The Tennessee crab orchard slate floors in the entryway are original to the home and served as the inspiration for revamping that space. Davis and Tweet had a metal stair railing removed to create clean lines and a “larger, grander entrance,” Davis says. They also closed off a door from the staircase landing to the kitchen to allow for more functionality. A period starburst flush mount light fixture illuminates the space, and a 10 Vagues stool by Ligne Roset (from Projects Contemporary Furniture) provides a stylish accent as well as a practical spot for putting on shoes. “It would have been very hard to restore the finishing on the (white pine) paneling,” Davis says, so they painted the wood a satin white.
Written by Sophia S. Ahmad
Photos by Duane Tinkey
With a background in buying and restoring homes, Des Moines interior designer Hal Davis and pharmacist Doyle Tweet frequent open houses. On one such outing last year, they discovered a midcentury house South of Grand and became intrigued with the 2,400-square-foot home’s hilly backyard, walkout basement and scenic views to the west and south. However, its period décor, including olive green walls, heavy drapes and out-of-date fixtures, made it difficult to love at first sight.
“We looked at this house three times before we considered purchasing it,” Davis says. “We were attracted to the originality, but it was very dated.”
But after a few visits, its quirky characteristics and quality construction began to appeal to them. The house was built in the mid-1950s by Gerald A. Jewett Jr., one of the namesakes of Gilcrest/Jewett Lumber Co., who lived there with his family until he sold it to Davis and Tweet last September. Jewett had handpicked the diverse species of wood—including walnut, white pine, Philippine mahogany and pecky cypress—that cover large portions of the walls in the house, even in the garage. (Scroll down to read about Jewett’s memories of the house.)
“We look for homes that are untouched so we can keep the integrity of them,” Davis says. “This house could have been torn down and a big McMansion built on (the lot). .… We love homes, and we love homes with a history. We find it very important to keep these homes alive and to preserve history.”
They spent four months renovating the house, using its roots as a jumping-off point while updating it for today’s living. The result is midcentury style with a contemporary flair, highlighted by clean, modern elements.
“We really live with the idea that less is more,” says Davis, who last year starred in the HGTV series “West End Salvage.” “We purchase things that we love and that have a story. … We just don’t fill our house up with stuff.”
By removing a large china hutch, Davis and Tweet transformed the 12-by-14-foot dining room into a casual yet functional entertaining space. They finished the solid oak floors, which
are original to the house. With the help of Cabinets By Design in Grimes, they created a large center island for entertaining, working and dining. The 4-by-8-foot island is topped with a White Cliff by Cambria quartz countertop with a waterfall edge that cascades down the side.
The chandelier, Big Bang by Foscarini,
also functions as an art installation, the owners say. “It creates interest in how it is directional, how it casts light and how it is able to hold the space over the top of the island,” Davis explains.
Nine-foot custom floor-to-ceiling white cabinets with flat-panel doors provide maximum pantry storage. A large mirror reflects the original slate fireplace in the living room, and minimal decor finishes the space.
Davis and Tweet left the original Philippine mahogany paneling unpainted to retain a denlike ambience in the 9-by-12-foot space. Hunter Douglas cellular shades fit within the framework of the window and allow morning light to filter into the east-facing room.
The ceiling beams had a rough-hewn scraped finish, which was too rustic for the new decor. Capping the beams with new wood and painting them white lifted the ceiling visually, Davis says.
A white cut-pile wool rug brightens the room, and a Herman Miller Eames-inspired lounge chair and white Ligne Roset side table complete the look.
The wall-long Tennessee crab orchard slate fireplace and a large window just behind the gray Florence Knoll sofa provide the main focal points of the living room. The sofa’s multicolored pillows from Projects Contemporary Furniture add splashes of color. Track lighting illuminates a painting by Edna Dahl that was purchased at a local consignment store and is rumored to have won a blue ribbon at the 1965 Iowa State Fair.
A two-tiered oak and lacquer coffee table from the J.C. Penney Home Store sits atop a black goatskin Minotti rug. A black leather chair and a white Ligne Roset Good Morning occasional table cozy up to the wood-burning fireplace.
Dining area: Heavy drapes framed sliding doors leading to the deck.
A hutch on the far right was removed
to expand the entrance to the kitchen by about three feet.
Kitchen: A door on the right side of the kitchen leading to the front staircase was sealed, and the layout of the blue and white room was reimagined into an extended galley kitchen.
Den and entryway: The den originally had been a fifth bedroom before Gerald
A. Jewett Jr. converted it in 1965 to a den
and transformed the closet into a wet bar. Jewett intentionally installed wood floors under the white carpet in case the next owner removed the carpet.
Existing cabinets and ceramic flooring were knocked out to make way for a light and airy extended galley kitchen. The sleek white custom cabinetry from the dining room continues through the kitchen, and two contemporary stainless steel and wood pendants hang in the original corner windows—such windows are an architectural feature repeated throughout the house. Back-painted in a metallic champagne hue, the Walker Zanger backsplash tiles reflect and bounce light around the room while making a visual impact in the minimal space. The plaster ceiling was torn out and replaced with recessed lighting, and new wood floors were installed. Electrical outlets are hidden in the cabinets to reinforce the streamlined look.
Whirlpool White Ice appliances juxtapose stainless and white finishes. “It’s an interesting combination that worked well,” Tweet says. “We could’ve put in stainless, which is what everyone would’ve expected, but instead, these disappear into the cabinetry and they have great details.”
Hal Davis (left) and Doyle Tweet stand in the entryway of their South of Grand home. A newly installed midcentury-style reeded glass door allows natural light to stream into the house.
The Jewett Home
Invention, drive and excellence run in Gerald A. Jewett Jr.’s DNA. His great-grandfather, George A. Jewett, was an early founder of Jewett Lumber Co. and
the Jewett Typewriter Co. As a member of Drake University’s founding community, George A. Jewett became legendary for signing every diploma issued by the university until 1934. Four generations later, Gerald A. Jewett Jr. was instrumental in merging Gilcrest Lumber Co. with Jewett Lumber Co. in 1985.
As a boy, Gerald A. Jewett Jr. played on the land on which he would eventually build his dream home. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1950 and married the same year. Two years later, he bought the lot, and two years after that, he began building his house. He spent many hours in his basement crafting the paneling that covers many of the walls in the home.
He lived there for more than five decades. “When I built the house, I was very fussy about staying in for a long time, which I did,” Jewett says.
The home’s unique features include a pre-molded membrane on the basement floor to prevent moisture from seeping in. A two-inch water pipe from the main to the house ensures strong water pressure. Window panes are crafted from insulated glass, and Jewett insisted that the sewer lines be made from cast iron instead of the traditional Orangeburg bitumenized fiber pipes. Forty pipes, each carefully labeled at the furnace, deliver hot air to different rooms throughout the house.
Jewett handpicked the 30,000 paving bricks that cover the exterior of the house, the back patio and the basement fireplace. He bought them
from the construction company that was building Veterans Memorial Auditorium at the time, loading and hauling the bricks back to his home himself. The bricks had covered Fourth Street.
“The house was my pride and joy,” he says. “I built it to raise my family in, and it worked out.”
