5641 SW Menefee

Back in 2007, when this 1959 custom-built barrel-vaulted home came on the market in the hills of Terwilliger Heights, I walked around the property hoping that whoever bought the property would give it the attention it so badly needed. It felt drab and depressing, despite it’s potential seemingly so easily within grasp. Thankfully the current owners did have just the right vision to re-work elements of the floor plan and give it the updates it so richly deserved.

On the main level they opened up the great room a little more, by taking out the U staircase and replacing it with straight custom stairs with mahogany rails . They took out the fireplace, removing an ugly blemish to an otherwise unobstructed wall of double-high windows. They gave the kitchen a 21st-century face lift and knocked through to the main floor bedroom, allowing the dining room to breath and providing a secondary seating area.

Upstairs, the sellers kept the master suite intact but made up for the loss of the main floor bedroom by re-working the floor plan and in doing so allowed all three bedrooms to be on the same level. This was achieved, if memory serves me correctly, by borrowing some square footage from an oversized bathroom and possibly the second bedroom. In doing so this upper level enjoys a more welcome sleeping environment for a family, something very much missing from the previous floor plan.

Open-plan living has become such an important factor in many people’s home searches these days. Undoubtedly it has its rewards and I’m quite a devotee. That said, it’s equally important in my mind, to have somewhere to escape to when you need some alone time. You don’t want the only alternative to the great room to be your bedroom, and vice-versa. Fortunately one of the great delights of this house is that there is not just one space to steal away to, but two!

Off both the upper and lower decks, and detached from the main house, there are smaller rooms to hide yourself away in. A meditation/yoga/writing room sits off from the front door and is a simple, somewhat private and peaceful space whose one wall of floor-to-ceiling windows look out into the treetops. Tucked away off the lower deck is a lovely self-contained guest-house and studio. Strategically placed windows and skylights fill the space with light but carefully protect your privacy. Where once a tired hot-tub sat, it now steps up into an open guest room complete with full bathroom and kitchenette. In addition to the two rooms there is a 300+ sqft bonus room on the lower level of the main house that could be turned into living space.

There’s much to love about this house and without question credit must go to the owners for putting a warm arm around this splendid piece of architecture and breathing new life into it. With all their efforts, they have well and truly put this house back on the map.

Priced at $895,000.

This listing SOLD for $872,000.

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