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Painstaking renovation blends additions with original 1828 dwelling
By Kevin Cowan, News-Sentinel photos by Saul Young News-Sentinel style writer
Before Mike and Nancy Huddleston's Greenback residence became a family jewel, it was a diamond in the rough.
"It was completely overgrown," said Nancy. "There were so many trees. We didn't even know there was water near it, because it was so covered up."
What the brush blanketed was an 1800's Federal-style brick box ravaged by time.
"It was an old-fashioned two-rooms-up-two-rooms-down," Mike said. "By the time we found it the porch had fallen. It didn't have any indoor plumbing, and light bulbs were hanging in the center of the rooms. It was pretty bad.
"The guy who sold it to us didn't think it was repairable. He said to knock it down."
The Huddlestons had other plans. They sold their comfortable Maryville home and transformed the hobbled house into a home. The couple restored the structure and added to it, increasing its square footage from 1,200 to about 6,000.
"It has been a long three-year process," said Mike, and an expensive one. More than $1.5 million has been spent on the endeavor.
"I had to deal with Mike trying to keep me on a budget," Nancy said. "I don't think I did very well. ...When you're going for that special, handcrafted look, it's not cheap. You're not just buying something because it's on sale. We really hunted for the right thing."
Moses Hughes, a brick mason from Virginia, built the original part of the home. It had a central passage floor plan, which was a dominant architectural style in Tennessee the first half the 1800s. The plan incorporated a central hallway, which has one or two rooms on either side of it.
The brick exterior was done in the Flemish bond design, where bricks alternately run lengthwise and widthwise. Some of the handmade bricks are indented with the fingernail prints of workers. Just below the shaker roof, light-colored bricks are laid at an angle to create a triangular design or Queen Anne's lace. The home's two additions incorporate both of the techniques. Five colors of brick were used to match the shades of the original brick. The house's pyramid chimneys are reminiscent of antebellum-Virginia architecture.
At the east end of the home is the older portion. The covered front porch is now a screened-in area. Above is a walkout with wrought-iron railing that offers scenic views.
The original front door offers entry off the sunroom. Inside, a den is on the right side of the hallway. A Duncan Phyfe sofa, purchased by Nancy when she was just 16, is wrapped in an animal tapestry. The room's restacked fireplace was used for cooking back in the day. At the foot of the fireplace are bricks with animal's footprints. Above it, mirrored sconces reflect Huddlestons' efforts to use authentic fixtures.
According to Kay Brooks, a Greenback descendant of the Hughes family, the home was a stop on the Underground Railroad, which led slaves to freedom in the North. Allegedly a space in front of the fireplace served as a hiding place for fleeing slaves.
"In front of the fireplace, the floorboards had been cut in a square, so you could put a rug over it," Mike explained. "Underneath the boards was dirt, but it had been dug out. It was enough room for three or four people to hide there."
On the opposite side of the den is an office for Mike, who runs an advertising agency, and a bathroom. A narrow staircase leads to two guest bedrooms filled with antiques.
In one of the bedrooms are two large closets, which are uncharacteristic in 174-year-old homes. "They were probably added in the late-1800s," Mike theorized. The room is painted in rich mustard yellow with white trim.
"We tried to research the colors and use only historical colors," Nancy explained. "When you sanded down the walls you could actually see the layers of paint they used."
The dining room is the highlight of the home's center addition. Formerly the kitchen (before another add-on), the space boasts pieces from Europe. Eight studded leather chairs were imported from England, and a large iron French address plate with the number 1-8-2-8 commemorates the year the home was erected. Boar's-head sconces, a pair of Nancy's Internet finds, are interesting touches. Above the dining room is a loft area made with railing from the original walkout.
The second addition includes a master bedroom and bath, quarters for two teens -- Ryan, 17, and Emmeline, 14 - a kitchen and living room.
"We had an English cabinetmaker make all the cabinetry," Nancy said. "He did a fabulous job distressing everything."
Wormed-wood panels on the refrigerator continue the worn look, as does the island made from wood from an old cantilevered barn. Wood from the structure was also used for some of the home's flooring. Matte-finish marble countertops are rustic alternatives to modern materials.
"In old houses you didn't have granite," Nancy pointed out. "So we went with marble."
Off the kitchen is a pantry with a colorful stained-glass window from an 1800's church in Nova Scotia. An identical piece graces the shower in the master bath.
The spacious living room is a comfortable area with more antiques including an Eastlake secretary and an ornate Belgian chest.
In addition to the main house is a guest cottage, which was formerly the caretakers' home. It too has been completely renovated. The Huddlestons' 21-year-old, Nolin, hangs out there when he is home from college.
The reworking of the home has been an educational experience for the couple. It also has been a quite a challenge, but it could have been worse.
"The saving grace of this old house is that it never got shag carpeting or Linoleum," Nancy said. "It never got updated. All the bones were truly still here."
Kevin Cowan can be reached at 342-6426 or cowan@knews.com.
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