What comes to mind when you hear the words “charming” and “storybook”? A Tudor of course.
This Greenland Hills home fits the bill on every front, but it’s definitely not your grandma’s Tudor. It’s a hip mix of Southampton meets the south of France. Built in 1928, 5223 Merrimac Avenue is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage oozing with charm at every turn. In fact, it’s a curated marvel that is photo-ready for the next Ralph Lauren advertising campaign. If you do some sleuthing, like we always do, you’ll figure out that the Ralph Lauren connection is spot on. Can you tell who has been living the charmed life in this adorable abode?
You’ll have to be your own Sherlock Holmes because our lips are sealed. Just know this $599,000 beauty, listed by Becky Frey of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty has all the requisite features you look for in a home of this era. It’s also benefited from the taste and style of a master when it came to renovations and updates. No, it’s not one of Ralph’s kids and like I said, we’re not telling.
Any tasteful Tudor-lover will be enchanted from the moment they gaze into what have to be the most amazingly chic stained glass windows ever created. You know the theory that the house is sold in 15 seconds after walking through the front door? Well, I give this one five. The beamed ceilings had my heart skipping a beat and the Spanish Eclectic stucco fireplace embellished with tile is a work of art.
Wander out of the living room into the hall to find the two spacious bedrooms. They look to be painted in either Restoration Hardware’s Mineral or Ralph Lauren’s Brimfield but chime in if you have a better guess, because it’s a perfect gray.
Everyone knows you cannot have a Tudor without at least one original bathroom. Really what’s the point? Those tile colors were inspired in the ‘20s and they hold their style today. No worries, there’s another updated bathroom that is flawless.
Head back to the living room and step through an arched opening with inset bookshelves into the dining room, which looks as if it’s been painted with milk chocolate from Parisian chocolatier Patrick Roger. I love a dining room that is not pretending to be three different things but is simply used for elegant dining.
The dining room opens right into a huge kitchen and family room area. The kitchen has all the sleek, modern, professional appliances you could want, but has retained the character of the home. I can’t figure out what was added, incorporated or changed because it’s done so well, but this is going to be where everyone hangs out. It’s a great party space and if you have the luxury of working back here under that groovy giant Restoration Hardware 1940’s Architect’s Boom Sconce, you can have that screenplay done in no time.
Throw open the French doors to the lovely patio, step right into the pool and float your cares away. Honestly, we could not imagine a better ending to this storybook Tudor. Could you?
