Many a week, it truly is a wrench to find inspiration to write or find a special listing worthy of attention. And then some lucky weeks, a property so unique comes to market that, not to write about it, would be a grave sin of omission.
Set back from the street in lush and tended landscape at the end of a circular drive, the house looks, well, small. The deeply saturated blue, slightly quirky front of this Byers Avenue home presents to the street, foreshadows something distinctive, but hardly prepares the visitor for the exuberant extravagance within.
The front foyer is of a scale and and grandeur that would be lavish for a house five times the 1,800-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath house. The term “bijou abode” applies to the jewel-toned palette of the foyer, a deep crimson red, the perfect backdrop for the picture gallery. The peaked coffered ceiling in slate blue adds further richness.
A floor plan is included among the listing photographs, and for good reason. The floor plan is sui generis and among the most unusual I have encountered.
The living space essentially consists of two separate pavilions. The spine of the first is that ravishing gallery that leads to the primary bedroom at back with a library and sitting room entered on the right side. The 1956 build date is almost irrelevant since so much of the house has been completely reworked.
The kitchen is a tad snug but has a spacious gas range and cabinetry to the ceiling. The sense of space is enhanced by a barrel-vaulted ceiling and French windows with views of the back.
How grand is the primary bedroom? Grand enough to handily house a sitting area, bureau, and chair and — wait for it — a grand piano.
The setting for all of this is a a masterfully executed interior architecture that evokes the apex of 18th Century English design — the work of fabled designer Joe Minton whom we’ve encountered before. I was grateful to be a guest when Minton received a lifetime achievement award from the Texas Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art in 2017, and this sumptuous room is a perfect exemplar of how thoroughly the maestro has absorbed the classical past and made it fresh and relevant.
The private en suite bath has a monochrome palette comprised of gray paint and black and white marble. The twin lavatories are under-mounted to a single slab of Carrara marble. The slipper tub is placed behind the shower stall in front of a large window. Beyond is a large closet with a packing table and an ideally placed washer/dryer.
The second bedroom is in the back pavilion. The walls are of a delicious verdigris boiserie.
The second building has a small kitchenette. It bears keeping in mind that we are dealing with structures of approximately 800 square feet. Grandeur is achieved by fewer rooms of imposing scale — a trade-off I could happily accept.
The two buildings are linked by a verdant court with under pergola patios with brick paving reminiscent of old New Orleans.
Susanna Gorski Bartolomei of Williams Trew Real Estate has priced 5516 Byers Avenue at $800,000.
