Beauty on Beaver
Born and raised just west of Waynedale and a graduate of Wayne High School, Gayle Snyder called Fort Wayne’s north side her home for 32 years until she had the opportunity to purchase her 1934 charmer on Beaver Avenue three years ago. Thrilled with her purchase she made quick work of adapting her tudor-colonial revival, a home that also nods to craftsman in the bracketed portico with a peak and arch, making it an architecturally classic Southwood Park hybrid. The original wood shakes in federal blue trimmed in crisp white clad with black shutters gives a whiff of cape cod, but sunny house numbers and two matching yellow rattan chairs energize the scheme and give a welcoming let’s-have-a-lemonade-and-wave-to-neighbors front patio. A dozen large evergreen shrubs were swapped for perennials: hostas, panicle hydrangeas, black-eyed susans (rudbeckia) and purple coneflower (echinacea) the last few chosen specifically for their color and their attraction to pollinators. The beds continue around the side and rear where you can have a seat on a comfy coral red cushioned lounge chair and take in the white picket fence, colorful pots and several window boxes brimming with red calibrachoa.
These photos of the home’s original owners came with the home.
Gayle has added vintage appeal to both the exterior and interior of her home by replacing the two street side large single pane 80’s era picture windows with era-appropriate French Doors. Her son and daughter worked diligently to restore all four interior French doors in the living room, two sets not photographed are on the north side. She also added another set that leads out to her stamped concrete rear patio which eliminated a single door and welcomes breezes. A wall that formerly separated the kitchen and dining room with a standard 36” opening was enlarged to five feet, the new arch thoughtfully reconstructed to match the shape of the former. The first floor wood floors were stripped of carpet and refinished, the trim, walls and fireplace masonry freshened with white paint. A soft neutral on the walls teamed with an abundance of multi-paned windows and doors serves up the vibe of a cozy and light-filled french cottage.
Gayle says that the uniqueness of homes in Southwood Park is what initially drew her here and her desire to bring the character and beauty back to one of them. Suffice it to say, that goal has been achieved at 4616 Beaver Avenue.
