Location, Location, Location Circa-1937 Colonial Revival on Wychewood Drive. by JOHN GRIFFIN This house speaks volumes about the current health of the local residential real-estate market and particularly in the Midtown Corridor as it extends eastward from Central Gardens and Evergreen through Chickasaw Gardens to Galloway golf course and beyond. These neighborhoods are experiencing the most construction since they were originally built. Major renovations, sizable additions, and even, amazingly, wholesale replacements are so common as to be unremarkable these days. A classic Colonial Revival, this cottage uses the Georgian architectural vocabulary of the early English colonists loosely. Original Colonial houses had small multipaned windows (glass was hard to get and large pieces were simply unavailable). The facade was usually quite symmetrical with a central door flanked by individual windows (never pairs). The revival styles of the 1910s, ’20s, and ’30s used original detailing creatively. Traditional architecture was being influenced by the modern movement. Larger glass areas to the outside, as well as less formally ordered interior spaces, were an evident result. So, note here, the pairing of windows to increase the light and the inclusion of the small, paired casement windows under the entrance porch balancing the front door, which is set slightly off center. And lastly, although the windows have six smaller panes above, the lower half is simply one large pane of glass. Very Colonial Revival. Inside, the formality of a central hall has been omitted and guests enter directly into a 10-foot-ceilinged living room. The fireplace is at the far end flanked by bookcases and dressed up with white marble at the hearth. Oak flooring runs throughout. The remainder of the public spaces are behind the living room. There’s a dining room, which with the living room, adjoins a raised terrace, and the kitchen is beyond. These two rooms could easily be combined to form an expansive kitchen space with lots of light and access to the terrace for entertainment. The two bedrooms, two baths, and existing rear study are also comfortably sized. The front bedroom has a second fireplace with a great mantel, and the new owner might consider making this room the dining room by eliminating the closets and cutting a large opening to the living room. Obviously, besides some interior renovation, an addition is also required. It would then be easy to go out the back on the spacious lot and add an enlarged family room with a new master suite beyond. A new freestanding garage could connect to the family room with a covered walk. Although this would require tackling a major construction project, this quiet, dead-end street tucked away between Belle Meade and Laurelwood is certainly a most desirable location. You might want to purchase this more than half-acre property with some striking older oaks, hollies, and magnolias just for the wonderful lot. 36 Wychewood Drive Approximately 1,820 square feet, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths; $425,000 Realtor: The Hobson Company, 761-1622 Agent: Mary Francis Pitts