413 N. Willow Ave.
See Gallery: Before, During, & After
The origins of this wonderful, approximately 2000 square-foot, three bedroom shingled cottage on a quiet, tree-lined avenue in the heart of Fayetteville’s historic Washington-Willow neighborhood date back to 1895. While it has late Victorian roots it also has design elements from both the colonial revival period and the arts and crafts movements of the early 20th century. Now, it is all new from top to bottom.
The white vinyl siding was removed and the exterior of the house completely covered with western red cedar shingles. All windows and doors were replaced, along with the entire exterior rebuilt. A dormer was added across the front. The front porch was integrated with the house and the roof ridge relocated to better incorporate the rear of the house. A new master bath addition was added, along with two new stone fireplaces (one see-through) and the entire floor plan reconfigured. The water line, sewer line, and 200-amp electric service are new, and there are new buried phone and cable TV lines as well. The yard is fully-sprinklered and Fescue-sodded. The floor plan of 413 N. Willow is designed for today’s living. The home has three bedrooms, each with its own bath, a large living room, dining room, library, kitchen with breakfast bar, and laundry room. There is also a small basement that contains a sump pump and super energy-efficient hybrid heating system with a compact, gas-fired boiler, 14-seer heat pump, and electrostatic air cleaner. The boiler also provides unlimited domestic hot water, though there is a stainless steel storage tank.
You enter the home through a bead board-ceiling, wood-columned covered porch with a transomed, solid mahogany front door featuring a cast iron mail slot and vintage doorbell. The 27 foot-wide living room features an Arkansas-stone fireplaced living room with French doors to a pergola-covered fieldstone side patio. The living room includes a built-in plasma screen high definition TV with surround sound system, electrical floor outlets, and multiple custom-built seed glass transom windows to adjacent library and patio. It also has built-in cabinets for the AV equipment, custom low bookcases, sconce lighting, twin ceiling fans, and a large central dormer with a 15-foot ceiling. The library off the living room is accessible through 6-panel solid wood pocket doors and it features built-in floor to ceiling bookcases and a good-sized coat closet that also accommodates the built-in modem and wireless router. It also has a massive, see through Arkansas fieldstone fireplace with gas starter, skylight, and extensive recessed lighting. Also off of the living room is the adjacent dining room with custom boxed and beamed ceiling, wainscoting, a massive see-through fieldstone fireplace shared with the library, and a custom built-in illuminated China cabinet. The dining room is open to the living room which allows for an expandable table that could accommodate a very large dinner party. Each fireplace has a massive solid cedar mantle.
The kitchen has entirely custom-made stained and painted wood cabinetry, vintage tile counters, extensive subway tile walls, stainless sink, 5-burner 36” professional series gas stove, illuminated 34-bottle wine cooler, stainless dishwasher, stainless counter depth refrigerator, and powerful stainless range hood vented to the outside. There’s a small island with seating for two, faux tin ceiling, and lots of custom open shelving.
All cabinets for the home were built on-site, and feature full-extension slides, all wood, stained and poly’d drawers and interiors, flush mount doors and drawers, hand-mortised hinges, extensive partitioning, and lead crystal knobs. The cabinetry alone took months for a lone craftsman to build. There is extensive use of can lights, and all of the other kitchen lighting came from Pottery Barn. The adjacent laundry room includes a stainless steel Sanyo front-load washer and dryer. It, too, has a faux tin ceiling, restaurant kitchen stainless steel laundry sink, and extensive built-in cabinetry and lighting.
There’s a bedroom off the living room with transom window and well-designed closet. It has a private entrance to the Jack and Jill bathroom also accessible from the dining area. This huge bath has mosaic tile floor, sanitary cove base, and subway tile walls. It also has a brand new cast iron claw foot tub with new, Victorian replica faucets. It has crown molding, a large pedestal sink, and toilet vestibule with whisper-quiet toilet.
The second bedroom is accessible from the library. It features a 10-foot plus ceiling, huge windows, and large closet, with additional cabinet storage above. It has its own small luxury bath, with new cast iron soaking tub, Kohler sink and American Standard faucets. It also has a stainless steel medicine cabinet and corner toilet, Pottery Barn lighting, large crown molding, corner shower rod, and mosaic tile floor with subway tile walls.
The Master bedroom is also accessed through the library. It has a door leading to a hall, with a large master closet featuring full built-ins on one side, and modern, exciting luxury bath on the other. The bath features two sinks, separate toilet room with pocket door, skylight and stainless steel wall phone, Jacuzzi tub, glass block window, dual sinks in a huge custom vanity, heated floor, and four-foot square clear glass shower. It has a mosaic tile floor with subway tile/glass tile walls, a full-width mirror, crown molding, and extensive Pottery Barn lighting. The master bedroom itself is 15 by 20, with a huge vaulted ceiling and stained French doors leading to the custom deck out back.
The cottage on Willow was photographed for Country Home Magazine and should appear in the summer of 2009.