Abode: Creative, unique, local homes - March 2017

MAR. 2017

creative, unique, local homes

An Architect’s Dream Home DOWNTOWN’S LATEST NEW-FROMTHE-GROUND-UP BUILDING A SHOPPING QUEST FOR MIDCENTURY ARTIFACTS

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WELCOME

Photo by Chad Boeteger

table of contents

Photo by Tracy Jones

Welcome to Our Abode!

Abode is a home living and design magazine unlike any other in Knoxville.

It celebrates the area’s most unique houses—whether they’re floating, tiny, or something else entirely.

QUICK IDEAS

4 Locally Grown | Cool housewares and decor from Knoxville designers.

CONSUMER GUIDE

6 Vintage Shopping | Midcentury modern

furniture and decor can still be found in a number of local shops. | BY TRACY JONES

HOUSE TOURS

8 Contemporary Vision | An architect’s new home in Holston Hills demonstrates a fresh modern aesthetic. | BY TRACY JONES

EXTERIORS

Got a cool house Knoxville needs to see? A fascinating preservation project?

New ideas for sustainable living? Drop us a line at editor@knoxmercury.com.

12 A Secret Garden | Here are plants that are

East Tennessee-friendly, relatively low maintenance, and have maximum visual appeal. | BY TRACY JONES

And if you happen to own a home design or real estate-related business that

FOR SALE

needs to reach our audience of discerning consumers, let’s talk!

14 New View | Renovation gurus Kevin and

Melinda Grimac take on their first from-scratch project. | BY SHANNON CAREY

For information about advertising in Abode, contact us at: sales@knoxmercury.com or 865-313-2048.

Cover Photo by Chad Boetger Abode is a publication of the Knoxville Mercury ©2017 618 S. Gay St., Suite L2, Knoxville, Tenn. 37902 865-313-2059, knoxmercury.com

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MAR. 2017

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QUICK IDEAS

for the kitchen

Locally Made Goods Photo by Heather Anne Thomas, Beall and Thomas Photography.

Rustic Yet Modern Dinnerware Maryville potter Leanne McQueen snared a runner-up honor in Garden & Gun’s 2016 Made in the South Awards for her speckled dinnerware, which can be seen (and used) at J.C. Holdway downtown. “I strive for the work to be clean, classic, and timeless,” she says on her website.

This five-piece place setting is $190.

INFO: mcqueenpottery.com

Delightful Knoxville Poster Sarah and Ty Pattison create many lovely prints, cards, calendars, and more for sale at their downtown shop the Happy Envelope, but for the proud Knoxvillian there is a clear choice: the “Knoxville, TN” poster (from $40). It’s a veritable word cloud of all the things that make Knoxville a place to remember.

Stunning Handforged Knives John Phillips creates knives that are also works of art, with dazzlingly etched blades and beautiful wood handles. “Hard to believe a week ago this was a pile of scrap metal and some fi re wood…” he writes about one such piece on Instagram. You can fi nd his work online under the handle “sunset.ltd,” which is also the title of a Cormac McCarthy play. (Coincidence?)

INFO: instagram.com/sunset.ltd BUY (SOON): Sign up for his mailing list at grittyblades.com.

INFO: thehappyenvelope.com VISIT: 310 W. Jackson Ave.

Kitschy Dish Towels Julie Belcher’s Pioneer House on Gay Street may be known as Knoxville’s primary outlet for Western wear, but it also continues her tradition of down-home letterpress design. Here’s a dandy dish towel that any Southern cook can appreciate, screen-printed in a variety of colors at $15.

INFO: etsy.com/shop/PioneerHouse VISIT: 413 S. Gay St.

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MAR. 2017

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CONSUMER GUIDE

vintage shopping

Scouting for Mid-Century Modern Decor

BY TRACY JONES

T

“flea markets” make this a happening spot year-round, and the store maintains a waiting list for those looking for that piece from memory or dreams.

he yen for all things midcentury modern shows no signs of abating. Still fun and fresh, with sleek lines and bursts of color, it’s a style that unites everyone from Baby Boomers to Millennials. A wealth of choices at shops locally allow you to deck your abode out completely or add one or two conversation pieces to get the party started. We ventured from the streets of Bearden to the avenues of Happy Holler, from South Knoxville to Solway, to survey what midcentury modern treasures are on offer.

