Tudor-style Fountain City house transformed into a livable family home.Tudor Revival gets a winning midcentury treatment

When Aaron and Angela Greenwald moved to Knoxville in February 2020, they were renting a furnished downtown apartment and knew very little about the city.

“It was a strange time to look for a house,” said Angela, who went to view a 1935 Tudor Revival home in Fountain City. “We came into the house and thought ‘yeah’, we have a 3½-year-old daughter and at the time thought it was more house than we had planned to buy.

“The last two years have been awful for the world, but this house has been a wonderful place to be in the midst of that.”

Located just off Jacksboro Pike, the two-story house is 3,600 square feet and has four bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms.

While the stone façade gives it an imposing presence in the much sought-after Harrill Hills neighborhood, the interior has been given a light, airy and almost contemporary feel.

“The original Fenestra steel windows are out of Detroit and (neighbors) Joe and Connie (Roberts) sourced all of the parts to restore them, so the windows are fully functioning,” said Aaron. “It has been an amazing house. It's a real neighborhood, people are out walking their dogs and kids are outside playing; it has felt so welcoming.”

The Greenwalds were also captivated by the original wood floors, mirrored stone fireplaces in the living and dining rooms. “The ceilings are high and the light and space in the house is lovely,” added Angela. “It is spacious and gracious, it is big, but doesn’t feel overwhelming. It is a great house for entertaining and we love the garden and fenced-in yard.”The laundry room is the most luxurious one Angela has experienced. Windows span the length of the room and a hand built folding table makes laundry a pleasant activity.

Like most Americans, the couple worked from home and had plenty of time to explore their favorite place, Seven Islands State Birding Park, and get into some gardening.

“Seven Islands is a gem,” said Aaron. “Overhill Gardens did the landscaping at the entrance, and we learned that for the last 20-25 years the owner, Avi Askey, has been a native plant expert. He gave us some drawings of what he wanted to do, and it is a four-season layered garden.”

“We wanted something that was low maintenance, that was going to be here forever,” added Angela. “It is a big imposing stone house, but we had all this grass and it was a boring yard. We wanted to bring in more birds and bees.”The Greenwalds admit that they had not done a lot of gardening before and were grateful for Askey’s knowledge of native Tennessee plants.

Another change was the addition of a screened-in porch. “We didn’t have any private outside entertaining space,” said Angela. “There is a deck off the kitchen, but it gets too hot. It’s great for cooking but not eating,” added Aaron.

“The screened-in porch is on the private and shady side of the house and gives us a private space while keeping mosquitos away.” The addition of heaters allowed the family to use the space almost year-round.

“We tried to do research on the original builders, but the legend is that the couple who built this house traveled extensively, and they found these plans to build this house and brought them back with them,” said Angela. “But we can’t validate it.”

Property tax records show that Oakle and Frances Durham purchased it in 1970, but after 1992 it was sold and became a multifamily dwelling with separate kitchen upstairs. Then it sat empty and fell into disrepair before the Robertses restored it to its former glory.

The Greenwalds lived in a midcentury house in Durham before moving to Knoxville and were pleasantly surprised how well their furniture fit the Tudor-style home. “I think if you have the right stuff, that is not too kitschy, it feels more livable, and this house is very livable,” said Angela.

All too soon, however, the couple are being forced to say goodbye to the house as they move to the Midwest for a job offer too good to turn down. Knox Native Real Estate has listed the house at 3605 Grove Circle, a week out and the listing has had more than 3,000 views on Zillow. Showings start Thursday.