H O M E A N D R E A L E S TAT E
Modern Meets
Traditional Southern Colonial home combines elegance with comfort By Kamala Kirk
W
Photos by Chris Mortenson
Since 1996, Margaret and Ed Tom have lived in their Southern Colonial home, which is walking distance to The Huntington Library.
hen Ed and Margaret Tom were ready to start a family years ago, they were debating between buying a home in Beverly Hills, where Ed worked at the time, or San Marino. “I first came to San Marino when I was 12 years old, and our neighbor brought us to The Huntington Library,” Ed says. “I fell in love with San Marino and thought it would be great if one day I could live there. Margaret used to be a teacher, and when she and I were debating between Beverly Hills and San Marino, we decided to go with San Marino because it is ranked among the top public school districts in Southern California. Education is very important to us, and we wanted the best schools for our children.” During a vacation to Louisiana, Ed and Margaret spent time in New Orleans and Shreveport, where they admired the beautiful Southern Colonial homes. Knowing there were only a few of those types of homes in San Marino, they spent two years searching until they found the right house. “We didn’t want a cookiecutter home,” Ed says. “When this house became available in 1996, we knew it was our house. We can walk to The Huntington Library from here, and it’s quite magical.” Built in 1928, the home’s entryway features a characteristic colonnade extending across the front with elegant Corinthian columns. It has an expansive front lawn with tall elm trees and a brick path that leads up to the red front door. Like traditional Colonial homes, the multipaned windows are symmetrically placed across the front of the home. “What’s interesting about this home is that the exterior is Southern Colonial, but in the back, where a previous owner added onto the house, it looks more like a Cape Cod-style house,” Ed points out. “The elm trees in front of our house change colors throughout the seasons, so even though we live in Southern California, it gives off that East Coast feeling.” The home, which is just under 3,200 square feet, has a spacious interior that includes a formal living room where the Toms love to entertain guests. Among the living room’s centerpieces are a piano that was a gift from Margaret’s father and a fireplace made from 17th
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