VINTAGE TREASURES

NOSTALGIA

5214 Homberg Dr., 865.584.0832 nostalgiamarket.com Entering Nostalgia at Homberg, you’re greeted by an Alice in Wonderland mannequin plopped onto an overstuffed 1970s couch; her friend the White Rabbit, in an adjoining room, is presiding over a sumptuous display of table- and glassware. The store’s cream-and-orange cat, Oscar, snoozes in a chair beside her. Treasures to be found on this day included a stunning period starburst clock, piles and heaps of colorful vintage kitchenware, and “vintique” (as Nostalgia describes itself) art in throwback colors.

Nostalgia is housed in a very roomy redbrick building by the train tracks in Bearden, off Homberg. (An East Knoxville outpost at 1401 McCalla was recently sold to new owners who’ve renamed it Red Brick Market.) Dozens of vendors house their wares here, but there is a definite aesthetic at work, and although the place is packed, it never feels cluttered or overwhelmed. Allow plenty of time for browsing and watch the shop’s Facebook and Instagram for sale updates. And don’t expect the cat to get up for you.

FOUR SEASONS VINTAGE

VINTAGE TREASURES

FOUR SEASONS VINTAGE

5710 Kingston Pike, Suite C, 865.247.4467 fourseasonsknoxville.com A pair of vintage tulip chairs reupholstered in Lily Pulitzer fabric beckon from the windows at Four Seasons’ prime location on Kingston Pike. It’s a wonder they don’t stop traffic. Inside the shop, where 40 dealers house their stuff, there are rambling corridors of vintage textiles, period jewelry, and curated ephemera A BODE

BARGAIN HUNTERS alongside unique art pieces, retro and novelty lighting, picturesque architectural salvage and much more. Gently worn or never-worn vintage clothing is a would-be Cinderella’s dream.

A sleek wood Drexel sideboard from the late 1950s was loaded down with pretty and delicate china (matching china cabinet available), while nearby shelves were stacked with functional novelty 1960s tableware in bright colors. Prices are nationally and locally competitive. Regular events and parking lot MAR. 2017

5710 Kingston Pike, Suite A, 865.247.5690 The immediate appeal of online shopping sites like eBay and Etsy was to reunite us with those forgotten treasures of our childhood. Although we still hit such sites (and almost all vintique vendors have an online presence), there is something about seeing a remembered piece in person that makes it irresistible.

For boomers in particular, the childhood nostalgia is strong here—on one chrome bar cart alone, Mom’s signature colorful Pyrex bowls nestled next to mugs representing TV cowboy Hopalong Cassidy (way before our time) and the Esso Tiger (same). Smaller than its neighboring store (Four Seasons, above), Vintage Treasures is absolutely packed with, well, treasures, including a Formica-topped occasional table in absolutely perfect condition, a working antique Westinghouse fan (priced a little out of budget), and a working 1960s candy bar machine (priced under market value).

Bookworms will also note carefully curated books arranged by subject matter (no small thing), with a deep selection of local history, including several titles by our own Jack Neely.

RETROSPECT

1112 N. Central St., 865.522.3511 When the wooden floors creak upon your entrance into Retrospect, and the employees greet you like you are family (after all, even if you don’t know them, you’re probably less

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CONSUMER GUIDE

RETRO SALVAGE

MID-MOD COLLECTIVE

MID-MOD COLLECTIVE than one degree of separation from someone they do know), you’ll feel more as though you are in someone’s home than in a retail store. That said, the thrill of the hunt is strong, and if you are a lover of beautiful and/or quirky things, this is the hangout for you. Space is maximized to allow different booths and vignettes with various themes, including racks of gorgeous vintage clothes and a “1950s” corner. We bravely ignored the siren call of a collection of 1970s and 1980s lunch boxes before a striking Chromecraft oval table, surrounded by swiveled, buttery chairs, absolutely floored us.

