Fun Eclectic Designer Home in Historic Strathmore

I looked at the neighborhood before I looked at the house. Strathmore was planned in 1917 with curving tree-lined streets and no two houses alike. Part of it is on the National Register of Historic Places, and there are 26 homes here by Ward Wellington Ward, who people will drive across the state to see if they're into early 1900s craftsmanship. Tudors, Colonial Revivals and Arts and Crafts all sitting on the same block.

The neighborhood wraps around Onondaga Park, which has Hiawatha Lake, old stone steps and bridges, a pool, courts and playgrounds. In the summer they close the park roads to cars on Saturdays. There's Art on the Porches in September, concerts in the park, and some huge old black walnut trees that keep everything shaded.

The other reason is that it's quiet without being far from anything. Ten minutes to Syracuse University and downtown, five to Tipperary Hill, coffee and pizza within walking distance.

This is a designer's house, not a rental someone furnished in a weekend. Every room was done deliberately, with real color and pieces that took time to find, and it shows the second you walk in.

It's also built to hold a crowd. Ten people, four bedrooms, two porches, a backyard, and enough space that nobody ends up stuck in the same room all weekend.

Historic Strathmore, two blocks from the park, ten minutes to campus and downtown. Quiet street, great house, easy trip.