Lawrence homes special section (03/22/2020)

SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2020

L A W R E NC E

Journal-World

®

TAKE A LOOK INSIDE SOME interesting • elegant • unique • bold • cozy • classy • historic • funky • modern • eclectic • cool • well-loved

LAWRENCE

Journal-World File Photos

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cozy bungalow in East Lawrence.

A sevenlevel midcentury home on the west side. A modern abode with dozens and dozens of windows. A couple of

houses that are more than a century old.

Those are just a few of the interesting homes whose stories the Journal-World has told recently.

Here’s a look at some of the houses

around Lawrence that Journal-World reporters have stepped inside. If you have a suggestion for the Journal-World’s regular homes feature, you can email news@ljworld.com.

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Sunday, March 22, 2020

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Sleek, modern East Lawrence home has 54 windows

he home of Tami and Mike Nevels in the 1100 block of New York Street has plenty of natural light — in total, it has 54 windows.

Sixteen of those form one of the focal points of the Nevels’ home: a large window well around the stairwell in the house’s southwest corner. The home’s designer, David Clemente, told the Journal-World that the window well “killed two birds with one stone” by illuminating both the main floor and the basement.

Next to the entrance, the main floor of the home also includes a large, open living room with higher ceilings, as well as doors leading to an office room and a half bathroom.

Clemente said he used different heights of ceilings throughout the main floor of the home to break up the home’s outline and make the most of the small amount of space on the lot.

We love our home.”

— Tami Nevels, homeowner

There are a few more windows in the vertical space between the two roofs to provide more natural light in the main floor of the house.

Tami Nevels told the Journal-World she enjoys the home’s multilevel roof, noting that some neighbors who have visited the house have assumed it has a second floor.

The home also features an outdoor lounge area with a fireplace, as well as a detached garage with an apartment above it for guests.

Altogether, the simple, sleek home offers exactly what the Nevels want out of a house.

“We love our home,” Tami Nevels said.

Journal-World File Photos

ABOVE: THE NEVELS’ HOME IN THE 1100 BLOCK OF NEW YORK STREET features a stairstepped look.

LEFT: Mike Nevels adjusts the shade on one of the windows in the large window well in the house’s southwest corner.

The window well includes 16 of the home’s 54 windows.

Couple fell in love with cozy bungalow at first sight risten Allen and Jake Bellucci fell in love with their 1920s bungalow on New Hampshire Street at first sight. Allen said they bought the house about 48 hours after seeing it for the first time.

On the outside, the craftsman-style home sports a low-pitched roof and a front porch that runs the width of the house.

Wood and stone columns

Journal-World File Photos

RIGHT: KRISTEN ALLEN AND JAKE BELLUCCI pose in front of their bungalow. ABOVE: Bellucci uses this space as an office.

give a sense of a much earlier time. But inside, there’s a modern feel. The open space flows from the living room and dining area through to the kitchen with its contemporary appliances and white marble counters and backsplash.

The house has two bedrooms and bathrooms on the main floor. Upstairs is a window-lined sleeping porch, which Bellucci uses as an office.

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Sunday, March 22, 2020

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Midcentury home with ‘lovely bones’ gets new life

Journal-World File Photo

THE MIDCENTURY HOME OF GORDIE SAILORS AND PAULA KELLOGG features a meandering floor plan with seven levels.

he home at 1051 Wellington Road, built by a University of Kansas art instructor in 1960, was falling apart by the time Gordie Sailors and Paula Kellogg bought it in 2015.

“We walked in, and it was moldy; it had been overtaken with critters and was not livable,” Sailors told the Journal-World.

“But we knew it had lovely bones,” Kellogg said.

Kellogg appreciated that it wasn’t a cookie-cutter house.

Built on two lots and threequarters of an acre in west Lawrence, the house has seven levels. The meandering floor plan makes it easy for first-time guests to get lost.

During the renovation, Sailors and Kellogg had to make major repairs to the ceiling, which had significant termite damage. They also had to replace the electrical systems, the heating and air, the windows and the siding.

