Happy Valley home built with recycled wood, high energy efficient materials
In 2004, when Susan Fullerton and Chris Ennis started courting, they went for leisurely walks around the City of Wilmington.
She owned a house in Trolley Square that was rented by the artist N.C. Wyeth in 1902 when he studied illustration with Howard Pyle. Ennis lived in an old house, too, in Trinity Vicinity. They first met at Trinity Episcopal Church.
Their strolls frequently took them to Happy Valley, a neighborhood of 19th-century rowhouses and 20th-century newer construction that sprang up on a sylvan swath bordering the Brandywine River. But the home that intrigued them most was a dilapidated farmhouse built in the 1830s.
“We would talk about what we would do if we owned the house,” Ennis recalls.
Fast forward a few years. The couple got married. The farmhouse fell down.
The lot that opened up struck them as the right place to build a life — and a house —together.
This house would be firmly rooted in the 21st century, built to Platinum LEED specifications with such green elements as recycled floors, high-efficiency materials and a living roof of drought-resistant sedum.
Planning the house required substantive conversation between the partners. They poured wine. The ideas flowed.
Fullerton wanted a home gym, but not in a dark basement. How about a light-filled room on the third floor? Ennis was concerned that a large staircase would interfere with their open-concept design. Why not eliminate the risers to create stairs that don’t obstruct the view?
In the kitchen, a trough in the middle of the island would serve as a secondary prep sink. Ennis would construct upper cupboards that slide out like open-sided drawers so you can see what’s inside.
In one of four bathrooms, fillers for a soaking tub are mounted on the ceiling so bathers can recline without bumping into the faucets. Rope lighting installed beneath a clear vessel sink does double duty as a night light.
Finding room for all their ideas was a challenge. The lot is an extreme rectangle, 20 feet by 90 feet.
“Wide and shallow,” observes Ennis. “Like the women I dated in college.”
Tell us about your space
Got a Delaware Space you'd like to see featured? We're looking for historical, eclectic and new homes, yards or other interesting spaces to feature. Send an email with your name, address of the space and a photo, if possible, to spaces@delawareonline.com.
Eileen Smith Dallabrida is a Wilmington freelance writer. Contact her at esmith@smithreports.com.
To make the best use of the space, the couple envisioned a three-story house with a full basement and a series of outdoor areas that would create the aura of an urban oasis.
They took their wish list to Element Design Group in Lewes, where their ideas were translated into a plan for a house and garage clad in stucco and stacked stone.
Ennis, who works in technology, and Fullerton, a recently retired nurse practitioner, did a lot of the work themselves. They painted walls, set tile in bathrooms, and put down wood floors obtained at a reclamation center in Baltimore: hickory for most of the first floor, cherry for the second, and maple for the third floor.
Sourcing building materials is an important part of LEED certification. Materials should be obtained as close to home as possible, to reduce fuel consumption and wear and tear on roads.
The couple didn’t have to look far for quarter-sawn white oak that Ennis would craft into kitchen cabinets, stair treads and trim. Trinity Episcopal needed to replace a number of pews and was selling the old ones. A total of 24 pews went into the house. Racks for hymnals were repurposed to hold shoes in a walk-in closet in the master suite.
A formal dining room was not on their wish list, but they do entertain extended family and friends several times a year. Their solution was to create a portable wood table top that seats 12 and can be connected to the kitchen island, temporarily transforming the adjoining foyer into a dining area.
The floor that grounds the foyer and open living room is concrete with hot-water heating. Recycled concrete is used as insulation. Poured concrete panels for the basement were prefabricated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
“Holes for electric and plumbing were already in it,” Fullerton says. “The whole basement went together in two and a half hours.”
These days, the couple is building another house, a place where she can nurture the skills she gained studying master gardening at Longwood Gardens.
They are selling the Happy Valley house and walking, once more, to a new home.
“We hope the new owners enjoy this house as much as we have,” Ennis says.
HER FAVORITE PLACE IN THE HOUSE: “The third-floor deck. It’s so interesting observing Wilmington from above.”
HIS FAVORITE PLACE: “My workshop.”
WHAT SHE LIKES BEST ABOUT CITY LIFE: “The activities, the Delaware Theatre Company, the Grand, the Queen, the restaurants.”
WHAT HE LIKES BEST: “The people who live here, especially people at church and the businesspeople we have become friends with.”
WHAT SHE WILL PACK FIRST: “The kitchen. I like working in the kitchen.”
WHAT HE WILL PACK: “My power tools.”
WHAT SHE WILL MISS MOST: “Our outdoor spaces, the courtyard, the pergola, the decks.”
WHAT HE WILL MISS MOST: “That I will probably never have another house like this one.”
Eileen Smith Dallabrida is a Wilmington freelance writer. Contact her at esmith@smithreports.com.
Delaware Spaces
1521 N. Adams St., Wilmington
ASKING PRICE: $654,900
SIZE: 2,725, square feet
LOT: 1,800 square feet
ROOMS: Four bedrooms, four baths, garage with lift
OUTSIDE: Five outdoor spaces, including a courtyard, veranda and decks.
BUILT: 2010
NOTEWORTHY: Built to Platinum LEED specifications with recycled floors, high-efficiency materials and a living roof of sedum.
CONTACT: Margaret Vavala, RE/MAX Of Wilmington - Penn Ave; (302) 464-8638
MORE
Meet the Delaware woman making bull-riding history
Hotel du Pont pastry chef expanding bake shop offerings