, too, giving both guests and office clutter their own area out of the mainstream of activity.

The master suite has the smallest of the four baths, as they used to be before the current craze for airplane-hangar-sized dressing and bathrooms. Installing a new, frameless shower and simple pedestal sink in a minimal space would make this bath feel twice as big without the expense of a new addition.

The real draws here, other than the neighborhood, are the expanded kitchen and new family room. The rear wall to the original kitchen was removed, allowing the cooking space to be doubled and a spacious seating area to be added as well. The ceiling height in the rear addition was lifted to further expand the space. The current owners installed granite counters and a multi-hued, tumbled-limestone backsplash. The professional-model gas stove has a matching stainless-steel hood and a handy pot filler. The cabinets are painted white to match the trim and have lots of glass doors to bounce light around. The floors in the kitchen and the rear seating area are oak to match the rest of the house.

This 50-plus-year-old neighborhood has numerous family events during the year, such as an Easter egg hunt and a Fourth of July parade. It’s hard to find that small-town atmosphere in such a centrally located, older subdivision. Even during this economic slowdown, few houses sit on the market long in this recession-proof area. •

440 Greenfield

Approximately 2,700 square feet

4 bedrooms, 4 baths

$475,000

FSBO: 680-0910; will co-op

This house was so thoroughly renovated in the mid-20th century that there is no evidence of its original incarnation. The tax rolls show it was built in 1939, and its location just south of Central Avenue across from Chickasaw Gardens certainly suggests that the early date is appropriate.

The house probably began as a one-bedroom, one-bath cottage, since the front bath has creamy gold ceramic tile edged in black, something typical of the 1930s and 1940s. It was obviously not a low-end job, when you note that a built-in storage cabinet in the original bath has a native Tennessee marble top — evidence that attention to detail was a priority.

A very generously sized living room looks forward through a broad, shed-roofed bay window. A robust limestone-faced firebox and chimney comprise the room’s focal point. Behind this room is a big dining room that flows out of the living room via a large cased opening and overlooks a quiet corner of the nicely landscaped backyard.

The scale of the rooms makes furniture placement and entertaining easy. This dining room is probably a late-1950s or early-1960s addition, done at the same time the outside was restyled and the master suite was added. Vertical cypress siding installed as a shadowbox gives the exterior a lot of punch.

The kitchen is outfitted in white-painted planked cabinets that echo the verticality of the exterior siding. This sort of planking is a hallmark of mid-century California architecture.

The basement is also nicely finished. It has one large room that provides a great getaway spot for a media room or other family activities and, of course, could do double duty as a third bedroom. The space has a handy storage room as well.

The backyard is a major feature of this property. French doors from the master bedroom and a door from the kitchen open onto a large slate patio with an oval swimming pool beyond. The original carport has a garage door added at the front for privacy and security, but the back wall is still open to the patio. Since the garage is also paved with slate, it makes a perfect shady entertaining space.

Someone with foresight installed several fine plantings that have now reached specimen size. The front yard is dominated by a big chestnut tree, and a broad Japanese maple is the accent near the pool. Dogwoods run down the rear fence line under the neighbor’s oaks.

This spacious, easy-living, ranch-style house is focused on a patio made for entertaining — definitely California dreaming! •

353 Haynes

Approximately 1,650 square feet

3 bedrooms, 2 baths; $205,000

Realtor: Remax on Track, 758-1200

Agent: Larry Alexander, 454-0858

This house probably got a coat of bright white paint when it was completed in 1908. It’s fitting that it should be painted white for its centennial. It’s also had a just-completed top-to-bottom renovation.

Little has changed on the outside in the last century. The roof was originally slate, but after a large tree damaged it, a new slate-colored shingle roof was installed. The back house does have its slate roof intact. And amazingly, the large, beveled-glass front door still has its original screen door.

Visible changes inside were minimal. The richly carved wood mantel in the living room retains its old tiles, firebox cover, and even an early gas heater left on the hearth. The intricately paneled staircase also has its original delicately turned spindles.

