Photo credit Kyle Haines (unless otherwise noted)
Welcome to 133 City Park Avenue
Outdoor Living with and Ashley Lawson
Outdoor Living with and Ashley Lawson
Craig and I lived in the village for 18 years from 1985 to 2004, and always knew we would come back one day. We restored our first house for ourselves in 1985, and did it all DIY….and I still imagine how future homeowners must have laughed at us and cursed our crummy work. We did our first spec house in 1995 and had so much fun that Craig decided to turn it into his career, and ended up working on over 50 houses in the village, and continues to do so to this day.
When we decided to move back in 2015, we were hoping for a project…something that was different that anything else in the village, and that had a little elbow room. We looked at satellite images of the village to find “green spots” that we might not have known about, then called Marilyn V with a list….and it turns out that #1 on the list was available, quietly. It had not sold in 50 years, and we are only the 5th owners since it was platted in 187X. And the two buildings have always been owned together, along with what was the last undeveloped piece of land left in the village, the double back yards. Originally, we intended to keep the two buildings as rentals, and planned to build something new on the empty lots in the back, but after living on the property for two years we realized that we had the opportunity to do something really special if we kept it all together. And we were empty nestors but not interested in downsizing….we wanted room for our sons and family and friends to visit and stay in the future….we just wanted that room in GV! This property gave us that chance.
We conceived of a “compound” idea, with multiple buildings on the lot, looking like 3 separate houses from the outside, but connected discreetly toward the back of the cottages and via the yard. We also wanted to make sure that the carriage house on Lazelle read like a house from Lazelle….and not like a garage, but we thought it was important to maintain the street-like function of Lazelle and not turn our back to the street. As it turns out, the resulting auto-court is just the right size for impromptu pickleball and also to host our new village fundraising event, On the Bricks.
Photo from Susan and Ashley
Regarding the layout, the house just sort of came together naturally. We were focused, actually, on not doing too much to the original walls and fire places, so we worked with what was there to create spaces that made sense. We wanted easy access and site lines to the back yard and we entertain so wanted a centrally located kitchen. We don’t watch much TV and wanted a quiet space for watching occasionally, so we have a small TV room with a door in the front of the house that provides a sound barrier to busy Mohawk. We both work from home now, so we created dedicated offices for each of us, and we had one extra space left over, which became a handy gym, but could easily by transformed into something else as our lives change. One of the things we love about the house is the flexibility….the living room can be the dining room can be the sitting room can be a tv room can be whatever we need it to be as our lives change.
Photo from Susan and Ashley
Dining area on the back patio.
The back porch.
The gate and walkway to the backyard outside living area.
And the house was tested early on….we finished the major construction projects, which took 2 full years, and moved in in December 2019. Covid struck 3 months later, our sons moved home and the house provided room for all of us to live, work from home, work out, with privacy and then come together at night to enjoy cooking, puzzles, and games. It was perfect and the house passed the test with flying colors. We love living here, waking up and throwing open the doors to the backyard, enjoying coffee with the birds and the squirrels, and have the little oasis in the middle of the city, and then popping out the front door to walk all over the village.
We worked with a wonderful landscape designer, Sue Grant of Jacob Grant Design. We knew we wanted a small pool and privacy, and a kitchen garden. And we wanted easy maintenance, but we sort of blew that idea with the 17 hornbeams. The require constant trimming to keep them under control so consider hornbeams carefully!
Sidewalk on South Fourth Street, toward Schiller Park.
We were honored to have our home featured in the Wall Street Journal in November 2019.
In terms of the interiors, our taste is eclectic. Many of the things in the house are items that we’ve collected over the years. We did have to augment with a few new sofas, etc, but it’s amazing how little furniture we needed to buy. Much of the lighting is from Visual Comfort or Roll and Hill, and many things are vintage from Grandview Mercantile, which is a treasure trove of wonderful finds. Our favorite house shopping is for art, however, and it’s been a joy to have more wall space to enjoy works from both local and other artists. We have pieces from Laura Anderson, Christian Faur, and Ann Hamilton, all local artists. Our current favorites are sculptures and prints from a South African artist, Claudette Schreuders and an NYC-based artist Kira Nam Greene.
Our sons love ping-pong so that was an easy decision to include an outdoor ping-pong table.
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Jack and Max, rescues, who are both 6 years old.
We love taking the dogs for walks in Schiller Park and to the St. Mary’s Farmers Market. When it’s time to eat, we love Chapman Eats, Pistacia Vera, and Fox in the Snow.
We have made many great friends in the Village, and enjoy hosting themed dinner parties and playing competitive Eucre games.
We have made many great friends in the Village, and enjoy hosting themed dinner parties and playing competitive Eucre games.
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Read on for more information about the Bott Brothers and a bit of scandal!
http://pre-prowhiskeymen.blogspot.com/2014/10/billie-bott-escaped-from-behind-eight.html
GARDEN 133 Deshler Avenue ISSUE XXI
