Home offers Victorian look, contemporary living
Some prospective homebuyers hear alarm bells when a house is described as “unusual.”
This Victorian-looking home shaded under a tree canopy is hardly run-ofthe-mill, especially so deep into the Memphis suburbs.
But turn off the alarms; unusual is good at 9250 Riveredge Drive in Cordova.
It’s unusual in a good way that the four-bedroom house has been owned by only one family, Steve and Kathleen Sullivan, who built it in 1989.
It’s unusual in a good way that Steve, who studied engineering at Notre Dame and flew planes for the Air Force five years and for FedEx more than 30 years,
designed the home himself under the oversight of a licensed architect.
It’s unusual in a good way that in Steve’s pursuit of excellence he visited the construction site daily. He sometimes made the builders rip things down and redo them, but always brought them beer on Friday afternoons.
The Sullivans have remained just as meticulous about maintenance; the two-story house practically gleams.
And it’s unusual in a good way that the house has two personalities, especially for anyone who shares the Sullivans’ fondness of the Victorian look.
The home’s exterior has four turrets, scalloped cedar siding, wrap-around porch and decorative trim.
But instead of a choppy, Victorian interior of small, dark rooms, the inside has open spaces, some soaring ceilings — the den and foyer ceiling is 22 feet high — and ample natural light.
“While living here in Memphis our dream was to build a house,” Kathleen said. “We wanted a Victorian home. We used to live near San Francisco and would go into the city and see all the painted lady houses and that was our dream — to build a Victorian house.”
Colorado calling
The Sullivans are leaving their dream home for two main reasons: to be nearer their son who lives in Denver and to get Steve, who loves to ski, closer to the slopes.
Nature’s soundscape
The house sits on a wooded, 2-acre, corner lot in Riveredge Estates. The Wolf River runs a mile or so to the south and there are few bridges in the area. The limited access enhances the seclusion and explains why, even at midmorning, birds and insects provide the soundscape instead of traffic.
At night, the natural sound is so big that Steve calls it a “symphony of crickets and frogs.”
Cynthia Johnson, a broker with CryeLeike Realty and the listing agent for the house, describes the lot as “absolutely breathtaking.”
“The house is most unique for Memphis,” she said. “I think it’s very well cared for and in excellent condition. And a great floor plan. It’s open.
“Even though it was built in 1989, it has nice family or guest areas that would be good for entertaining or just family gatherings.”
Workmanship
Even 29 years later, the Sullivans talk in admiring tones about their builder who embraced the Victorian design so much that he sold the Sullivans many of the antique fireplace mantels, sinks and other pieces. The builder had salvaged the antique components from old Midtown homes over the years.
And he found craftsmen to build the fine mahogany woodwork like the big, L-shaped bar in the den and the detailing in the library.
“There’s a lot of quality workmanship in the house,” Johnson said. “They paid a lot for custom woodworking and features you don’t get unless you pay special attention to detail.”
Oasis in back
At the rear of the house, you look upon a leafy backyard that slopes down and is so invitingly lush that the house frames it with five levels of access.
There’s the air-conditioned sunroom with its antique, tin ceiling. Then comes the screened-in outside porch where the Sullivans typically eat breakfast and dinner. Next is a large, tiered wood deck. Then comes the main event: The asymmetrical, in-ground pool. And beyond the pool are steps and a boardwalk leading to a gazebo outfitted with a hammock and ceiling fan.
FedEx bedroom
Steve had been a FedEx pilot for 15 years by the time they built the house. In those early years, he would set his wake-up alarm for 1:30 a.m. in time to arrive at the airport by 2:30 and take off at 3:30.
The routine was tough on Kathleen, who was often awakened by the commotion of his getting ready. “In our old houses, I’d always wake up and then couldn’t get back to bed,” she recalled.
So they built her dream home, literally. He designed the master bedroom suite so that when he arose, he stepped through a door into a separate area housing his walk-in closet and the master bathroom.
“When he showed the architect the plans, the architect said, ‘Oh, that’s a FedEx bedroom,’ ” Kathleen recalled. “We said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘So the pilots can leave in the middle of the night and not disturb their wives.’ ”
Steve said of such master bedroom suites, “We have noticed in newer homes a lot are doing this.”