Memphis is in short supply of good mid-20th-century houses. Who
wanted contemporary when you could have a Colonial-styled ranch with
shutters? But the Goulds, of the hair-salon chain, appear to have had a
preference for the modern and built this distinctive house.
The site was carefully designed, with a circular drive sweeping
behind a low brick wall and enormous crape myrtles sheltering the entry
from the street. Theatrically up-lighted, hardy windmill and pindo
palms add a tropical touch. High ribbon windows admit lots of light
while maintaining privacy.
The entry foyer has a marble floor. The living and dining rooms are
off to one side. A Colonial Revival mantle is the only traditional
element; remodeling with a wall of limestone or marble tiles would add
a more contemporary treatment.
The kitchen has windows over the sink and breakfast area, looking
into a carport that has been enclosed. Installing sun tunnels through
the roof would be an economical way to introduce natural light into the
space. The kitchen work area is both ample and well laid out.
Across the foyer, a sleeping wing has four bedrooms and two
all-white-tile baths that look timeless. A spacious den/sunroom has a
beamed ceiling and an entire wall of narrow, stacked stone that is the
period-perfect fireplace surround.
A glassed passage leads out to the half-acre lot and a rear wing
with a fifth bedroom and a big laundry room, too, but only a half-bath.
Fortunately, the laundry could easily be reduced and a full bath
installed.
This bedroom is the largest and most contemporary of the five, and
with its vaulted ceiling and great views of the back yard and pool, it
should be the master suite.
Just outside the sunroom passage is a spacious patio. And a little
farther up the hill is another terrace with a fountain, adjacent to the
pool — all providing a perfect backdrop for cool pursuits in this
modern Memphis pad. •
4549 Laurelwood Dr.
Approximately 3,830 sq. ft.
5 bedrooms
2 full and 2 half-baths
$399,000
Realtor: Sowell &Co., 278-4380
Agent: Steve Soloman, 454-1931
