Apr 24, 2008

On the Market—Lake View's Painting Lady

Walk through the painted lady with owner Tracy Hurst. Click here for a larger version.

List Price: $1,850,000
The Property: The colorist behind this "painted lady"—a 120-year-old Queen Anne with 14 different hues of paint accentuating its intricately detailed exterior—is Tracy Hurst, Lake View's painting lady. Hurst, who has lived in the house since 1987 with her husband, Taylor, and their kids, painted the entire exterior herself over three summers in the late 1990s. She did a terrific job, bringing out the myriad waves, sunbursts, bristles, and pillars that decorate the façade and the home's fanciful three-story turret.

Inside, the Hursts have restored many of the house's original features, including the bull's-eye door and window moldings, the hefty baseboards, the pocket doors, and the stained glass. Where necessary, they have brought in replacements, including a fine Eastlake-style staircase banister and a dining room chandelier.

Even with all the attention to its history, the house doesn't have the air of a period piece. Instead, it feels like a home that has stayed vital since a cornice-maker named Best built the house, the street, and the surrounding subdivision back in the 1880s. There is a rooftop deck with views of the turret and the neighborhood, a very up-to-date master bath, a 12-year-old kitchen with a charming Portuguese tile backsplash, a second-floor laundry, and vibrant contemporary colors on the walls.

When the Hursts bought the three-story structure, it had been divided into three apartments. They combined the upper two apartments to make their ten-room home, and they still have a rental on the ground floor. The uppermost floor, where the bedrooms are, has low, sloping ceilings in the children's bathroom and in one bedroom, but that's how it is in these authentic old houses. With both their children grown, the Hursts now want a smaller home—maybe one whose exterior paint job won't keep Tracy up on scaffolding for three whole summers.

Price Points: In addition to the $1,450 monthly rent coming from the downstairs apartment, the property has another financial plus: a buildable side lot that is 25 feet wide (the standard). It currently provides an almost suburban expanse between the Hursts' house and their neighbors, but it could be sold for new construction—of which there's quite a bit on this short street. Lots in the area were going for as much as $800,000 during the building boom. They may be considerably lower now, but if the new buyer is in no rush to sell, that side lot could be like money saved for a rainy day.

Listing Agent: James Konold of Koenig & Strey GMAC, 773-360-3052; jkonold@ksgmac.com

Posted at 08:53 AM in On the Market | Permalink

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