arts&life
at home
Blurred Lines
The home is a rectangle with an opening in the middle, Erin Shafritz says. What was once an enclosed dining room in the middle of the house is now a bright and inviting
sunroom. “When you walk into the house, that’s the first thing you see,” she says. “The foyer was a stairwell with a coat closet. We busted through and now all you see is
the green in front of you.” A mid-century marble-topped cocktail table scooped up at a resale shop sits in front of an Anthropologie sofa.
Take a peek at this
outside-meets-
inside home, one of
fi ve to be featured
on the 25th-annual
Huntington Woods
Home Tour.
LYNNE KONSTANTIN ARTS & LIFE EDITOR
BRETT MOUNTAIN PHOTOGRAPHER
S
tately Tudor homes, many dating to the early 1920s,
line the meandering streets in the historic district of
Huntington Woods, where the layout was inspired by
that of Huntingdon, England.
Tucked into this idyllic community is a home that once
gave a young boy nightmares.
But the boy’s mother had a vision — and she had a husband
who had become used to her innovations.
“The first time we saw it, my kids were petrified,” says Erin
Shafritz, a freelance prop stylist with an eye for the distinctive.
“It had vines climbing all over the windows.”
But as soon as she stepped inside, she knew this was it.
It was in disrepair, and required extensive gutting, “but the
bare bones of the house were amazing,” Shafritz says.
Coming from a Colonial in Huntington Woods, Shafritz, her
husband, Jeff, and their two active boys “were all in each oth-
er’s faces,” she says. “An open floor plan is much better for us.”
Built in 1940 as a Colonial with a cross-gabled roof and
double-hung windows, the home’s previous owners had
expanded on either side, giving it the feeling of a long
ranch. It also had plenty of opportunities to bring the
earthy lushness outdoors in, to the point where the divi-
sion becomes blurred.
“I wanted an outdoor area. This has lots of space, the
yard is green and lush and an enormous skylight lets us see
it,” Shafritz says. “The house faces the west, so the house is
always lit up with sun.”
Working with contractor Mike Williams of Ferndale,
Shafritz gutted the home and redesigned it into a comfort-
able, functional and inspiring respite for the whole family —
and their friends.
“My kids have friends over all the time. Now, from my kids, I
get smiles and lots of happiness.
“And my husband — last year, in the middle of the sum-
mer, we were sitting outside,” Shafritz says. “My husband
turns to me and says, ‘I couldn’t be happier.’” •
jn
June 1 • 2017
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