2228 Harcourt Drive (2001)

 

It is obvious that the current owners of this spacious home are enjoying every square inch. Built in 1917, this home's grand and gracious features are a perfect backdrop for the couple's collection of antiques and vintage pieces (mostly garnered by savvy purchases at house sales years ago). Each one of the many rooms has been thoughtfully decorated by the owners themselves for personal style, comfort and use -- in entertaining, relaxing and pursuing various hobbies and interests.

 

Stepping inside the front door, one immediately sees a long, curved antique hunt table with family photographs in the foyer, and a powder room featuring a leather pedimented door, gold oriental wallpaper and marble vanity. Another step reveals the living room, which features an enormous carved stone fireplace, many interesting pieces of furniture, and oil paintings of the husband's children painted by the artist Gloria Plevin. An antique tapestry hangs here as well; its motif is duplicated in the stained glass on the window.

 

The deep red dining room features the home's original chandelier made of glass beads. In one of those amusing quirks of older homes, a switch on one wall illuminates one part of the chandelier, and another switch on the opposite wall illuminates the rest! The remainder of the first floor includes a comfortable television room with leaded windows and tile floor, a morning room with a handpainted ceiling, and a new kitchen just completed this year. The adjoining bar features vintage labels on the walls and a mysterious window.

 

A beautifully carved staircase, with a built-in sconce shelf at the top, leads to the second floor, which includes lovely master and guest bedrooms and other rooms being used to pursue the owners' special interests. In the study off the master bedroom (which may originally have been a sewing room) there are Moravian Star light fixtures, original paneling and a beamed ceiling.

 

Walking out to the back yard is a feast for the senses. A large screened porch was added to the home (probably in the twenties) and provides airy space for dining and relaxing, as well as views of the beautiful gardens. The brick of what was originally an exterior wall lends an interesting textural quality. The owners have also worked their personal charm on the outdoor spaces, designing and maintaining the plantings all around the house themselves. They feature trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and bulbs. Special accents in the back garden include a pair of stone benches original to the home.