Other furniture finds that day included a pristine mid-mod table in flawless wood, with beautifully reupholstered fabric chairs, expandable to 8 feet and priced to sell.

Merchandise moves in and out quickly, and the shop has a passionate following on Facebook, so when you see something, grab it! It won’t be there long.

1621 N. Central St., 865.337.5575 midmodcollective.com If mid-mod had a local place of worship, this would be it. On what used to be the edge of Happy Holler, now in the middle of Hipster Central, a repurposed garage has been transformed into the area’s largest midcentury modern showroom. The dealer collective that runs the shop scores estate pieces from the area’s most prestigious personalities and addresses: A recent show-stopper was a custom sofa with built-in cabinetry, designed by a prominent late granddaddy of modern architecture, for his own home. Danish modern pieces sit comfortably beside space-age ’70s furniture that wouldn’t be out of place in a Roger Corman film. All pieces are in absolute top-notch condition, with a workshop on site. Besides the eye-catching big ticket items, there is a unique selection of Atomic Ranch-style knickknacks, limited-edition prints, funky glassware, and a wondrous bookstore, run by our friends at the Book Eddy, right in the middle of the action. Prepare to spend hours wandering this destination spot.

BARGAIN HUNTERS

4006 Chapman Highway, 865.240.4757 bargainhunterstn.com One of a chain of antique and flea markets across the state, Bargain Hunters holds 300 booths in the old Big Lots building at the corner of

Moody Avenue and Chapman Highway. Be aware that the vibe here is more shabby chic than industrial sleek, and although we did spy a beautiful piece of blond Heywood Wakefield shelving at a pretty good price, this is more the spot for accent pieces, including some fun 1970s department-store art and a nice selection of 1960s-era Pyrex and kitchenware. Those whose tastes run to the rustic will find booths with older selections of vintage farm equipment and antique kitchen implements. There’s also a selection of collectibles, including sports cards and science-fiction geek specials.

RETRO SALVAGE

8905 Oak Ridge Hwy, 865.250.1207 retrosalvage.com What you see in the cozy public showroom of Retro Salvage is just a portion of the inventory available—a glimpse through the window at the adjoining storefront shows many more statement pieces,

and a perusal through the shop’s website and social media posts reveals even more. The shop, in Solway (yes, Solway), is open only on Saturday and Sunday and by appointment, a unique way to separate the browsers from the serious buyers who know what they want or are looking to fill a home out completely. In the showroom, plastic tulip chairs sat next to 1950s bench sofas, while a trio of barstools labeled simply “really cool chairs” shone next to the window. A coveted starburst clock (it’s our thing, besides lunch boxes) reigned over a slim-lined Danish modern chest.

The inventory has been chosen with love and a discerning eye, and if Solway isn’t on your usual weekend outings, make it so. Leave time to stop next door to visit the mancave-friendly Junk Drunk, where prices are outrageously reasonable and the merchandise cheerfully displayed, and the newly opened Rustic Squirrel, home to all things home-welded and farmhouse chic. n

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HOUSE TOURS

modern

Modern Passion

Chad Boetger, director of design for BarberMcMurry Architects, builds his own dream house

BY TRACY JONES

C Photos by Chad Boetger

A BODE

had Boetger has star power.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee’s College of Architecture, class of 1997, he is the vice president, director of design at the 101-year-old BarberMcMurry Architects in Knoxville. In the last decade, he’s piled up numerous plaudits from the American Institute of Architects for his commercial and residential work. Now he has put his award-winning skills into practice on his family’s own new Holston Hills home.

“It’s every architect’s dream,” he says of designing his own family space.

The result is a two-story modernist gem on the Holston River.

The exterior is a statement in steel, glass, and cypress. Inside, the home features expansive views from each

MAR. 2017

of the living and guest spaces, with an open floor plan in the main living and dining area, an open-concept on the second floor, with the den and other rooms clustered around the open stairwell, and a complete orientation to the riverfront terrain. Built-ins and custom fi xtures make smart use of the home’s 2,800 square feet and carry its personality throughout.

