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Photos by Jeff Graham.
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It’s not very often you find a historic home within Nashville’s city limits.
Sure, the craftsman cuties and bungalows have their own charm, but this big old brick home on Benton Avenue just a few minutes from downtown is surely a rare gem. Sometimes, that rare gem begins as a diamond in the rough and you just have to see the potential.
Dave Haverkamp, real estate developer, historic home renovator, and owner of Earl Lee LLC, saw the charm in this historic overlay and breathed new life into the corner lot at 737 Benton Avenue. The grand home—originally 4,000 square feet but almost doubled in size at 7,300 square feet post renovation—was built in the early 1890s in Historic Waverly Place and was owned by a doctor and his wife. Once used as part residential and part practice, the house was sectioned off by pocket doors with three exterior doors to the outside. While the original square footage of the home remained intact, Haverkamp and his crew added an additional couple thousand square feet over a fourteen-month period to the back of the home, a third floor and even a carriage house out back.
The third floor at 737 Benton didn’t exist as it is today – the team recreated the entire staircase to look as if it was always part of the house, leading up to the 1,200-square-foot space that includes a theatre room, wet bar, and more. And while the carriage house was also added during reno, Haverkamp notes that it would have been original to a home like this. The three-and-a-half car garage take space on the bottom floor, while a 750-square-foot in-law suite, music studio, nanny suite or home office space with 17-foot ceilings and cross beams rest above. But not all of 737 Benton boasts brand new finishes and that’s where the diamonds that were once rough truly can shine.
Working alongside Michael Ward, architect of Allard Ward, Haverkamp restored several original facets of the home to turn it into the modern yet historic gem that it is. Details like the pocket doors; the eleven-foot-tall, dark oak mirror; architectural pieces on the main staircase; and Heart of Pine floors are all original to the house. Plus, the kitchen—a stunning and equally unique focal point—truly showcases the beauty of Benton and how both old and new can co-exist.
“When we were doing the demolition and the renovation to the home, we exposed the brick walls and the original plaster,” says Haverkamp. “As we were demoing, the plaster began to fall as you see it and at that point, we stopped because I liked the brick and the little bit of plaster that was showing. When building out and reframing the spaces for the new windows and doors, we were able to use the original brick to seamlessly tie in the new to the old.”
But it’s not just the exposed brick, Robin’s egg blue cabinetry, and gold hardware that make the space. In fact, the bold island levels it up. Long and somewhat narrow, it boasts a custom piece of endgrain walnut—much like a butcher block top—plus a slab of Calacatta gold marble to form a sixty-forty ratio. Throughout, the design is evident in the details. The herringbone floors are made from Rift and Quarter-Sawn oak, the (heated!) flooring in the master bathroom is made from Nero Marquina, a natural stone from Italy, and the cast iron clawfoot tub measures in at an oversized whopping seventy-two inches. Plus, the walk-in closet, which was once a spare bedroom, makes up the master wing that encapsulates the entire left side of the second floor.
“This house is special, and I wanted the finishes in the home to reflect that. Many parts of it, such as the exposed brick in the kitchen, tell a story of the evolution of the house over the decades,” he says. “I tried to seamlessly blend the modern finishes with the historic features of the home, so it is a juxtaposition of the old hardwood floors, oversized doors and original windows mixed with a mid-century modern flair. My goal is to make the design aesthetic feel modern while still respecting the history here.”
Haverkamp and the team restored the house so that it isn’t a museum, but rather a historic home crafted for functional, modern living. Maintaining as much of the original character of the space while still adding in high-end finishes, reworking the floor plan, and redoing infrastructure including HVAC, the roof and more, show that sometimes, some things just need a little TLC—and that a diamond in the rough just needs a little shine.