This English Arts and Crafts Home Has a New Lease on Life
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Photography: Shoot2Sell
Cheerful, happy, bright, comfortable, warm, and avant-garde — these are the adjectives that belong to our Monday Morning Millionaire. It’s a delightful English Arts and Crafts, Pinterest-worthy home built in 1948 and located on what I think is the best block in Highland Park, between Armstrong Drive and Douglas Avenue at 4312 Beverly Drive.
When Courtney and Charlie Petit spotted this house a couple of years ago, they were instantly smitten. They’d already renovated their first home on Fairfax and were ready for a bit more room, and a new challenge.
This 5,027-square-foot English Arts and Crafts home is one of those that keeps being discovered by the right owners, who understand tearing down a house is seldom the best solution. It’s not often you see a house from this era not only surviving but also growing more lovely with each incarnation. It’s evident that every owner spent time and money on this home to ensure it would last because most houses from the 1940s are long gone. Although there have been prior renovations, the present owners went the distance, even raising the roofline to make the house more appealing.
“They love renovating, and are so good at it,” Allie Beth Allman listing agent Pete Livingston said. “They love the entire process and have a darned good eye.”
The formal living room two years ago!
“We did not want to see it torn down,” Courtney said. “We saw a great opportunity to preserve this home and make it a really happy and cheerful place again.”
The home has been designed for an active family, with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a powder bath, a three-car garage, guest quarters, and a pool. It’s built for easy living and entertaining. “It’s a warm home that people enjoy coming to,” Courtney said.
To create that warm feel, the Petits used a lot of dramatic wallpaper and unexpected color in their English Arts and Crafts home. “It needed some pop,” Courtney said.
The first pop you see is the Farrow & Ball Hauge Blue full gloss paint in the study.
“I follow the work of Miles Redd, a very avant-garde interior designer and he uses this color quite a bit,” Courtney said. That great color, along with the Stark wool leopard rug and bold Brunshwig & Fils draperies will put a smile on anyone’s face.
The dining room has been wrapped in Chinois Palais Lettuce wallpaper from Mary McDonald’s collection for Schumacher. “I wanted a sense of being outside, and having the eye go up and down, so it had a depth of space,” Courtney said.
Dining room before remodeling.
Amazing what a coat of paint can do!
The kitchen walls were opened up and custom cabinets installed, as well as a built-in banquette. An Italian ILVE stove in a bold cobalt blue breaks up the white.
The kitchen before renovation.
The Master bathroom also underwent a major reconstruction. The Petits added antique glass to create depth and character along with another fabulous wallpaper. Space was captured for a large second master closet by redesigning the hallway. The existing master closet got a coat of glossy black paint and a grass-cloth ceiling to make it cozy.
Master bedroom prior to transformation.
One of the original features in this English Arts and Crafts home is a very unusual square bathtub. The Petits had it enclosed in glass and added a shower. 
My personal favorite is the playroom. Whimsical Voutsa wallpaper makes it looks like the kids are playing in a giant’s garden.
The guest quarters over the garage has a beautiful view of the pool.
The pool slide is a favorite feature!
This house is complete, so it’s time for the next big adventure.
“I love preserving what’s pretty,” Courtney said. The family is ready to create another cheerful home, and I can’t wait to see the next transformation!
Livingston is offering this beautiful English Arts and Crafts home for $2.95 million.
Karen Eubank is the owner of Eubank Staging and Design. She has been an award-winning professional home stager and writer for over 25 years. She teaches the popular Staging to Sell class and is the creator of the online course, The Beginners Guide to Buying Wholesale. She loves dogs, international travel, history, white paint, champagne, artificial turf, and homes with personality. Her father was a spy, and she keeps secrets very well. Find Karen at www.eubankstaging.com.
