Extended stays at "BRICKYARD” will enjoy generous discounts through the end of the year: 20% off reservations of a week of more. And guests who stay for a month (twenty-eight days) or more will enjoy a discount of 45% off of their stay at The C.B. & Ora Dell Crabtree House, a Dutch Colonial "kit house" built in 1920! We call it "Brickyard" because as we were renovating, it seemed that everywhere we put a shovel in the ground, we found ANOTHER brick!
OUR FAMOUS NEIGHBOR
That may make sense when you realize that "Brickyard" sits right next to The Sherwood-Menton House (built in 1846) -- established by The Rev. Adiel Sherwood as The Cape Girardeau Academy - a Baptist school for boys; then later, The Washington Seminary for Young Women; next home to the lawyer Mr. Matthew Moore, who was editor of the Southern leaning newspaper, 'The Cape Girardeau Eagle', who fled with his family when Cape was occupied during the Civil War, leaving the house fully furnished. Seized by The Union as "Southern contraband" it first served as officers' quarters and then as a Civil War hospital. We have one of the most storied and historic houses in Cape Girardeau as our neighbor!
GOING DUTCH
The architectural style of "Brickyard" is Dutch Colonial Revival, a style of architecture popular in the Hudson River Valley with the early settlers of New York. In restoring the house we decided to explore that connection even further.
The "Dutch" influence gets repeated throughout the house; from the Dutch door welcoming guests on the front porch to the many tulips and other flowers planted in the yard; from the blue and white, vintage "everyday" dinnerware called "Countryside", a Delft dinnerware pattern made by Wedgwood to the antique blue and white Delft porcelain and brass chandelier we imported for the kitchen! (Okay, "technically" our Delft chandelier came from Denmark ... but, close enough!)
THE LAYOUT
The original 1920 floorplan of this kit home on Washington Avenue was actually called, "The Washington" by The Standard Home Company.
UPSTAIRS: features the "private" bedroom and bath spaces
* Bedroom 1: is a "master suite" with a modern Queen brass bed from Crate & Barrel featuring Ralph Lauren (or similar quality) bed linens. Storage is not a problem with an antique armoire and two closets -- one with a shoe drawer (soon to be completed). And at the end of the day, curl up with a favorite book, a throw blanket, and a cup of tea in the vintage plaid reading chair or two red Chinoiserie wingback chairs flanking a large round, tufted ottoman.
* Bedroom 2: This bedroom is designed to bring the outdoors in. It is furnished with a Deco inspired, burled wood "bedroom suite". This antique set from The Commonwealth of Kentucky includes a full size bed, vanity desk, and a dresser. There are two closets in this bedroom.
* Bathroom 1: is a spacious full bath with a large walk in shower supplied with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Step out of the shower and onto a hygienic diatomaceous earth bathstone while drying off with lush 100% organic Turkish cotton bath towels from Crate & Barrel. The bathroom has great lighting as well as natural light. The toilet is discretely tucked behind a wall.
* The Laundry Room - is conveniently located on the second floor and has all the essential items: ironing board, iron, spray starch, laundry detergent sheets, Oxyclean, a place to let clothes hang to dry, and brand new Samsung stackable front-loading washing machine and dryer.
The MAIN FLOOR featured the "common areas" of the house for shared living.
* The Living Room - Design in the 1920's was surprisingly "modern" reflecting the discovery of atoms and the promise of an atomic age -- note the sunburst mirror behind the sofa and the four Andromeda Sputnik wall sconces by Robert Abbey.
We also drew inspiration from the Palm Springs retreats of the starlit set who graced the silver screen. Desert Hollywood bungalows in places like Old Las Palmas held Bohemian and Hollywood glam elements together, in equal parts.
Our interpretation of that deliberate blending of styles is perhaps best expressed by the Bohemian Bamboo Loveseat and Ottoman, the antique blonde, Japanese Tansu Chest, and the elegant Ralph Lauren Kirsten Sofa that is practically a day bed -- perfect for afternoon naps or an unexpected guest.
