628 Frances Street, Key West - Sweet Eyebrow Cottage

Just Listed by Preferred Properties Key West 628 Frances Street. This is a really sweet miniature eyebrow cottage complete with a white picket fence and garden. Some of the prettiest, and a couple of the most expensive, homes in town are located on this block which is within easy walking distance to the Historic Key West Seaport, Duval Street, and Sunset Celebration.

Before starting today's blog I checked the Historic Sanborn Fire Maps and learned that this home first appeared on the the 1899 map. (This entire block was omitted from the 1889 map which does not infer the houses were not built then.) I learned the house was previously numbered 626 Frances Street but appeared as 628 Frances St. on the map which suggests to me the house was around much earlier than 1899. I then got out my shoe box and found a photo of this property taken fifty years ago. If you compare it with the color photo above you will note several structural changes including replacement of the windows and door, addition of shutters,  replacement of porch columns and addition of railing, and the replacement of the picket fence with a minor increase in height. What has not changed is the salt box shape of this small house turned on its side. The eyebrow house though not unique to Key West is rare - especially in this smaller size. There are approximately 75 of these special houses on our island. At first glance you will note the individual metal roof shingles as they rise to the gable. Then you will may notice the sawtooth addition at the rear. If you stand at the front gate you will see the house has five bays - two windows down and three windows hidden below the steep sloping roof line which creates the extended porch. These upper windows were designed to permit the windows to be open to provide ventilation even during a rain storm.

The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

"Wonderfully maintained cottage in an absolutely superb location in Old Town. Move in ready with some nice upgrades; granite counters in kitchen, Pergo flooring on first floor, recently installed central A/C and washer and dryer. Some Dade county pine and great front porch. A well kept side yard and fencing all around. Move in now or renovate to your taste."

I had the opportunity to see the property late Friday afternoon - in the rain. I only had my Nikon pocket camera so the picture quality is not as good as I would like, but the photos I took are representative of what this home has to offer. When I stepped inside the front door the very first thing I noticed was the staircase in the left corner. The dark wood contrasted to the new blond Pergo floors. Then I noticed the compact size of the living room. I have been in many small homes before so I knew this place would not be large. The walls have wallpaper which tends to visually shrink the size of the room to the mind's eye. I am not being critical - just making an observation.

According to the listing Realtor this house has 1017 sq ft of living space which includes two bedrooms and one and one-half baths. The main floor bedroom is located just off the front entrance. A set of petite French doors provide entry to this space. You should notice that there is no closet in this bedroom. An armoire provides a place to hang one's clothes.

The second bedroom is located on the second floor. This room measures 24' X 18' from eave to eave - but not interior living space. The ceiling drops down to knee walls which provide a vertical space for placement of furniture. It appears to me that the wall unit air conditioner visible in the photo below is located in a space which most likely was a scuttle when this home was first built. A scuttle is an opening in the roof which allows hot air to rise through the house to the outdoors.

This is not the first time I have seen a toilet and sink in a place like this. A friend of mine who is a local designer totally changed a similar space and put in a real bath.

In his description of this property the listing Realtor said the house is move-in ready but opined a new owner might want to renovate. I am not being critical of this home which I think is really cute. I think it could be better. I think the Pergo floors ought to go away as should the wall paper. The enclosed porch on the side ought to be more fully integrated into the kitchen.The kitchen could be upgraded and reconfigured to provide more storage and utility. This might be accomplished by removing the half wall that separates the kitchen and dining area and creating a small island with a new quartz dining extension. The opening between living area and rear sawtooth addition might be expanded if a steel beam could be added to support the weight of the second floor. Finally, I'd try to enclose the second floor bath or remove it entirely and add a real closet in its place.

This house could work as a full time residence for a single person or couple who are minimalists. There just is not a lot storage space in this house so whoever lives here full time will need to be well organized. CLICK HERE to view more photos.

If renovated correctly, I think this place could look absolutely magical. I think it would definitely work as a monthly vacation rental. I think a lot of people revel in small and charming spaces. This is already cute. I think it could become even better. There is a large side yard that might provide enough space to add a swimming pool. Our Historic Architectural Review Commission and the City Planning Department would have to approve the addition of a pool to the lot. 

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on 628 Frances Street which is offered for sale at $899,000. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a private showing of this lovely eyebrow cottage. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

712 Love Lane - Key West

  

If you are a hopeless romantic you'll probably fall in love with today's home when you read the address - 712 Love Lane.  But if you're a pragmatist you may actually need to walk to the end of the lane, open the gate, and enter garden before you fall in love with this home. And after that all hope is lost for you will be surely, truly, madly, deeply in love with 712 Love Lane.

Today's home is located at the very end of Love Lane in Old Town Key West. In her book Key West Houses author Leslie Lindsey described 712 Love Lane as "an enchanting environment with a brick-and-stone patio and overhead trellis laden with cascading bougainvillea."

The listing broker describes this wonderful home this way:

"One of the island's best kept secrets. This 4 bedroom, 3 bath all-on-one-level triple saw tooth shotgun proved inspirational to many. Harry Roberts was the model for Harry Morgan in Hemingway's Key West novel To Have and Have Not''. Bill Wright, Russell Baker, and David Halberstram have all been inspired by this gem, secluded behind the library palm garden. Judith Kazantzis immortalized the home in her poem, Love Lane, Key West''. The main home and separate guest cottage with bath open to the private deck and 9 foot deep heated lap pool with outdoor shower. Cypress shutters and cypress cabinets with travertine tops in the kitchen and dining area. Located off Fleming Street at the end of Love Lane with off-street parking."

