A Thoroughly Modern Update to a Historic Lakewood Tudor

Oh, my goodness. This is exactly the sort of story I love, so grab that large cup of java and settle in because I have a tale to tell about a thoroughly modern update to a historic Lakewood Tudor.

If you have ever longed for a classic historic home, but just could not bear the thought of figuring out who to call, or enduring a remodel, have I got a house for you! Our Inwood Home of the Week is a historic Lakewood Tudor at 6627 Lakewood Boulevard. This beauty was built in 1925 and is within walking distance to Whole Foods and the Lakewood Country Club.

This three-story historic Lakewood Tudor was completely redesigned and rebuilt by Kienast Homes. Truth be told, when I spotted this interesting marriage of vintage and modern styles, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the whole concept. But I kept coming back to this house because it had all the exterior elements I love. In fact, I was trying to figure out what had been added or changed on the façade. Guess what? Other than painting, and changing the front door, absolutely nothing was done.

The interior is another story.

Randy Kienast, owner of Kienast Homes, was the man tasked with modernizing this historic beauty and dancing between old and new styles.

“Believe it or not, we did not move that much downstairs,” Kienast said. “There used to be a powder bath right in the middle, under the staircase, which helped hold up the second story. That is where it got tricky. We needed to open up the floor plan so we had to pull that powder bath out and we also did not want to tear out the original floors. So, in order to accomplish these things we brought in a substantial steel beam. When it was installed, it felt low, because our client was 6 feet 10 inches tall. We had to push the beam up into the ceiling and conceal it between the floors. It looks like a small drop down, but it is a 20-inch I beam!”

The major change was pushing out the back of this historic Lakewood Tudor to create the family room and kitchen we all want today. Every update you can think of and then some has been added to this historic Lakewood Tudor, from automated fireplaces to electric Hunter-Douglas shades.

The house now stands at 4,446 square feet with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a powder bath, and the property also offers the coveted guest quarters above the garage. Frankly, how anyone does without guest quarters is beyond me.

You can’t put a home like this on the market vacant and hope folks will understand the updates. Lisa Stapp, owner of Staged by Stapp, came to the rescue and staged it in her signature eclectic style, which is absolutely perfect for this historic Lakewood Tudor.

“When I walked in. I knew immediately this home needed a Jonathan Adler, Novogratz, eclectic modern funk style,” Stapp said. “It’s an old house but it’s for a young family. It needed to look young on the inside.”

This historic Lakewood Tudor was originally built by W.E. and Maymie Brown who lived in it until the early 1970s. Their granddaughter heard the home was on the market, contacted Allie Beth Allman agent Blair Hudson, and flew in from California a few weeks ago to see the home. She loved the changes, and that has to be the ultimate stamp of approval.

Hudson has this amazing home listed for $1.895 million.

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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. Karen teaches the popular Staging to Sell class and is the creator of the online course, The Beginners Guide to Buying Wholesale. Her love of dogs, international travel, history, white paint, champagne, artificial turf, and Tudor and Midcentury Modern homes, and any house designed by Clifford Hutsell knows no bounds. Her father was a spy, so she keeps secrets very well! Find Karen at www.eubankstaging.com