The vintage Whittall Anglo-Wilton Persian rug in the center of the living room, called "Bird of Paradise," came from Mother Grant, matriarch of the Grant Family. This pattern was one of three matching rugs in varying sizes that she collected. Matthew J. Whittall’s handsome and durable wool carpets were made in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The Living Room has the widest range of juxtaposed modern and antique pieces -- from a weighted Yamaha electronic keyboard -- the rehearsal keyboard for San Francisco Lyric Opera and Urban Opera on the south end of the room to an antique "kitchen clock" by Elias Ingraham at the north end of the room -- a wedding present given to great grandparents, Avery Rosewell, Sr, and Sarah “Sadie” Ellen (Hahn) Crites in 1913 which has faithfully chimed the hour ever since -- Or how about the Sony 50" Frame Television which hangs above an antique mantel (more on the mantel in a moment) while Mother Grant's rocker -- which rocked many-a Grant baby "many-a mile" -- now sits in the corner, observing all of the comings and goings at Brickyard.
Fun fact: The light gold wall stencil, shimmering behind the Kirsten sofa, has a bee in it. See if you can spot it.
The advent of kit homes brought about a standardization of certain furnishings. By 1920, most fireplace mantels in American "kit houses" were 72" long (unless it was for an extremely large mansion or a very small cottage). Sadly, the current mantel is not the original mantel at "Brickyard" - but it is 72" in length. This vintage mantel came from a house near York, Pennsylvania. And as luck would have it, the curvature of the brickwork matches the curvature of the mantel perfectly. Sometimes, you just get lucky! Yet, as beautiful as the fireplace is; it only smokes -- even after we added additional height to the chimney. But, given the size of the living room vs. the size of the fireplace, it would run you out of there in no time if it did work!
* The Dining Room - An elegant, antique Bombay chest serves as a sideboard in front of cork wallpaper on an accent wall. The accent wall was originally a closet. Back in the day, a good host would welcome guests at the front door and offer to hang up their coat, cloak, or jacket. (We reclaimed the space to add a much needed pantry in the kitchen instead.) A striking china deck filled with family heirloom dinnerware from the period holds patterns collected by aspirational aunts who dreamt of someday, finally “making it." Collecting any of these sets of dishes helped convince them (and of course their friends and neighbors) that they had indeed, successfully made it to the American middle class. The dining table and chairs belonged to “Big Mom” and “Papa," Freda and Gene Grant and this is just one of the MANY colors it was painted over time. It was the table the family used for supper when they lived out “on the farm”where The Grant Family managed the cotton production for The McMullin Estate, just north of Sikeston, in "Grant City". The table also hosted many of Papa's poker games and countless hands of Liverpool rummy with Big Mom's THIRTEEN brothers and sisters: The Lamberts of Sikeston. (Yes, THOSE Lamberts.)
* The Back Porch with a frog “gigger,” crystal chandelier, and an outdoor bathroom which was added in memory of Chip’s father, E.E. "Chuck" Grant III who would not be well with having to walk upstairs or downstairs to go to the bathroom. And you know, he was right! It is MUCH more convenient to have a toilet and sink on each floor!
The “feel” of * The Basement is reminiscent of the open floor plan of the industrial loft where we lived in The South End of San Francisco, California. Originally, it was home to a monstrous Holland coal burning furnace that was as big as “Robot” from “Lost in Space” (look it up) with eight arms running off in every direction. It filled half the space and was terribly inefficient. (Three of its five pieces are in the backyard; two pieces form the firepit.) We painted the ceiling black so it would “disappear” and the eye would be drawn to the basement windows overlooking the garden and the park, punctuated by some favorite copies of the iconic work of the clever and always irreverent graffiti artist, “Banksy." The toile paneling around the efficiency kitchenette was originally in the dining room! We had to save it; just not upstairs.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Located in Downtown Cape Girardeau, “Brickyard” sits on a high bluff, overlooking two parks:
Washington Park, a neighborhood park with three acres of open space featuring a shelter with picnic tables, a large play structure with several swings and slides, and a small community garden
… and Missouri Park, featuring the city skate park and a small basketball court
LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION
“Brickyard” is only a few blocks from:
The Sherwood-Minton House - next door
Washington Park - right across the street
Old Lorimier Cemetery - 1 block
Missouri Park - 2 blocks
Broadway - shopping & dining - 3 blocks
The Mississippi River - 4 blocks
Century Casino - 5 blocks
SEMO University - Main Campus - 6 blocks
Main Street - shopping and dining - 7 blocks
Show-Me Center - concert venue - 8 blocks
Capaha Park - 9 blocks
SEMO Houck Stadium - 10 blocks
Mercy Hospital - 11 blocks
SEMO River Campus - 12 blocks
ACCESSIBILITY
There is on-street parking directly in front of the house. From Washington Avenue a cement staircase nestled between boxwoods and solar lumiere pathlights leads up, Up, UP fifteen steps to the front yard! The path continues across the yard and up five wooden steps to the front porch.
