This Friday we are featuring  916 Olivia Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. We asked Maris Laporter to tell us a bit about her new listing. Read what she had to say!

This historic Victorian era home, known as The Smurthwaite House, has won an historic preservation award from the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission. It is three floors with a full, stone block basement. The third floor is a large, open space with a skylight and a full bath that can be used as a bedroom, family space, office, art & crafts studio, or home gym.

This home has much of its original woodwork and hardware, bead board and kitchen cupboards, including a mirrored ceiling in the pass-through to the formal dining room, which has a “zebra” wood floor. Off the living room is a screened porch which overlooks both the front and back of the house. There’s an art tile fireplace in the 2nd floor study adjacent to the primary bedroom and bath. The solar panels on the roof offset electrical costs and brand new HVAC systems keep the house seasonably comfortable.

In 2020-21, the kitchen received new appliances, bamboo flooring, black granite countertops, Motowi tiles, and a refinished butcher block island made with repurposed, original pocket doors from the living room. The first and second floor baths both have new cabinets with quartz counters. All the wood floors were refinished, the interior walls are plastered and painted, and the wood exterior was completely refurbished and painted. 

From the front porch swing or the screened-in side porch one can watch the world go by, both town and gown! This lovely home is just steps from U of M’s main campus, and a short walk to downtown, Kerrytown, and the farmer’s market.

The original tall kitchen cupboards with a pass-through to the dining room also have a mirrored ceiling, so you can see what’s on the top shelf.

This home can’t be beat with it’s warm, historic charm & beauty, and it’s proximity to the heart of Ann Arbor!

New homeowners will be walking distance to U of M’s Main Campus, downtown Ann Arbor, Kerrytown & the Farmer’s Market, Gallup Park, Nichols Arboretum, Argo Park & Cascades, Burns Park Elementary School, Tappan Middle School and Pioneer High School.

This location in Burns Park is known as “Dean’s Row” for its large, stately homes, many from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and its wide, leafy streets with mature trees.

One of the best parts of this beautiful home is the screened-in porch.