(Sailors salvaged the original

It’s like any renovation project with a house that has been ignored.

You don’t know what you are going to find.”

— Gordie Sailors, homeowner

redwood siding from the outside of the house and repurposed it as the living room ceiling.)

“It’s like any renovation project with a house that has been ignored,” Sailors said.

“You don’t know what you are going to find.”

But all their hard work resulted in a space that’s great for entertaining.

“We can do crowds,” Kellogg said. In the past few years they have hosted 90 people for Thanksgiving and almost 100 for a birthday party.

Old meets new in 19th-century limestone house he home of Lindsey and Kyle Weiland at 1327 New Hampshire St. was built sometime prior to 1870 with a simple two-story layout, and the Weilands kept that history in mind when renovating it.

Today, the home’s focal point is the exposed limestone wall separating the dining room and the kitchen on the first floor and the master bedroom from the hallway

on the second floor. Lindsey said the limestone wall is her favorite part of the house.

The Weilands also renovated the kitchen into a mix of modern and classic, using new quartz countertops and a farmhouse-style sink.

“We were trying to be a kind of traditional but new,” Lindsey said.

As an extra old-fashioned touch, the Weilands used light fixtures with Edisonstyle lightbulbs.

Journal-World File Photos

LEFT: THE WEILANDS’ HOME was built in the late 19th century. ABOVE: An exposed limestone wall in the master bedroom.

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Sunday, March 22, 2020

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Newer home has old-school style — and a Southern touch he tall white house at 1616 Massachusetts St. can fool some into believing it’s an older, remodeled home.

But in reality, a couple recently dreamed it up on a blank sheet of paper.

Brad and Cailan Silva found the vacant lot on Lawrence’s main thoroughfare in 2016, and it didn’t take long for them to start planning their dream home.

“We started daydreaming,” Cailan said. “If we had that lot, what would we build?”

They wanted lots of windows and eventually settled on a style that evoked a contemporary Kansas farmhouse.

But the house also has some more unusual touches that you wouldn’t find in a historic property in Kansas. Take, for instance, the green front door, which actually opens onto an outdoor living space that isn’t visible from the street.

The Silvas, who are from Louisiana, told the

We started daydreaming. If we had that lot, what would we build?”

— Cailan Silva, who designed the house at 1616 Massachusetts St. with Brad Silva

Journal-World that this feature — known as a hospitality door — is more familiar in the South, where courtyards are more common.

However, despite the effort the Silvas put into creating the home, they had to move on from it in 2019, when Brad’s job took them away from Lawrence. According to real estate transfers filed at the Douglas County Clerk’s Office, the home was sold in April 2019.

In February 2019, the couple told the Journal-World it would be hard to leave.

“It’s home,” Brad said.

“We value this a lot. It’s hard to give it up.”

Journal-World File Photo

BRAD AND CAILAN SILVA designed the house at 1616 Massachusetts St.

Historic home’s craftsmanship still evident after 150 years he cottage at 1117 Connecticut St. is about 150 years old, but Warren Hays and Melody Stratton say it’s holding up just fine.

“It’s very well put together and structurally sound,” said Hays, who described the limestone cottage’s style as early pioneer vernacular. The home’s walls are 22 inches thick, and two iron bolts run the length of the ceiling, reinforcing the structure.

Journal-World File Photos

RIGHT: WARREN HAYS AND MELODY STRATTON show off a picture of their cottage. ABOVE: The modern-style kitchen has a metal ceiling.

Hays and Stratton did quite a bit of research on the home’s past after they bought it in 2015, and they say it’s a good example of what simple working-class homes of early Lawrence would have looked like.

Until you step inside, that is. Stratton said the house was originally one room, but it’s since picked up some additions, including a modern kitchen with a vaulted metal ceiling.

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Sunday, March 22, 2020

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Monthslong renovation project saved a neglected home Journal-World File Photo

THE LIVING ROOM OF THE HOME is connected to an office area.

