The Caldwells built their dream home on a riverfront lot in 2006. In order to take advantage of the sweeping views of the river, they wanted to place as many rooms as possible at the rear of the house. Their youngest daughter Christian, who was 10 at the time, actually found the house plans on the Internet. “It took her about 10 minutes,” laughs her mother.
The original house plan had the entire second story as a master suite, but with three daughters, Tommy and Marlene knew they would have to make some design changes to accommodate the girls’ bedrooms. As a result, the upstairs master suite became three bedrooms and an entertainment area for the girls, while the downstairs study became the master suite.
Tommy, owner of Total Leasing & Sales, had previously been in home construction and development. Marlene is a designer with Chattanooga Closet Company. Combining their construction and design experience, Tommy and Marlene did almost all of the home design and decorating themselves, incorporating unique architectural and design details in the home.
Marlene says she enjoyed perusing local “junk” stores (not antique stores, she notes) to find unusual and one-of-a-kind architectural elements that lend a time-worn feel to the newly constructed house, if not conversational pieces.
She struck gold when she found old doors from two Chattanooga landmarks. The double doors that lead from the keeping room to the office just off the kitchen came from the former Brass Register. The mahogany doors have 12 beveled panes and are dotted with nicks and scratches and still have the brass “Push” plates on them, all of which only divulge a small snippet of their history.
Two of the other older doors can be found “guarding” the wine storage area beneath the staircase. They were old elevator doors that came from another
Chattanooga landmark not too far away from the Brass Register: the Flatiron Building. When Marlene found the iron and brass doors, they were rusted. Once cleaned and polished, the doors were restored to their former beauty.
When asked about leaving such treasures behind when they sell the house, Marlene states very optimistically that “there are more out there to be found.”
With the exception of the girls’ bedrooms, yellow pith American walnut hardwood was used for flooring throughout the house. The hardwood was oiled to leave the natural wood color and to allow the patina of the floors to change with age.
The patina of the floors complements the hand-painted walls in the formal living and dining rooms, which were painted by local artist and friend Debra Dunn. The terra cotta colored walls in the dining room were created from a swatch of silk fabric and beautifully reflect light from the painted metallic bronze ceiling. Debra also painted the soft-green paneled living room, which also has a coffered ceiling.
The elegant living room fireplace has a limestone surround and is flanked on either side by two faux-painted marble columns. Another local artist, Keith Gordon, made the double American walnut front doors and the iron staircase railing.
Throughout the downstairs, Marlene has mixed new furnishings with family antique pieces. One item of special interest is a large painting over the sideboard in the dining room. It is a chiaroscuro painting of a young couple in an early 19th century garden setting. The painting, which is housed in its original frame, is by Tommy’s great-great grandmother Anna Caldwell, who was an artist.
The downstairs master suite is comprised of the bedroom, decorated in soft blues, and a large closet complete with custom cherry cabinetry and a laundry center. The master bathroom features a polished travertine shower and pebble stone shower floor. There is also a custom double sink vanity, as well as a separate sink and vanity made from an antique buffet cabinet and outfitted with a sandstone vessel sink. Marlene opens a cabinet door to reveal a small lazy Susan that used to hold wine bottles, but now has been adapted to store toiletry items.
The master bath is situated on the back of the house and the master suite on the front, which is the reverse of what one would believe to be the desired placement. Marlene says that the view of the river from the bathroom “gets them up in the morning” and laughs that they were afraid if they placed the bedroom at the rear of the house, they might not get up in the morning. From the bathroom, the patio can be accessed from two double doors with wooden plantation shutters.
The custom eat-in kitchen was designed for entertaining and there are “two of everything,” as the family loves to cook and often hosts their daughters’ friends and teammates from school. There are double islands, each with sinks and trash compactors, two ovens, two warming drawers, and a Wolf gas stove. A hammered tin panel, another architectural find from a drugstore in Atlanta, hangs over the stove. Also over the stove, installed in the tile backsplash, is a pot filler with hot and cold faucets.
The kitchen countertops are made from durable quartz and the Plato
cabinets are colorfully painted using three colors on different sections. One island is painted a soft blue. The other island, cabinets and a Sub Zero refrigerator are a creamy color. A built-in server/hutch with glass doors, which stores dishes, utensils and other serving pieces, is painted a distressed black.
Just off the kitchen is a mudroom and large pantry. The mudroom, which leads to the garage, has a built-in bench accented with colorful pillows and is situated below a wainscoted wall.
The kitchen opens into the keeping room, which has a seating area, gas fireplace and flat screen TV above the fireplace. The covered outdoor patio/living area, which has slate floors, can be accessed from the keeping room.
The patio makes the most of the view of the river from the rear of the house. There is a large fireplace, gas grill, two separate dining areas and comfortable, colorful Adirondack chairs, which can be moved to the river’s edge to take in the view. Marlene says they often have ducks that make their way up from the river along the bank. They also enjoy watching the river traffic, which includes the occasional barge.
Tommy and Marlene’s three daughters, Casey (18), Mary Anna (15) and Christian (13), were given free reign in selecting colors and materials for their upstairs bedrooms. As a result, the three bedrooms are as colorful and vibrant as the girls’ personalities.
All of the girls’ bathrooms have coordinating decorative tiles that match their chosen color scheme. Each bedroom has an adjoining deck, from which views of the river below can be enjoyed.
The girls also have their own entertainment area upstairs. There is a media room with a flat screen TV, a billiard room with wainscoted walls, an exercise room, and a full bath.
Mom and dad did manage to salvage some space upstairs for themselves. Marlene has what she calls her “junk” room, which houses her crafts, including her scrapbooking materials. Off of the craft room is a full laundry room. Tommy’s space houses his office, which is decorated with items that represent his hobby, fishing, and includes his uncle’s and grandfather’s fishing rods, displayed along with others in a custom-built stand. There is also a rotating fan with fishing motifs mounted on the wall.
The house also has a three-bay garage and large workroom off the garage, and a third-story carpeted attic space.
The Caldwells have enjoyed waterfront living in The Enclave and enjoy the convenience to downtown, either by boat or car. They are currently planning to move to a new home and are marketing their property with Linda Brock of Prudential Realty.
They have a dock that houses their boat and they often take the boat into town for dinner and special events, such as Riverbend. Their home mixes elegance with a relaxed lifestyle and is reflective of their personal tastes and interests.