Let me first tell you why it is so "secret" - it's because there are three separate "Love Lanes" each located near the other but far enough apart to totally confuses just above anyone. If you walk on the north side of Southard Street you will find a Love Lane sign midway between William and Elizabeth Streets.. If you walk down the lane you will find that the lane abruptly ends where a house sits and the lane ends. Bur if you are walk on the south side of Fleming Street between Elizabeth and William Streets you will find an unmarked walking lane that begins at the edge of the Monroe County Public Library (which has been referred to as the Pink Library). This, too, is Love Lane. And if you went back to Southard Street and walked on the south side of the street you would find a tiny little walking lane, a lane also called Love Lane. In his book The Streets of Key West author J. Willis Burke explains the confusion about Love Lane:

"Love can generate some confusion - and Love Lane is no exception. Some maps show to Loves, one coming off Fleming and another off Southard, but not meeting mid-block. Other maps indicate Gwynn Street, named for a former mayor and cigar tycoon E. O. Gwynn, is the lane that runs off Southard. And yet another source cites Johnny Cake Lane as making up the northern half of Love Lane. At one time perhaps it did... As confirmed by the loving couple who lives on the Fleming Street side of the lane, both are now called Love Lane. It seems they don't meet because the bungalow that bisects the lane was built on the sly, and over the decades, has been grandfathered and let stand."

Love Lane adjacent to the Monroe County Library Garden

712 Love Lane is located at the end of the quiet little lane

I searched the old Sanborn Fire Maps and found what I believe to be 712 Love Lane. Love Lane existed and was named the same in the 1889 Sanborn Map, but the houses were not numbered. I checked the maps for later years and the house still stands where as the larger house at the corner at Fleming is gone. Today that space is the library garden. The early cottage was simple. I dug into the old shoebox and found 812 Love Lane is it was photographed in 1965 - below.

Like so many places in Old Town, this home has been added onto over the years. Rooms, multiple decks, a pool, a guest cottage are pieces that slowly became the whole. What was once a small cottage is now a 1309 sq ft home with three bedrooms in the main house plus the guest cottage or pool house. I started to write this blog about the charming spaces, I could not determine a favorite. So instead I'll throw up some photos I took when the home was owner occupied and you can decide which you like most.

When you enter the home you see the dining room on the right. It's a magnificent space with soaring ceiling, a library wall crammed with books and windows that look out to the garden of the Monroe County Library, and the front porch. A quiet little reading nook completes this space.

On the opposite side of the room is the living area with walls that seem to reach to heaven. Cedar shutters line the French doors on the south side which filter the view of the pool. Art has found a home on these walls which themselves become a piece of art. Look through the open door and view the first of three bedrooms in the main house. Notice the pickled wood flooring that is light and practical and in harmony with the house.

Pine walls were whitewashed which allowed the pink tones of the wood to show through. Louvered cedar shutters open out to the pool.

See what I mean? You can't pick a favorite spot because each room or space is so precious in its own right. I love the spartan bedroom with the single bed. It has a window that looks out to library garden. The shutter lined master bedroom made me want to jump on the bed and take a nap. The gauzy front bedroom begged me to peer through the shutters out to the pool. And then there is that insane kitchen with the soaring ceiling and handmade cedar cabinets. You absolutely positively cannot buy that charm from Home Depot or IKEA here. This kitchen was created with LOVE in mind.

The pool is located on the south side of the property. Some facing pools get an hour or so of sun each day. This pool should stay sunny most of the day throughout most of the year. Sometimes buyers miss things like that. It's always nice to have a pool with some sun and some shade. Not all people are bronzed gods and not all gods need to bake all day. The guest cottage or pool house is located at the far end of the pool.

The pool house (guest cottage) is located at the far end of the pool.  I walked inside and looked at the room and my jaw dropped. Who wouldn't love to sleep, or take a nap, or do other stuff in this place? The cottage has a tiny bath so if could function as a bedroom. This space is so restful.

I was nearing the end of taking photos when I snapped the above picture. I told the listing agent that Ralph Lauren must have created this space - it is just perfect!  He didn't, but I think you get what I mean. CLICK HERE to see all of the photos I took of 712 Love Lane.

Kevin N. McCarthy's book The Book Lover's Guide to Florida: Authors, Books and Literary Sites notes that author William Wright lived at 712 Love Lane (for about ten years). The present owners purchased this home from Wright in 1987. They created a masterpiece.  712 Love Lane is now vacant.  All of the furnishings are gone.  The house and garden await the vision of a new owner. The house needs painted and maybe the baths need updated. The house, however, is a little masterpiece that only needs preserved not remade.

This property has been rented during season as a vacation rental at $15,000 per month.  I think a new owner might improve on the monthly rental a bit.  You could not ask for a better location than this home. And I don't think there are many houses that are as picturesque as this.  

 CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and to view listing photos. If you would like to see 712 Love Lane with me, Gary Thomas, please call me a 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Property Key West. You'll fall in love with this one!