To Helen Ruppert, the Central West End home she will leave soon has been more than a place to live; it has been a personal expression of her style and hard work. An independent interior designer for 31 years, she started in the basement and worked her way up to the third floor, decorating and ‘fixing up’ along the way during the 17 years she has resided there. Her daughter lives on the same street, and Ruppert describes the area as a family neighborhood.
Construction began on the house in 1926, and everything is original except the kitchen. Ruppert is a proponent of reusing and repurposing in her projects. “About nine years ago, I totally gutted the kitchen and took out a couple of rooms to make it bigger,” she says. “I installed windows, two new french doors and nine large pieces of molding. I personally did all the work myself.” Another massive undertaking Ruppert did on her own was the backyard. She planted 750 boxwood shrubs and even dug the fountain, placing the motor under the garage so the noise wouldn’t disturb her.
Her two favorite areas of the home are the kitchen and an expansive patio in the back, where she goes every morning to relax. “The huge, 80-foot patio used to be accessible only from the living and dining rooms, but I added an adjoining patio so I could get to it from my kitchen,” she explains. “It’s a very peaceful place. The slate tiles are original to the home, so I lifted them all for cleaning and relaid them.” In keeping with her ‘restore rather than renovate’ logic, she redid all the original hinges and knobs and removed every door to strip them of their 80-year-old paint.
While nothing was a quick process (stripping and repainting the exterior took a year), Ruppert says every decision was worth it. “It’s been an experience,” she says. “I just love beautiful things, and that’s how I made the house.” While she admits she will definitely miss her kitchen, Ruppert is ready for a less demanding space. “I want to go South in the winter!”
listing price | $2,000,000
listing agent | ben patton and wayne norwood of gladys manion real estate
Photos: Steven B. Smith
