Just Listed: Creative Rehab in Point Breeze
A real estate agent with a flair for the dramatic schooled himself with this sensitive rehab that combines light and splashes of color.
Kitchen, 1714 S. Chadwick St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19146 | Photos: Brandon Peszko, Vizzi Northeast, via James Sugg, Elfant Wissahickon Realtors
It would have been much simpler for thespian-turned-real estate agent James Sugg to have stripped this two-story row house for sale on an interstitial lane in eastern Point Breeze to its shell and inserted the standard gray (or white) modernist box inside it.
But that wouldn’t have been as creative. And we are dealing with a creative person here.
Exterior front
“I didn’t choose to gut the house top to bottom,” Sugg says. “I chose to restore what was here and add my own twist to it. That’s trickier than just gutting it and putting in builder-grade blah-blah. This was more of an unknown, and it took a little longer and cost a little more.”
I’d say from these photos that the extra work was worth the wait. By building on this modest row house’s strong bones, Sugg has produced a house with both character and style.
Living room
The first of the many nice touches found inside is visible from the outside, namely, the turquoise front door. This door and the bright red one that leads from the kitchen to the patio at the back of the main floor add pops of color to a bright, sunny white interior.
Main floor
That kitchen takes advantage of the windows on two sides of it. The larger window on the left becomes the backdrop for your breakfast as you sit at the bar beneath it. Grey “Fiorentina” ceramic tile on the floor, sparkle quartz countertops and a subway-tile backsplash with black grouting, not to mention that red door, add more visual interest and color.
Upstairs, the front bedroom became a master suite thanks to a creative reuse of one of the most difficult spaces to work with in any early-20th-century Philly rowhouse: the postage-stamp-sized middle bedroom.
Master bedroom
The bedroom itself features an exposed brick wall. The black streak you see is where the chimney from the downstairs fireplace had been located. (The fireplace was also removed.)
Master bedroom closet
A barn door leads from the bedroom into the highly organized closet that middle bedroom became.
Bathroom
Bathroom
On the other side of the closet is the bathroom, which also has a hall entrance. The renovation preserved its original clawfoot tub as well as the utility sink in the unfinished basement.
The rear bedroom could also serve as a nursery, home office or den.
Rear patio
And the patio in back features planter beds and hanging greenery. You can make it even greener if you want.
You’ll also find lots to like within walking distance of this house for sale: The South Philadelphia Tap Room, Ultimo Coffee, Second District Brewing Company and East Passyunk Avenue’s shops and restaurants all lie within reach, and the Route 29 bus and Tasker-Morris Station on the Broad Street Line are also very close at hand.
THE FINE PRINT
BEDS: 2
BATHS: 1 full, 1 half
SQUARE FEET: 1,088
SALE PRICE: $309,000
OTHER STUFF: A ten-year property tax abatement is pending on this house.
1714 S. Chadwick St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19146 [James Sugg | Elfant Wissahickon Realtors]