Boetger says that his love for modernist architecture has become a passion/obsession. It began when he studied Frank Lloyd Wright in college and deepened as he learned more about the architects who influenced and were influenced by Wright. His wife, Carolyn, who is a graphic designer, is a more recent convert. Boetger teases that when they started dating, 15 years ago, her

HOUSE TOURS

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idea of a dream home was something sprawling and Italianate.

“Now she’s 100 percent on board and loving it,” he says.

Until recently, the two lived with their 6-year-old son in downtown Knoxville. They chose the 90-year-old Holston Hills neighborhood, just east of downtown on the Holston River, because it’s convenient to everything while still having a suburban, almost rural feel, with mature trees, large lots, and hills towering up over the community golf course or rolling down to the riverfront.

The neighborhood is rich in history, with a club house that was actually designed by Charles Barber, the founding architect of Boetger’s own firm. The neighborhood is also home to one of Knoxville’s most architecturally significant residences, a house built in 1943 by husbandand-wife architects Alfred and Jane

The Boetgers chose the 90-year-old Holston Hills neighborhood, just east of downtown on the Holston River, because it’s convenient to everything while still having a suburban, almost rural feel.

Clauss, who are also known for a modern enclave called “Little Switzerland” in South Knoxville.

Pointing out the stone and wood and glass structure, visible from the lawn of his own home, Boetger says, “It looks just as contemporary today as it did then.”

His love for the older homes in the area actually delayed his own building process for a bit. He and his wife had asked friends who lived there to keep an eye for a property that had both lawn and riverfront and was suitable for tear-down. A couple of places came open, but Boetger liked the houses too much to consign them to rubble. When A BODE

MAR. 2017

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HOUSE TOURS

In the great room, drawers and cabinets for an entertainment center recess into a roomy storage space under the stairwell. Pockets installed in the ceiling keep blinds up and out of the way.

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they found one that they didn’t grow attached to, they rented it out for a few years before doing demolishing it and starting construction on their own home about three years ago.

Johnson & Galyon, which he has worked with regularly, served as contractor. Boetger says he and Carolyn went through three designs for the home before their design matched their budget.

Their first decision was one of siting. Most of the neighborhood’s houses are uniformly closer to the road than the one the Boetgers have built. Although they wanted to place their own house closer to the river, Boetger says, “We wanted to respect that line established by the houses.”

His solution? A brick wall was constructed where the previous house sat, with a line of arborvitae behind it, each of which will grow to about 20 feet. Along the side of the property, landscaper Earthadelic MAR. 2017

has planted a line of young laurel trees. Eventually, Boetger says, the canopying effect of the privacy border will be such that the front lawn will be perceived as the first room of the house, with the idea of making the lines between inside and outside blend.

Inside the bright front entrance to the home, a gleaming white corridor—complemented by terrazzo flooring—leads to the open-plan living and kitchen area, where a floor-to-ceiling window frames a breathtaking view of the sheltering trees in the backyard and the grassy hillside down to the river.

Then there’s the picture-worthy body of water itself. All rooms for the immediate family are oriented with a view to the Holston—the master suite, which is off another downstairs corridor, the upstairs den/playroom and their son’s room.

Even when the family is driving into

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the carport, an exterior wall that might have blocked the river view has been foregone in favor of openness, so that there is a sort of “disappearing edge” effect toward the water.

The two guest rooms, off the second floor’s open stairwell, face the front lawn, where the views are also framed expertly. In every corridor, and at the top of the stairs, the journey terminates in a window.

“I pay attention to what you are seeing when you go down a hallway.

You don’t want to look at a wall,” Boetger says.

He’s created this eye to the outside even when a wall at the end of the corridor would have left more space in the adjacent room. That makes the smart use of space in the rooms themselves even more important.

“We’ve tried to maximize every nook and cranny,” Boetger says.

HOUSE TOURS

In the great room, drawers and cabinets for an entertainment center recess into a roomy storage space under the stairwell. Pockets installed in the ceiling keep blinds up and out of the way. Built-ins in the family room and their son’s room help corral clutter, as does a room-sized walk-in closet in the middle of the home. (In one of the home’s many nods to energy efficiency, the light shuts off when the closet door is closed.)

