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The front door is original oak with a large central glass window which adds light to the front reception hall. This concern for light is related to the limited use of electricity when this home was built. Gas was generally available for interior lighting and electricity was sometimes limited to evening hours. Many homes had fixtures which were a combination of gas and electric. In the reception hall is a fireplace with a very small flue that was originally gas. The floors in this area and the living room and dining room are the original oak flooring. The staircase with straight spindles illustrates the beginning of craftsman design and a break from the Victorian past. The spindles form a kind of screen defining the hall space.
The living room has a front bay window for light and would have had a central ceiling fixture. All the oak woodwork is original in this part of the house; however, the moldings above the doors and windows may have been altered in an effort to modernize, since the originals probably had crown moldings. Between the living room and dining room is an unusual pocket door – a single wood panel that opens from the left. In the dining room is a custom designed fixture above the central table, which adds another craftsman element to the home.
From the front hall you can enter the kitchen, which has undergone a dramatic remodeling. When the current owners bought the home, it was covered in pink plastic tiles and had a linoleum floor. Efforts to removed the linoleum involved the replacement of the floor that continues into the addition. The cabinets are cherry with a dentil detail and the counter tops are granite. Note especially the cabinet that surrounds the refrigerator and the design of the work triangle with the cook top on the center counter. A pantry was also added on one wall of the kitchen to increase the available storage.
For an idea of how the original back of the house was built, look out the window to the house next door to the north. There was a small enclosed area that held a breakfast nook and then a small service porch.
The addition expanded the house across the full back and includes a new arrangement of the eating area, new full glass back doors and new windows with a fixed panel above to let in daylight, even when the shades are drawn. The kitchen opens into a family room or den with a fireplace and a full bath. Another feature of the room is the beautiful custom bookcases made to fit in the spaces available. This room has windows on three sides with small windows facing south. A door opens onto the deck, which was a part of the original remodeling plan.
The deck is large enough for a large table and seating. Stairs connect it to the yard, which has a brick area, raised beds and a cherry tree.