Renovations to Make it Their Own
Alexandra Farmer and Michael Hughes met in October 2020 and began dating. At the time they were each renting their respective apartments in Downtown Memphis. In 2022 they became engaged and moved in together. In October 2023 they were married.
Michael is a Postdoctoral Fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital researching how water and proteins interact in the cell. He also makes digital art related to his scientific research. In fact, the couple has a lot of his artwork hanging in their house.
Alexandra is a former attorney who now does research, writing, and special projects with nonprofits. She is currently working on The Company You Keep project, a nonprofit organization that aims to raise awareness about members of Congress who consistently vote against things that the average American supports.
When Alexandra and Michael were ready to have a home of their own, they contacted Leigh Martin, a real estate agent with Hobson Realtors.
“Our families knew each other and my mom connected us,” said Alexandra. “Michael and I had decided that we wanted to live in a very walkable neighborhood. Also we wanted a home with charm and enough space for us to have a home office/art studio for Michael and enough room for our blended family of four cats.”
Leigh took the couple to tour three properties. Like the saying goes, “Third time’s a charm.”
“Working with Leigh was a great experience. She had a great depth of knowledge about the various neighborhoods, as well as the local market trends,” recalled Alexandra. “Also, Leigh was a straight shooter, telling us the truth about different issues that she spotted in the houses we toured. When we found this house,
she was immediately on the ball and helped us successfully navigate through a bidding war.”
The newlyweds found a home that checked off all their boxes. It was a painted brick bungalow, c. 1901, in Midtown in the Cooper-young neighborhood. They paid $225,000 for approximately 1,100 square feet of living space. The home offered them two bedrooms and one bathroom. The bathroom had been updated by a previous owner. And true to its style, the home had a wide front porch spanning the front of the house.
“What really sold us on this house was that it came with a separate guest house/studio with its own bathroom,” said Alexandra. “And there’s a small, efficiency kitchen, too. It’s great for Michael and perfect for when we have guests and visiting family.”
Indeed, their new home afforded Alexandra and Michael more space. It also surrounded them with the charm of living in a venerable neighborhood filled with homes in a variety of turnof-the-century architectural styles and mature trees.
“Since we moved in, we’ve been involved with renovations,” said Michael. “We’ve painted every room, as well as the exterior. Also, we’ve refinished the hardwood floors. We’ve gutted the kitchen and remodeled it. We rebuilt the kitchen from the ground up, from the foundation. We wanted to make it close to an original style, not too modern. We chose a gray and white porcelain flooring in a checkerboard pattern, simple wooden cabinets that we painted a very dark shade of blue, stainless steel appliances and a stainless steel kitchen hood. The countertops are black granite and the backsplash is a white marble. Outside we’ve added new garden spaces and planted an Autumn Blaze maple tree in the front yard.”
“It is a joy to own our first home,” said Alexandra. “And we love our chosen neighborhood. We have very nice neighbors and our street traffic is not very busy. Plus, we live in a very walkable area, close to restaurants, bars and shops.”