DECEMBER VISUAL AWARD

The stately Tudor home on Lynwood Street has kept up appearances for years, and that’s the reason it was the winner of the December Visual Award.

Its current owners, Grant Buma and Mary Ann Eeds, gave the house a makeover years ago, with a fresh coat of paint and other improvements. Since then, they’ve maintained the house through searing summers, drought and the infamous microburst which snapped trees throughout central Phoenix, including on the east side of their house.

Those events have added up to subtraction from their broad front yard, all the better to show off the lines of their 1928 home, originally built for local attorney Frank Snell.

Anyone passing the house during the Christmas season could admire the tree holding center stage in the front window; stroll down the 900 block of Lynwood St. now and take a good look at a house that only gets better with age.

NOVEMBER VISUAL AWARD

The desert has inspired many a design, and such was the case with Rick LeClair. The desert as depicted by Sunset Magazine, to be accurate.

LeClair was struck by photos of a Tucson home whose dark base color set off the bold accent colors, echoing the desert plants surrounding the home. Guided by this inspiration, he opted for a dark-chocolate base color for his 1929 Spanish Colonial. He chose a sapphire blue for his windows, to give them pop, and continued the vibrant color scheme in his bright-red front door and cheery yellow Adirondack chairs.

Is desert landscaping next? LeClair, a 21-year resident of Story, is not sure. But he wants plantings that continue the colorful scheme. Check out the latest winner in the 1100 block of Lynwood.


JULY VISUAL AWARD

Facelifts have restorative powers — and not just for sagging skin. They work on houses, too. For proof, check out the 1928 Tudor that Matt and Kat Langman have been tending for the last three years.

The couple wanted a fresh look for their house, so they decided to change its color. Along the way, the painter also patched holes in the stucco, repaired rotting boards and then finished it off with a calming tan base, accented with dark-brown trim. It was quite a change from the former peachy-pink house with maroon trim.

The couple also replaced the dying shrubs under their front windows with new plantings, and ensured their long-run health by installing a drip system. Matt added low-voltage lighting around the shrubs, to subtly light the front of their house. See the effect for yourself in the 900 block of Portland, the winner of the Visual Award this month.


JUNE VISUAL AWARD

If you ever doubt the transformative powers of a thorough clean-up, take a look at the corner of 15th Avenue and Latham.. This winner of the Visual Award was the site of a perpetual yard sale until the La Luz Del Mundo church bought the house last fall.

The church is just to the west of the brick ranch home, which now serves as the pastor’s residence.

Church members wasted no time cleaning up the property, which included removing all the debris in the front yard and making generous use of pavers throughout, including the back driveway.

The front door was hand carved by church members, Pastor Carlos Montemayor said, and two matching rocking chairs on the front porch are there to encourage conversation. Stop by to welcome our new neighbor and admire the change to the property.


MAY VISUAL AWARD

If you notice something different about the ranch house with the long front porch, you’d be only half right if you say it’s the snappy red trim.
There’s also a meticulously built porch railing, which fits so well with the 1941 character of the house that you’d swear it’s been there for years. But John Marshall and Cindy Tassielli can vouch that it’s a new touch to their home, worked on over weeks and months.
John built it, board by board — 60 of them, if you want to count. He painted the boards, twice, between the primer and ruby-red paint. The red trim set off the house’s new light-green color , and provided the inspiration for the bright-red security door with its painted detail.
Stop by the house in the 1100 block of Lynwood and see what some careful craftsmanship and paint can do to perk up a house.

MARCH VISUAL AWARD

Everything about Rick Cullison’s and Richard Burger’s front yard says “welcome.” From the inviting brick pathway that leads to the front door, to the bird bath that is a magnet for birds of all feathers, to the spreading mesquite tree that provides shade and habitat, the yard beckons passersby of all types.

Half of the front yard is semi-desert, scooped out in a graceful curve that wraps around the front and into the long side yard. It’s filled with agave, prickly pear, sage and that mesquite, which was tilted to the west during last summer’s monsoon and righted thanks to some remedial aid from the homeowner.

The front walkway is lined with planters on both sides, filled with purple and white lantana. It leads up to a comfortable front porch that is shaded by a canopy that stretches across the front of the house.

Stop by this urban oasis in the 1100 block of Willetta. And if you happen to have some bread crumbs for the birds, all the better.

FEBRUARY VISUAL AWARD

To give their vintage ranch house a fresh look, Shari and Andy Bombeck had to get rid of some old things. Like the metal bars that covered the front windows. And the metal security door. And the layers of paint, stripped back to the wood, courtesy of an acetylene torch.

Then came the fresh, new elements: periwinkle paint to replace the old lavendar color; white trim that made the periwinkle pop, and the piece de resistance — a big metal chicken sculpture. The chicken was a gift from Shari to her husband, and it’s attracted lots of attention, as well as complementing the house’s new exterior color.

The Bombecks hope to turn their front yard into an orchard, starting with the “Charlie Brown” fig tree that Shari’s been nursing along. A lemon tree should appear soon. To watch the developing garden, stop by the 1948 ranch house in the 1100 block of Lynwood St.


JANUARY VISUAL AWARD
Kelly Powell and Dana Daller are starting from the ground up, literally, as they work on refurbishing their home.

The couple stabilized the foundation of their 1925 California bungalow, thanks to assistance from the city of Phoenix’s historic-preservation grants. They installed sprinklers in the yard and poured concrete curbing to edge in their front-yard flower beds. All of this is part of their effort to spruce up the house that was built by Henry Riegor, who in 1925 was town manager of Phoenix.

The couple’s work got a helping hand from Mother Nature late last summer. The microburst that blew through the neighborhood in late August gave the two olive trees in their front yard an unexpected trimming. More yard work is planned, once danger of frost is passed, and hopefully, without an unplanned assist from the weather.

For these efforts, the couple are the winners of January’s Visual Award. Admire the work in progress in the 700 block of Willetta St.