There are numerous custom touches throughout. Superior Kitchens created the cabinets and countertops, including a custom-made slot-style sink in the bath and his-and-hers slot style sinks in the master bath.

No detail is too small for Boetger’s professional eye: At the concrete base along the workroom/ bike storage area off of the carport, the lengths of the concrete planks A BODE

exactly echo the lengths of the planks in the cypress siding.

“It’s the kind of detail no one else will ever notice,” Boetger says.

“But I’ll know.” n MAR. 2017

All rooms for the immediate family are oriented with a view to the Holston— the master suite, which is off another downstairs corridor, the upstairs den/ playroom and their son’s room.

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EXTERIORS

landscaping

A Secret Garden

BY TRACY JONES

W

ith enough effort and constant vigilance, anyone can have a perfect emerald lawn. But how much more fun would it be to have a secret garden? As a teenager Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of the beloved children’s book The Secret Garden, went from a city life that featured one tree on a sooty street to the wild and abundant flora of East Tennessee. What she found here was magic: “Then the green things began to show buds and the buds began to unfurl and show color, every shade of blue, every shade of purple, every tint and hue of crimson.”

So what would we put in our own secret garden? Looking for plants that are East Tennessee-friendly, relatively low maintenance, and with maximum visual appeal, here are a few of our picks.

Visit your locally owned landscape and garden supply store, or take a trip to the University of Tennessee’s incredible demonstration gardens for more ideas.

A FAMILIAR BEAUTY In colors that befit the sweetest of Crayon boxes, numerous species of iris grow ridiculously well in East Tennessee, so much so that any

A SHOWSTOPPER Roses, of course, are the Queen Bee of the floral world. While our unpredictable climate (put that mildly) and sometimes-challenging soil conditions mean that roses aren’t the first choice for the novice gardener, Stanley’s Greenhouse—a hometown favorite since 1955—is a particularly good resource for locally appropriate roses and the gardening knowledge that goes with them. Varieties of the pretty peony, celebrated flower of art and legend, can also be cultivated in your East Tennessee garden—just make sure you pay close attention to notes about ideal temperature and sunlight exposure.

thinkstock

AT LEAST ONE SPECTACULAR FLOWERING TREE Like our favorite dogwood, the eastern redbud, with its showy pink blossoms, is a breathtaking harbinger of early spring, and different cultivars have different sizes to fit in a variety of landscapes. In its “best of” 2015 plant report, the University of Tennessee Extension office spotlights a newer crape myrtle, the Red Rooster, with fire-red blooms that unfurl a little later than most of our flowering trees.

good companion plant to other choices for your garden. The East Tennessee Hosta Society sponsors meetings, garden tours and a plant sale each year to introduce you to these lovelies; visit easttnhostasociety.com for info.

gardener friend who has them almost certainly has some she can dig out and share with you. Oakes Daylilies in Corryton sponsors a festival each June to introduce established gardeners and newbies to the hundreds of varieties of the A BODE

daylily, another sweet Southern blossom.

A PERENNIAL FAVORITE If you’re looking for a shade-tolerant plant, consider the hosta, a favorite of East Tennessee gardeners and a MAR. 2017

A FRIEND TO OTHER CREATURES Let’s talk birds, bees, and butterflies: Some of our most beautiful— and easily cultivated—plants are also important food sources for the above. Swamp milkweed, easily established in local gardens, is a vital plant for the monarch butterfly. The state’s official wildflower, the maypop (or passion flower), hosts other butterfly species, as does the quirky, colorful echinacea.

Trumpet honeysuckle, a gorgeous riot of red and pink, is a favorite of hummingbirds. n A secret garden needs exotic visitors.

The state’s official wildflower, the maypop (or passion flower), hosts butterfly species, as does the quirky, colorful echinacea.

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FOR SALE

downtown

New View Renovation gurus Melinda and Kevin Grimac take on their first from-scratch project: a mixed-use building for downtown

BY SHA NNON CAREY

K

cool.

