Its past, an English Tudor built around 1926
Its present, undergoing major renovation
Its hopeful future for a 60 something couple
This blog begins with a meet and greet! Meet an English Tudor home located on Harvard Ave., currently under major renovation. Annie Schwemmer, architect and co-owner of Renovation Design Group and Joan Hammond (that’s me!), one of the owners of this classic Tudor, greet you…… our readers! We each have a specific role for this blog. Annie, the architect, will be the technical writer in which she will explain, illustrate and update the technical aspects of this renovation. I will cover the nontechnical details including our vision, goals, discoveries and the many choices we will make during this process.
This blog will be appealing to anyone thinking about, or currently doing, a renovation of an older home or cottage. As this Tudor “do-over” progresses, its name will be determined by the personality it develops. It will become our last home before rattling around in some assisted living place, one that allows aperitifs.
First, a bit of history about a charming subdivision in Salt Lake City, UT. Known as Normandie Heights, this small quadrant of homes dates back to roughy 1925. In 2007, the Yalecrest neighborhood, in which Normandie Heights quietly resides, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The exact location of Normandie Heights includes homes from 1300 East to 1500 East including Laird Ave., Princeton Ave., and Harvard Ave., as well as Laird Circle, Uintah Circle and Normandy Circle.
During WWI, Americans stationed abroad experienced various European locations. Many became smitten with English Tudors, French Normans, and Period Revival cottages, typical of time frames and styles of their family roots. Upon returning to the U.S., some Americans sought to recreate European World charm but with New World comforts in their homes. Thus, Normandie Heights in Salt Lake City was developed with homes built between 1925-1935. Marketers described this quaint area as one of distinction in their endeavors when the Salt Lake Tribune described it as “above the din of traffic and surroundings of permanent, protected attractiveness. (Salt Lake Tribune ads, Developer brochures as presented by the UT Heritage Foundation Historic Homes Tour 2000). This “permanent, protected attractiveness” remains today. Original owners in this area could afford superior exterior facades as well as high end materials. Many homes in this area still have multiple pane windows, leaded glass accents, chimneys made of brick or stone and accented with copper, large amounts of timbering details, and stucco walls. To this day, Normandie Heights is known as a uniquely charming and quiet area, an area deserving of protection when restoring or renovating these dwellings.
So, how is it the owners came to buy and begin the renovation of this Tudor with Annie Schwemmer, our architect, Russell & Co, our contractor and their amazing crews, and Emily Foxley our interior designer? Well, this has a story of its own…a story I will begin to tell next time.
This entry was written by the home owner Joan Hammond