I Journal-World File Photo

SUMMER AND NATE WEDERMYER DID EXTENSIVE WORK to renovate the 1912 house at 646 Rhode Island St.

n 2012, when Summer and Nate Wedermyer purchased the house at 646 Rhode Island St., it was in such bad shape that friends asked if they were going to tear it down.

“We never thought of tearing it down,” Summer said.

Instead, the couple took the 1912 vernacular-style house and began a nine-month renovation project, making it functional for today’s living.

They replaced the floors and the kitchen and turned an empty basement into a cozy living space. But they kept a lot of the house’s historic touches. An old garage door became a sliding door between the laundry room and a hallway off the kitchen.

A 1940s-style refrigerator, which was the only thing left in the house when they took possession, has been restored and is used in the basement.

North Lawrence home is full of family history

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arvin and Kathy Pine have become curators of what appears to be a living history museum. It’s also their home.

The home on the edge of North Lawrence is filled with a collection of heirlooms from several generations.

The Pines live surrounded by things that once belonged to Marvin’s grandparents, including a sewing chair and sewing machine. The piano

and walls are covered with photos of faces from the past, plus the family today.

The dining room is filled with furniture Marvin’s grandparents bought as newlyweds.

Marvin and Kathy still have a receipt for the large oak table and six chairs, which cost $15.

“We hold on to anything family or history,” Kathy said.

“We are the only ones who seemed to care about the past.

That’s why we ended up with the furniture and the house.”

Journal-World File Photos

LEFT: MARVIN AND KATHY PINE pose outside of their home. ABOVE: This cabinet once belonged to Marvin Pine’s grandparents.

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Sunday, March 22, 2020

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19th-century home a good fit for Busker Fest organizer

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ichard Renner thinks he and his home at 408 Indiana St. are an ideal match for each other — and for Lawrence’s Pinckney neighborhood.

Renner owns the Vodvill Entertainment Company, a talent agency for variety acts that organizes the quirky Busker Fest in downtown Lawrence every year. His livelihood may be unusual, but Renner has found a lot of kindred spirits living nearby.

“I juggle, ride a unicycle — the kinds of things you see at the Busker Fest,” he said. “There are a lot of artists and musicians living in the neighborhood. The house has a beautiful wraparound front porch. It’s been the site of many beer and wine parties for my artist and musician friends.”

The house dates back to 1863, and Renner said it was originally divided into many smaller rooms. But when a previous owner renovated it in the 1990s, they opened up the ground floor by removing most of the walls and

Journal-World File Photo

RICHARD RENNER’S HOME AT 408 INDIANA ST. features a large, open living room and dining area. installing large archways in the load-bearing walls that remained.

Renner modified that a bit by closing off one area to create a study/library with more privacy. He also decided to

more clearly demarcate the ground-floor open space.

“One thing I did to give different spaces better definition was paint walls different colors and mix and match wallpaper,” he said.

One of the things that appealed to Renner about the house was its location near the Kansas River. Although trees obscure Renner’s view of the river, he said he regularly walks to the river and

Burcham Park with his dog.

The house has several eyecatching exterior features, as well, including a graffiti mural on the garage door and a sculpture made of wine bottles.

Hard work pays off for owner of historic cottage

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Journal-World File Photos

RIGHT: ANNE UNDERWOOD’S 19TH-CENTURY COTTAGE required a lot of renovations. ABOVE: Underwood relaxes by the garden shed.

nne Underwood’s 1893 house gets a lot of compliments, but it’s required a lot of hard work to get it that way.

Underwood purchased the 19th-century cottage for $89,000, but then “had horrible buyer’s remorse.” She quickly realized that she had purchased a money pit that needed everything from a new roof to new plumbing, rewiring and insulation. The house was once divided into two apartments,

which complicated the project even more But Underwood has grown to love the house over the years, she said. It now has several outdoor patio areas and a garden shed. And there’s still work to be done, but it’s a lot more enjoyable now — when the Journal-World spoke to Underwood in June 2019, she and her partner, Rodney Troth, were trying to replicate the original filigree for the roof.