A World Apart in Yorkshire
Shelby, Andy and Poppy Daily previously lived in Midtown and did not plan on leaving that part of town. “Our family just needed more space and ideally wanted to live on a street that was more family friendly,” explained Shelby. “Specifically, we were hoping to find a street with less traffic so our daughter Poppy, 3, could ride her bike and play with friends.”
In addition to looking for a location that offered a quiet, family friendly street, the couple also wanted a more spacious home. They hoped to find a home with enough space that they could have a playroom
for Poppy, as well as a home office since Shelby works remotely. She is the Director, Content at Frontdoor, Inc. and Andy is a Professor of History at University of Memphis.
“We had to do a lot of work on our previous home,” recalled Andy. “That said, we really wanted our new home to be something where we could move in and focus on the fun things like decorating and making it our own versus dealing with big projects and updates.”
Shelby and Andy contacted Shelly Rainwater, a real estate agent with Ware Jones Realtors.
“Shelly was amazing, both as an agent and a person,” said Shelby “Our dear friends, Ashley and Strat Parrott recommended her to us. They worked with Shelly when they bought their new home a few years ago and had nothing but great things to say about her. She definitely lived up to the glowing recommendation by making the process so easy for us. Shelly helped us sell our former home, managed all of the moving parts and inspections, and then helped us find our new home. The whole process was seamless.”
“Plus, Shelly knows everyone,” added Andy. “She has built a deep list of trusted contacts. Whenever we needed a specific expert or service, she knew the perfect person for the job, which was a lifesaver. We can’t recommend Shelly enough. She was wonderful to work with.”
Shelly took the couple to see approximately 12 properties. Most of them were in Midtown because the Dailys really didn’t want to leave that area. “There
was a home in East Memphis that I kept coming back to and looking at on a local website. I really didn’t imagine us living in East Memphis, so we looked at it on a whim, and knew it was our house right away.”
The house that checked all of the boxes was a Cape Cod-style house in the Yorkshire neighborhood. It had more space, including room for a playroom, a renovated kitchen and renovated bathrooms, and was located on a quiet street with plenty of children nearby for the family friendly feel they were looking to find.
The Dailys paid $475,000 for approximately 3,000 square feet of living space. The home, c. 1957, offered them four bedrooms and three bathrooms.
“Although the home had Cape Cod styling on the outside, it had a great mid-century modern feel to it on the inside,” said Shelby. “The kitchen had been renovated and had white cabinets with dark granite countertops and backsplash. That color scheme had been reversed on the island in the center of the room. And the kitchen opened to a room we truly loved, a sunken den. The den had original terrazzo flooring and a big fireplace that spanned an entire wall. That layout meant it would
be easy to be cooking in the kitchen and still keep an eye on Poppy, or feel engaged in other family activities. It is really a perfect setup for entertaining.”
When asked if there were things about their new home that they planned to change, Andy said, “There’s plenty of landscaping we plan to do.” They also eventually would like to move Poppy’s bedroom upstairs where the playroom is currently, so they anticipate the need to redo that room and bathroom at some point in future.
They enjoy the quietness of the area. Andy also added, “We also have space and a better layout for entertaining, and our neighbors are wonderful. Several neighbors have become fast friends.”
Shelby added, “I’m mainly looking forward to picking out paint colors and wallpaper, and having fun decorating. We wanted this house to feel like our forever home.”
“The houses in our area are unique, each one feels special,” continued Shelby. “Plus, we have lots of gorgeous, mature trees. Our house feels like it is set back in the woods. Overall, you feel like you’re outside the hustle and bustle of the city, but you are actually still so close to all of the key amenities. It’s a great neighborhood for kids because everyone really creates holiday magic on Halloween and at Christmas. And year-round, we have a great neighborhood committee that hosts gatherings with food trucks. Everyone has been so welcoming — it’s just been amazing.”