6 minute read
A MID-CENTURY HOME FINDS NEW LIFE
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS you notice about John and Caroline Lott’s Waycross home is how attractive the front yard is. The lawn is lush, tall pines o er lots of shade, and hydrangea shrubs abound. If the hydrangeas are in bloom, as they often are, it’s downright eye-popping. When the Lotts bought the home from long-time owner Harriette Wainwright Higginson, they soon learned they had acquired a minor tourist attraction of sorts. “She was known for her yard,” Caroline says of Higginson. “People will pull over on the street, hop out of the car, go cut a hydrangea, and jump back in the car. We look at each other like, ‘Oh my gosh.’” John, a Waycross native, and Caroline were living in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina in 2017 when they learned the home was on the market. John was working as a sales rep for Simmons Bedding Company and was ready to move back home to join his family’s business, Lott’s Furniture. As Caroline recalls, “We were having brunch when a friend from Waycross, Leslie Cochran, who was visiting her sister in Mount Pleasant, walked by. She stopped and told us that Harriette was selling that house and that we needed to buy it. Days later, we went to see it.”
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Opposite Page: John and Caroline Lott’s home in the Cherokee Heights neighborhood
This Page, Top: John and Caroline Lott relax in the family room with Trout, their Boykin spaniel.
Above: Harriett Wainwright was known for her yard full of stunning hydrangeas. “I really don’t do anything to them, other than fertilize once a year,” Caroline Lott says. “They’re hearty plants.”
LOTT HOME
Above: The spacious family room, at the front of the house, allows lots of natural light. The co ee table was the fi rst piece of furniture John and Caroline bought as a couple. The sofa and the art above it are from Lott’s Furniture.
Top Left and Right: The billiards room is located behind the family room and looks out onto a large patio and a covered porch. The map of Cherokee Heights was a gift from former neighbors Philip and Tracy Saussy.
Above and Right: The dining room is situated between the kitchen and the family and billiards rooms. The contrasting wallpaper and drapes give the room color and depth. The heirloom photos of the children are by Pierce County photographer Brittany Jury. Caroline and John’s wedding invitations are displayed in mirrored frames.
With their infant son, Tripp, in tow, the Lotts moved into the Cherokee Heights home in October 2017. Their daughter, Mary Evelyn, was born a little over a year later, in February 2019. The neighborhood, with its low-key vibe and friendly neighbors, has been the ideal location to raise a family.
“It’s been a great fi ve years,” John says. “The neighborhood has a lot of character. We have awesome neighbors and we’ve had a lot of precious times with the kids.”
Some of those neighbors, it turned out, had a connection to the home. Annie and John Gibson originally owned the house, which was built in 1954-1955. The Gibsons’ grandson Mark now lives across the street and is friends with the Lotts.
“They all talk about this house, because they knew it so well,” Caroline says. “I recently hosted a baby shower and Mark’s mother, Dot, was over, and she said, ‘I met my in-laws in this house.’ We walked through it and she was pointing out things she remembered.”
Another neighborhood couple, Philip and Tracy Saussy,
On This Page: The children’s rooms are located on one side of the house and are separated by a bathroom.
Below and Top Right: Tripp’s room includes a print of ducks that was originally displayed in the home of Margaret Lott, John’s grandmother.
Bottom Center, Left and Right: Mary Evelyn’s room has softer tones and includes artwork by Teil Duncan. LOTT HOME
sold their house and showed up at the Lotts one day with a relic that had been in their home: A map of Cherokee Heights bearing the name of Daniel Lott, one of the founders of Waycross and John’s great-great-great grandfather.
“They had bought it at a yard sale,” Caroline says. “They said, ‘We think y’all should have this.’” The piece now hangs on a wall in their billiards room.
Other décor with sentimental value includes John and Caroline’s wedding invitations and photos of her maternal grandparents on their wedding day. A range of contemporary art by painters Teil Duncan, Windy O’Connor and Danielle Cather Cohen adorns walls throughout the home.
The Lotts added this hall bathroom near the kitchen. “I absolutely love the wallpaper and artwork in there,” Caroline says.
The Lotts have made a few updates along the way, including the addition of a hall bathroom and a kitchen update with a new sink, countertops and an island. Outside, they replaced a carport with a garage, installed a patio, and removed a driveway to create more backyard space for the children to play in.
There was one thing they made sure to preserve, however: Those well-known hydrangeas.
“We didn’t get rid of any,” Caroline says. “If we moved any, we replanted them.”
That decision surely is endorsed by neighborhood admirers. OL
Top: The kitchen was one of the spaces that was updated and now features new appliances, sink, and countertops. The island was added and the cabinets were painted.
Bottom: The Lotts added a two-car garage to replace an existing carport. They also added a brick patio next to the covered porch and removed a semi-circular driveway in the back of the house to create more of a backyard play space for Tripp and Mary Evelyn.
