$1.1M Birmingham home is a 'secluded haven' on unusual lot

This unusual house in Birmingham is tucked into a setting that’s especially beautiful and secluded, yet it’s just walking distance to the city’s downtown.

It’s set so far back that from the street you barely notice the building. You see a long brick driveway that reaches much farther back than the neighbors’ homes around it. Then you see just this house’s most narrow end — the width of a two-car garage. Above it a second story has an arched window and a Juliet, or false, balcony.

From that narrow starting point the house stretches back another 90 feet. Where the building ends — with a covered rear porch —  the long, slim yard stretches out behind it.

The landscapes are intense in both the deep front yard and the deep rear yard. In front, it’s made up of extensive brick paving, specimen trees like Japanese maple and curving beds shaped by dozens of boxwoods with groundcover.

In the rear, that blooms into an extensive perennial garden, again with brick paving and scores of boxwood to shape flower beds. You see a full season worth of future blooms — peonies in bloom right now with big stands of phlox and black-eyed Susans getting ready to kick in.

“There’s always something beautiful you can look at as the season progresses,” the owner said.

The paved and manicured back garden looks suited to lounging and entertaining, but far out back an open area of grass is left natural, roughly big enough for a badminton game.

Although this is a street of narrow city lots, this yard is very private. On all sides it’s wrapped with a decorative iron fence. Inside that, rows of slender evergreens make privacy more intense. Also, being placed so far back from the street offsets this spot from the neighbors’ yards.

Interior is elegant

So much for this home’s unusual setting. Its interior is just as elegant, and interior finishes are rich. The butler’s pantry for example has dark wood cabinets like the kitchen., glass-front display doors and duplicate appliances.

All floors are oak. All three fireplaces are gas with automatic switches. All rooms have deep crown molding, including the finished basement. All three bedrooms have a full bath and a large walk-in closet with organizers.

The unusual floor plan was shaped by the lot’s history. Originally the lot was 35 feet wide and 271 feet deep. That meant the first version of this house was just 21 1/2 feet wide.

But a previous owner and the next door neighbor split an empty lot between them. So the lot expanded a little and allowed a long, slim addition down the side of the house. Now much of the house is 35 feet wide. That extra space let owners add a new main entrance, butler’s pantry, den-office and back porch.

Though this house is long, it is not dark. Big arching windows on both floors allow a lot of natural light. The greatroom and the owners’ suite above it each have two glass sliding doors with two Juliet balconies for generous exposure to the rear yard.

These owners now feel the pull of the Detroit, and they’re having a home built in Midtown. It’s not easy though to leave what the husband called “this secluded haven.”

“One of the things we like to do is sit on the back porch for Sunday morning coffee before church or at the end of a long day just sit there and have a glass of wine.

“It’s very peaceful. Very peaceful in terms of a city-based area.”

Home on deep lot in Birmingham

Where:   722 Wallace St., Birmingham

How much: $1,199,500

Bedrooms: 3

Baths:  4 full, 1 half.

Square feet: 3,606 plus 1,400 in the finished lower level.

Key features: Unusual Birmingham house gets maximum beauty and privacy from a long, narrow city yard, although it’s close to that city’s downtown. Beautiful gardens, lovely interior finishing.

Contact: Manette Klein, Howard Hanna,  248-318-8040.