3467 Lori Lane

3467 Lori Lane - 2014.12.23

• Build Date: 1963
  
• NorthcrestModern: Style 11 - Eichleresque
• Street: Lori Lane
  
• Development: Northcrest
  
• Building Type: Split-Level
• Building Style: Eichleresque
• Historic District: Contributing

I wrote this in 2005 I think (at some point I'll revise it):

This house is a particular favorite of mine - I guess it should be as I am now the proud owner and resident. my girlfriend (now wife!) and I moved into the neighborhood in 1998 (our first home was 3401 Thornewood Drive, near the front (western) edge of the neighborhood). We looked for several months before accidentally finding our original Northcrest home on Thornewood, with the intent to stay there once found. Our current Lori Lane residence came about by chance (as is often the case). We walk through the neighborhood several times a week for exercise - the many hills and long streets make for a fairly decent 2-3 mile power-walk. While traveling through the neighborhood, luck would have it that we spotted this house on Lori Lane - we began to alter our walks to incorporate Lori Lane as one of our streets. We would often "ooh" and "ahhh" as we walked past, and got to know the previous owners, Bill and Jerry, through passing conversations about the house and their various landscaping flora. We also got to know them both through various neighborhood meetings (they both attended the Neighborhood Watch and other meetings). Unfortunately Jerry's earlier bout with cancer returned to consume him in 2001, with Bill's life ending shortly thereafter - they will be missed.

We got to know Jerry's nephew Ty as the executor of the estate, and fortunately we were able to convince him that Bill and Jerry's former house was very important to us. I think he truly felt that he was selling the house to the right people in my girlfriend and myself, that we both cared and understood the house and environs, and that we would pay homage to the 35 years that his uncle and partner spent here together as a couple. It has been both our good fortune and quest to preserve the house and restore it to a newer, livable condition. We moved in during the summer of 2002 and have spent each passing year upgrading systems and attending to cleaning and renewing without destroying (so easy to do in this Home Depot-ed world).

The house has several unusual features for the neighborhood, there isn't another in the area quite like it. Originally built for Sam and Patricia Evans and released to them in January 1964 by P & H Homes, Inc (the Mortgage note is signed by H. R. Hardrath - Pres. who may be the "H" in P & H Homes) for a sum of $32,000. The house sits in the middle of about a half acre lot with numerous white oak, poplar, hickory and dogwood trees in a woodland setting. The lot slopes from left to right down hill providing elevation for the basement. The house is often called the "butterfly house" by older neighbors referring to the roof (actually a butterfly and a half) forming the "V" shape of butterfly wings. The house is entirely wrapped in local "Cherokee Marble" - actually a white granite mined in North Georgia (it contains too much mica to be called a true marble). Prominent exterior features are the roof, stone cladding and clerestory windows reaching the beamed, tongue-and-groove ceiling. The original front door never had a path to the street, and was comprised of solid two-foot french-style doors with a side light. Ball lighting illuminates each house corner plus the peaks above both the front door and back dining room window.

The inside is very unusual as well. The house is actually a three-bedroom, two bath Ranch with a full basement. The main living areas are huge with additional elevation provided by a sunk-in effect in the living, dining and kitchen area - accessible by two steps. The highest point in the ceiling is over thirteen feet in the air running through the living and dining rooms and forming support for the ball lights above the front door and rear dining room floor-to-ceiling glass. A demising wall separates the living area from the kitchen and dining areas, faced with brick towards the living room and topped with a Northcrest trademark - an aerial planter (which originally had skylights above, now removed). A living area which overlooks the main living room surrounds a brick fireplace and wall with original walnut carpeting. Cove lighting wraps two walls surrounding a counter that overlooks the kitchen, providing a cloaca for the exterior door to the carport, steps to the basement and kitchen access via steps downward. Another planter tops the wall leading downward to the basement, along with an oriental gate protecting the stairs. All areas were originally carpeted.

The opposite side of the house provides sleeping areas and bathrooms. Both bathrooms are adjacent and run from hallway to back wall. The main bath is done in black tile with pink sinks in a black tiled countertop and chrome fixtures. The master bath is done in gold tile with gold fixtures and features a ball light above the commode. The original steam bath exists but is not in use as an additional shower was added at some point. Both bathrooms are accessed through pocket-doors. The hall features an original George Nelson ball light and large Nutone three-chime doorbell. Of the two front bedrooms, one has been converted into an office and features an original Scandinavian wall sconce in blown glass and teak. Both bedrooms have floor-to-ceiling closets lined on two sides with cedar, which appears to be original. The master bedroom was extended rearward through an addition added during the 80's, blowing out the room through the original sliding glass to an exterior deck. The master is now 330 square feet with a large walk-in closet and exterior access through a wide sliding glass door to a small external deck, ninety degrees to the back of the building. We added hardwoods to the bedroom and replaced all the trim early in our possession of the house, with the intent to place hardwoods throughout the upstairs at some point.

The basement features a floating staircase to access a finished area clad in walnut paneling. An additional door provides access to the unfinished basement, which extends the length of the house and includes laundry and system access. An original external door now opens into a workshop provided by the bedroom addition with exterior access to the back yard. The total square footage of the house is about 5000 square feet including the basement, with about 2800 square feet of finished living area.

The house was built with some oriental design motif in mind. There are also other obvious idiosyncrasies, such as the use of threes and combinations of three: three planters (by the front door, carport door and demising wall); three sliding glass doors (carport access, kitchen access and master bedroom); light fixture groupings (living room, kitchen, dining counter, all track lighting). An original Nutone intercom and stereo pumps music to all rooms in the house with intercom access to the front door. The very large carport has room for two large cars/trucks, a third may be parked with some back-and-forth action between posts.

The yard is heavily planted with every manner of flora, concentrating on shade tolerant varieties. The exterior pebble-textured concrete patio is bordered by a large concrete planter full of bulb plants. The entire yard is filled with masses of hydrangea, azalea and camellia.

3467 Lori Lane - 2005.04.02

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