Cheryl Pratt basks in the front room’s natural light. It was one of the first things she noticed — and loved — about the house.
wife moved to a nursing home around 2004, she left the house as if she’d run out on an errand. “Her pantyhose were still hanging over the tub,” says Cheryl Pratt.
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utside, nature continued to pummel the home’s awnings and claw at the paint. A neighbor voluntarily mowed the weeds. The owner died in 2007, leaving the estate in legal limbo. Neighbors complained as the house deteriorated. The city condemned the property. Fix it up or we’ll tear it down — that was the choice. That’s when Preservation Greensboro stepped in, offering to find a buyer for the house and to attach protective covenants that future owners would have to abide by. A couple of yard sales later, the home was cleared out enough to include on the Fisher Park tour of homes in the spring of 2011. Tracy and Cheryl Pratt walked through. With one child out of the nest and another fixing to fly, they wanted to downsize from their Cape Cod home in Hamilton Lakes. They’d been looking at condos, town homes and lofts for a couple of years. Another home wasn’t high on the list. Especially a home like the one at 910 Magnolia Street. Inside, almost everything but the floors was painted white. Walls. Trim. Light fixtures. The metal door over the fireplace. The wooden mantel. The amber tiles around the fireplace. All white. The surfaces that weren’t white were covered with layers of wallpaper, which were shedding in strips. The kitchen and bathrooms had not been updated since the 1950s. The kitchen floor was damaged by water. Cats had left their marks. The electrical system was shot. So was the plumbing. The Pratts suspected the home was laced with lead and asbestos, and they were right. And yet. The three-bedroom, bath-and-a-half home was compact at just under 2,000 square feet. It had great form. And spectacular light. And beautiful trim. And heart-pine floors. And a tiny yard. The Art & Soul of Greensboro
A collector of glass and ceramic wares, Cheryl made sure there was plenty of shelf space to display her finds. June 2013
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