43 Farnham Pl

I rode the school bus past 43 Farnham in the 60’s and always admired the home. It fit the site perfectly and seemed to “just belong.” The house was framed by arching boughs of a 100-year old oak, framing the soft red bricks on the first floor and board and batten cypress planks on the second. The character and charm of the home stands in stark contrast to some of the new unimaginative homes that are cropping up today. It is so difficult to reproduce the character of an old home. In the 1980’s, we purchased a lot on West Oakridge. In deciding on the style of house to build, we kept coming back to #43 Farnham and wanted to build something that “just belonged.” Just before we were to sign the construction contract, we noticed an agent putting up a sign in front of the house. We immediately called and made an appointment to see the house that afternoon. That night we made an offer substantially above asking. The following day we were informed that the owner had accepted someone else’s offer and asked if we wanted to submit a back-up offer. We declined since we already had a backup plan with the Oakridge lot. Technically, our offer did not expire for another couple of days. Two days later, the seller’s agent called and told me there was no need to submit a backup offer since the buyers had gotten cold feet and backed out. The house was ours. It was meant to be, and our growing family was ecstatic. We loved the warmth and character of the home but did not want the headaches of a house built in the 1930’s. There’s a saying that the only thing that works in an old house is the owner. We did not want to be that owner, so in 2001 we took the house down to the studs preserving as much of the original millwork and plaster walls as possible. In conjunction with the renovation, we replaced all of the electrical and plumbing including some of the sewer lines under the house. In 2016, General Heating replaced the A/C eq with two high efficiency systems that are still under factory warranty. The house had an elevator, which we removed but preserved the shaft in case, we needed it in our old age. In conjunction with updating the building systems, we added a new master suite by putting a second story above the family room, a new kitchen, new bathrooms and converted a mother-in-law’s suite to a second den with a bar, refrigerator and third oven for thanksgiving dinners. The kitchen has a subzero refrigerator, gas cook top, two ovens and a warming drawer and a stand-alone ice maker. The second den and bar look out, through a lush alley to the pool. The formal living room looks out on oak lined Farnham Place. We sought out and used sinker cypress in the kitchen and bar areas to compliment the original cypress millwork. Sinker cypress is cypress lumber that has been harvested from swamp bottoms that can be hundreds of years old. The wood has matured and absorbed minerals from the surrounding waters and soil giving it deep undertones of reds, oranges, greens and browns. See: https://brunerlumber.com/sinker-cypress The home was perfect for our growing family. Those familiar with this sought after area know it to be safe and convenient to virtually all of amenities along Metairie Road. The home is perfect for entertaining, having 3 rooms living rooms and a bar which only lacks a cooktop to be a second small kitchen. Our children are grown and we are planning to downsize to a townhome in Delimon. Having raised a family and lived here more than 20 years, it has been a very difficult decision. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a home on Old Metairie’s premier street at less than half the cost of new construction. Agents are protected however the net proceeds from any sale will be used as a basis for comparing offers.