home sold itself to Burns family

House markets unique features, easy access to Tulsa

Allison Burns wasn’t initially sold on the house at 2704 Shelby Circle, but was when she saw the home.

“We were planning on doing a new build,” she said. “And it just kept getting pushed back and pushed back. So we just kept an eye on the market to see what popped up, and this popped up.

“I looked at the pictures and said, ‘That’s really nice. So I had my husband go look at it. I said, ‘If you like it, make an offer on it.’ I usually trust his opinion on it.”

The five-bedroom, two-bath house ticked off enough boxes that she and her husband Larry purchased the property.

By ronn roWland • Photos submitted by Betty BlacKWell

“One thing we like is that our son’s bedroom is located right next to ours,” she said. “If there’s a problem, we don’t have to go to the other side of the house.”

She also enjoys the fact that there are separate walk-in closets in the master suite.

“He has one and I have one,” Burns said. “That way there’s no complaining about storage space.”

The Burnses purchased the home in

September 2021 after looking in other areas to live.

“I was working for Cherokee Nation and wanted to live close to Tahlequah,” she said. “I was working in the medical field and wanted to remain close to there. But when my husband saw the house, he said, ‘Just take a look.’ That’s all it took.”

Upon entering the home from the front, there is a wide entryway with bedrooms and a master bath off to the left, but proceeding forward must be done with caution.

The living room is sunken, and the dark wood floors hide the step down.

“That’s why I have the sign right at the step,” Burns said. “I have it on a chalkboard, and I change the warning seasonally.”

Once in the living room, you notice how white everything is…it helps with the natural light that comes into the area from the sliding glass doors leading out to the backyard.

ABOVE: A sunken living room allows for plenty of entertaining space or family down time.

LEFT: A curved wall in the living room provides ample distribution of warmth from the fireplace.

ABOVE: The person preparing meals can look out the window to see what the weather’s like.

BELOW: The galley kitchen offers plenty of storage space and ample room for more that one person in the kitchen.

A cute little breakfast nook just off the kitchen allows plenty of natural light through the bay window.

“It was that way when we moved in,” she said. “We haven’t changed a thing.”

One unusual feature about the living room is that the hearth of the fireplace is curved. The ceiling is vaulted, but not equally.

“The unevenness doesn’t matter,” Burns said. “The vaulted ceilings still keep the room cool in the summer.”

When it comes to the location, Burns can’t express enough positive features about the neighborhood.

“The neighborhood’s so quiet,” she said. “And it’s really easy access to Tulsa. I mean Broken Arrow’s 35 minutes, and that’s really nice. We’ve never felt unsafe and we’ve felt comfortable outside.”

The kitchen has an island that sits flush with the step down of the living room. Burns says that’s no problem.

“It’s great for entertaining,” she said. “The stools have to be a little taller than most, but that’s really not a problem.”

There is a small laundry room right next to the kitchen, then two steps down there’s a workout room with a window that looks out onto the front yard.

Burns said all the appliances, except for the washer and dryer, came with the house. They purchased the washer and dryer from Lowe’s.

The backyard is very spacious with a swimming pool and plenty of yard space for animals to run around. There is a two-car driveway that leads to the front of the house and another driveway into the backyard in which access can be closed off with a privacy fence gate.

The Burnses put the house on the market in September and are renting a property in McAlester. Both she and her husband work for Caring Hands in McAlester.

One of the reasons they decided to move was family.

“My family’s down that way,” she said. “That’s a lot closer to my siblings, so it’s more convenient in that way. When we originally moved up here, my husband’s mom and his sisters live up in Joplin — so this split the distance.”

While looking around the house, one might think the Burnses did a little upgrading.

“We left everything the same,” she said.