In the 1990s, they bought and renovated 135 South Gay St., the current home of Sugar Mama’s Bakery. Other renovation projects followed, including the Arcade Building where they have made their home since 2013.

But now they’re branching out of their comfort zone with a new project, this time building from scratch on a parking lot at 107 Commerce Avenue, on the north side of Marble Alley. All new construction, this four-story mixed-use building will have a modern look and feel tailor-made for a selective clientele.

“It was basically me listening to my high-end clients and building their wish list,” Melinda says.

“There are several very nice properties available downtown, but to get all the wish list in one, that is why we decided to do this project.”

That wish list includes features like on-site parking, on-site climate-controlled storage, gas cooking, tall ceilings, expansive windows in every room, a private elevator and plenty of private outdoor space. Plans aren’t fi nalized yet, but the Grimacs are looking at high-end fi nishes like heated floors and Touch20 kitchen fi xtures.

“We are going for a fresh, sleek, contemporary look,” Melinda says.

“We are in a pre-sale format, and it’s buzzing already. At this point, if (the buyers) are early enough, they’ll have a lot of leeway for some customization. In my mind, I envision working with each individual client.”

The location is fairly central to all downtown Knoxville has to offer.

Renderings by ForK Design

evin and Melinda Grimac were investing in downtown Knoxville long before it was

It’s convenient to the dog park, Gay Street and Market Square, and interstate access is close by.

The building will have commercial space on the ground floor and residential space above. Melinda A BODE

says they already have a potential commercial tenant interested in the fi rst two floors, but she declined to say who at this time.

As for the residential units, Melinda says she’s not catering to an MAR. 2017

Located across from Marble Alley at 107 Commerce Ave., Melinda and Kevin Grimac’s new multi-use building will occupy what’s currently a parking lot.

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age-based demographic, but a client with specific tastes.

“Ironically, the age range of who I think will buy, it’s probably got a 40-year range in there,” she says. “They have the means to buy something nice, and this is what it will be. These buyers are not in a hurry to come downtown, and they’re going to wait until they get what they want.”

The project’s architect is Forrest Kirkpatrick of forK design, a one-man operation who recently designed Tennessee Valley Bicycles on Magnolia. The Grimacs chose to go with him after seeing his work on a Keller Building (106 West Summit Hill Dr.) unit that Melinda said was “ahead of its time.”

“He did the design and woodworking,” Melinda says. “It was his craftsmanship, I was really impressed with that, and a fresh design. He’s been a real pleasure to work with.”

Building new instead of renovating has its own blessings

and curses. While the Grimacs haven’t broken ground at 107 Commerce Ave. yet, and are still gathering bids for the construction, Melinda can already identify some differences in the process.

“Each type of project is going to have its own set of suprises,” she says. “I think the cost of building from scratch has been our fi rst surprise. I think the new construction building costs are actually borderline prohibitive downtown.”

But, building from the ground up gives the opportunity to do things right.

“We can design this property to where every room has a window.

That’s nice. We can design it to have fiber in it right off the bat, and we don’t have to retrofit. It’s all wellplanned and clean, and you know where it is. You can do all of your security systems before they close up the walls. Everything is right there and how you need it,” Melinda says.

There’s another force driving

FOR SALE

the Grimacs’ choices, too. They want to be good neighbors and build for the betterment of downtown Knoxville. They made sure the building would be parking-neutral and wouldn’t encroach on the back of the nearby Keller Building.

“By code we could have built it corner to corner,” Melinda says. “But we don’t want to do that to Knoxville. We don’t want to build it and make money and run. We want to build something that fits in and helps the neighborhood. It will be nice for our tenants and nice for the Keller Building. It needs to be a win-win.”

The property is owned by the Grimacs through their company La Corona Fine Properties and exclusively marketed by Melinda Grimac through Alliance Sotheby’s International Realty. For information, visit melindagrimac.alliancesothebysrealty.com.

Ed. Note: The Mercury’s office is located in the Arcade Building, one of the Grimacs’ properties. ■

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