About 1763 Mercer Avenue
Its porch was shaded, under an ancient oak tree, wide as wonder and steady as time. Built in 1924, the bones were honest and thick with the kind of craftsmanship that doesn’t bend under pressure. A century had passed. And then, the house was restored. No shortcuts. No gloss. The crawlspace was dry and the foundation reinforced. Even the doorknobs and light switches were brought back to life. The owners honored the home's original charm, letting the soft patina speak quietly of everything that came before. Inside, the heart pine floors, scratched and scuffed in all the right ways, glowed like sun-warmed honey. A story here. A season there. Christmases. Rainstorms. First steps and final dances. They carried it all. The light moved, it poured through wide windows, touching walls, stretching long across the split-bedroom floor plan. One wing for sleeping. One for dreaming. An office. A nursery. A guest room no one wanted to leave. Two bathrooms offered their own quiet miracles. Vintage in feel, modern in soul. Time travelers in tile. The kitchen was the heart of the home, anchored by an oversized island, wide enough to lean on, strong enough to hold court. Family recipes would be perfected here, remade each Thanksgiving, growing sweeter with time. Shaker cabinets stood at attention. The appliances gleamed, ready for potlucks and pancake breakfasts or late-night cobbler experiments. There was a pantry. Everything you needed. Nothing you didn’t. Out back, the land leveled out like an open palm. Fenced. Private. Alive with possibility. Chase a dog. Build a chicken coop. Hang twinkle lights and call it a wedding. Or do nothing at all, just lay back and watch the birds hide inside the oak’s wide green crown. The quiet was generous. And yet, you weren’t far. Walk to Woodward Academy. Dinner at The Break Pad. Ten minutes to the airport. This was a tucked-away world with one foot in the city. A front-row seat to everything, but far enough back to think clearly. There was even a garage. Over-sized. One car, plus bikes, tools, boxes filled with things too important to throw away, too heavy to open just yet. Some homes are just walls. This one was something else. It held the weight of time like a memory you’d forgotten was yours. It stood there, solid, kind. Waiting for someone who knew how to listen. Come lay beneath the oak tree… You’ll feel it, that quiet certainty. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll stay.
