NORFOLK
THREE ITEMS do not convey: the chandelier in the foyer, in the library, in the formal powder room.
If you fork over $1.35 million, though, you can have everything else.
And there's plenty at 735 Yarmouth St. in Norfolk's Ghent: a gardener's garden with multiple terraces and patios; a glamorous three floors plus attic; and craftsmanship from way back to knock your socks off.
A stunning recent renovation, and... matching his and hers walk-in closets, each as big as, oh, bedrooms, perhaps?
Yup, not everybody lives like this.
But William B. Roper did. He had the house built, starting with a permit filed in April 1895. The son of a wealthy Norfolk lumber merchant, Roper had fingers in lots of important pots: the Norfolk Marine Railway Co., lumber companies, and the Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Corp.
A generation later, beginning in the 1970s, this house was the playground of yet another Norfolk mover and shaker, this time in the art scene: Walter P. Chrysler Jr.
While he lived there, Chrysler, a lifelong lover and collector of paintings, sculpture, glass and ancient artifacts, could stroll from his pretty home down the sidewalk to the front doors of the Chrysler Museum of Art, where, in 1971, he had donated the majority of the works he owned, a gift that resulted in the museum's renaming.
So, the present-day owners of the house kept its history in mind as they made things more convenient for themselves beginning in 2003, when they used items from around the world to decorate its 6,248 square feet and often restored rather than replaced, as in the case of the leaded glass parlor windows, for instance.
Seeing what was always there, and what was added to bring the house up to date, is a treat.
Above the front porch hangs an oversized lantern, a converted and restored English street lamp. Through the double front door and beyond the foyer, the library - a big, warm space with a beamed and coffered ceiling and walls paneled in tiger oak - is directly ahead. Oak flooring - the narrow, old-fashioned kind - is really attractive.
To the left, tucked into a corner near the back of the staircase is an elegant powder room with flower-embellished pedestal sink.
All of the home's cast-iron radiators were sent out for pressure-testing, stripping and repainting. The most interesting one of these - a warming cabinet for food with a fancy relief design - is in the formal dining room, a space made generous by combining two smaller rooms. That's why the fireplace here is a tad off center.
No big deal.
To the right is a new sunroom with a tile floor cleverly crafted out of a former carriage porch that ran along the right side of the house. Custom windows follow the arch of the original brickwork.
Nice.
A big surprise waits in the kitchen, a space often a nightmare in houses this old.
But tons of new custom cherry cabinets offer specialized storage: built-in canisters; dedicated storage for a KitchenAid mixer; a tiny stepladder that stashes out of sight in the toe-kick area (who thinks of stuff like this?); even a vented cabinet that lets a home baker put away trays and pans while they're still hot.
There's also a six-burner Viking stove, a warming drawer, two dishwashers, a prep sink in addition to the regular kind, and a half-bath intended for family-only. There's a big built-in buffet for showing off china and crystal, and a breakfast room the size of most people's formal dining area.
It's just real glam.
As if all this weren't enough, there's a butler's pantry, too, with exposed brick wall, more custom cabinetry and a wine cooler.
Whew.
OK, so upstairs - pause on the landing to see the first of three Tiffany stained glass windows in the house - on the second floor is the master suite. It takes up the entire level and can be closed off for privacy.
That's right: The first space is a bright bedroom with a bay window copper-clad on the outside and naturally verdigrid to perfection, a huge master bath done up in pale-rose marble from top to bottom with back-to-back his and hers vanities, an enormous shower, built-in soaking tub and private water closet.
It could be enough to own just this.
But then you'd miss the closets.
Two matching his and hers closet rooms are right across the hall from each other with hanging space for two boutiques full of clothes and shoes and luggage and hat boxes, garment-folding islands with drawer storage and enormous mirrors to check for lint or sagging hemlines.
While the Mr. and Mrs. dress, they can chat.
At the end of the hall is a large study with fireplace, an unusual built-in window seat and views over the rear garden toward the Hague.
There's more.
On the third floor are two renovated bathrooms and four sunny bedrooms, one tucked into each corner of the house.
Want more?
Head up yet another flight of stairs and see the roomy attic, then go back down and outside to see the garden - a double lot with old trees - live oak, redbud, magnolia, crape myrtle and crabapple, and a plant palette made for floral arranging: hydrangea, azalea, autumn fern, nandina, mahonia, pachysandra, and poet's laurel.
The assessments for the two lots and home together total $1,018,000.
Garden, one-car garage and home are tied together by a lovely, high wrought-iron gate.
It's mechanized now, of course.
Is it any wonder that this elegant urban retreat has been the site of many a party for as many as 400 guests?
Krys Stefansky, 757-446-2043, krys.stefansky@pilotonline.com
Historical research provided by William Inge, Sargeant Memorial Collection of the Norfolk Public Library
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Details
The house is listed by Caroline McCartney of Prudential Towne Realty, www.carolinemccartney.com or 681-1681.