The ceilings are 10 feet tall on the ground floor and, surprisingly, the same on the second floor. Likewise, the oak floors installed downstairs are upstairs as well, where pine was often substituted as a cost-cutting measure. On both floors, the windows are a bit over-scaled and thus bring in more light than expected. It makes the period interior feel quite modern.

The living and dining rooms occupy the front. Tall French doors lead from the dining room back to where a warren of smaller spaces were gutted and combined to hold the new kitchen, which is cleverly fitted into a broad bay window. There are lots of stained cabinets and recessed lights, and there’s plenty of room for an old farm table in the center. Light ceramic tile flooring unites the kitchen and a new sunroom created from what was originally part of the back porch.

The ground floor also has a den, a powder room, a mudroom/entry, laundry room, and back stairs.

The rear yard is newly fenced, but the two-story backhouse was not updated in the recent renovation. This leaves it to you to decide whether you’d like a garage down with a small home office up or a full two-story guest house/mother-in-law unit.

In the main house, there are three bedrooms upstairs with two full baths, both completely redone. The layout was altered just enough to create a master suite with a wall of closets and a very spacious private bath with a large shower, a separate soaking tub, and a double vanity.

The third floor has permanent stairs, and one of the two new heat and air systems was installed off to the side to maximize the central floor area, which could be easily enclosed but currently offers great storage.

The interior is just as bright and newly spiffed up as the exterior here. All that’s required are proud new owners to make this house picture perfect. •

1341 Vinton

Approximately 2,660 square feet

3 bedrooms, 2-1/2 baths

$325,000

Realtor: Sowell & Co., 278-4380

Agent: Linda Sowell, 278-4380

Before the railroads crossed the Mississippi in Memphis, the South Bluffs area was primarily residential. It is the highest spot around, with unparalleled views, and it catches every breeze that crosses the river. The advent of railroads, hotels, and storage facilities changed the South Bluffs to the warehouse district we know today. Many of the warehouses have now been converted to high-end lofts, and the South Bluffs area is once again residential.

Few of the original houses remain, but just north of the Lorraine Motel on Mulberry Street are three shotguns and two tenement buildings that still provide a touch of the residential mix that existed before 1892.

The three frame cottages and the surrounding brick tenements have been renovated inside and out. They now share a courtyard with a fountain and a rear gated parking area. These three shotguns may be the only freestanding condos in the city offering you light from four sides without requiring you to maintain the exteriors or the grounds. The houses date from the late 1880s or early 1890s.

The main facade of this home faces Mulberry and is embellished with a variety of wall finishes, beginning at porch level with a vertical siding wainscot that changes to beaded, horizontal lap-siding above. The two sides of the porch gable are a sunburst of narrow boards, and the overscale gable vent is a stick-built lattice wedge, not unlike the shape of a masonry arch keystone. The porch balustrade is obviously not original; it would have been either turned railings — the lathe was a popular new woodworking tool then — or flat boards cut with a jigsaw into a decorative shape and then pieced together. Amazingly, a few of the porch columns have their original brackets.

The floor plan retains the original three rooms. The 12-foot ceilings keep these spaces from ever feeling small, and the wealth of architectural detail inside provides visual delight that is often lost and that is such a treat here.

The front two rooms have the original vertical tongue-and-groove wainscoting and tall, four-panel doors with glass transoms. A central coal fireplace opens both to the front living room and middle bedroom; each side has a cast-iron mantel. The floors in these two rooms are the original pine planking with a dark stain.

An original hall was commandeered for storage and turned into a front coat closet, a spacious walk-in closet for the bedroom, and a laundry closet off the kitchen — no wasted space here! The eat-in kitchen and the bath have granite counters and cork floors. A fenced backyard with its own petite patio provides room to fire up the grill.

There are lots of cool downtown living spaces, but in terms of location and architectural detail, this shotgun has got to be at the top of the list. •

376 Mulberry

Approximately 800 square feet

1 bedroom, 1 bath

$175,000

Realtor: Garland Co., 527-7779

Agent: Chris Garland, 338-3226