Nestled among the Prairies and Tudors near Lakewood Country Club is 6671 Gaston Ave, a home built in 1952 that has more of a Southern feel than its neighbors. Listing agent Chris Hickman attributes that to a surfeit of sweeping porches, patios, and magnolia trees. It’s comfortable enough for quiet everyday living, and large enough to entertain hundreds of people inside and out.
“In all of our minds, we have this idea of how we might design a house if we have the opportunity to design it to have a grand party,” Hickman says. “This is how you would design it.”
The current owners moved in 20 years ago. They slowly inserted their own personality into the home, fixing it up to accommodate their love of entertaining and hosting. While they made little changes over the years, says Hickman, most of the major changes come courtesy two big renovation projects.
About a decade ago, the owners transformed the backyard. They redid the grounds, built a custom greenhouse, and installed a long lap pool. They also wanted a “luxurious guest house” for friends and family to stay in. So they built a 1,000-square-foot house with vaulted ceilings, a full kitchen, study, living room, bedroom, and large windows that overlook the pool. “It truly feels like you’re at a resort with the guest house, pool, hot tub, fountain, and the greenhouse,” Hickman says.
Two years ago, they redid the downstairs. They had updated the kitchen before, but the space took center stage during this renovation. The owners gutted and redid the floors, counters, cabinets, and the nearby bathroom. They installed a wet bar and a lounge area. They opened the floorplan and added walls of windows and doors to the home’s outdoor entertaining spaces. The owners love hosting parties, Hickman says, and this way allowed for an easy indoor-outdoor flow from the kitchen.
The owners have installed Lutron lighting throughout the home and have hung lights from the trees and patios outside. “The lighting in this house is insane,” Hickman says. The house also has surround sound. And, “the lighting, the air conditioning, the music, everything is all controlled with an app on your phone.”
Hickman loves the renovations because the owners planned each one to fit their lifestyles at different points in time. Unlike new constructions or flips, they didn’t think about costs or earning their money back in a future sale. “They really put in every little detail that they wanted,” he says. “Over the 20 years, [they] have just layered on all these wonderful things that now have created this incredible environment.”
Scroll through the gallery to see what that looks like.
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