With slideshow: Dark and dowdy Ann Arbor Hills ranch given a second life

Traditionally, the Millman Development Group - the company Millman owns with her husband, Darren - builds and remodels larger-scale houses, usually in the 3,000- to 5,000-square-foot range.

Developer Karen Millman stands in front of the home before it was remodeled.

Dan Meisler | For AnnArbor.com

But Bruce Wallace, who bought the Geddes Avenue ranch in 2003 for $384,500, turned to Millman, a friend, after his house sat on the market for a year. The house, Millman said, was dark, dated and depressing.

“In the Ann Arbor community, people are looking for move-in condition,” she said.

It wasn’t a surprise that it didn’t sell. 


“It has a couple of layers of handyman specials that weren’t well done. It was very dated. It was ‘50s dated, ‘60s dated and some ‘70s dated. We literally needed to get everything out and start over,” Millman said.

That meant gutting the house. About the only thing that remained were the two stone-faced fireplaces, one on the main floor and a second on the lower level.

Everything from the roof, light fixtures, cabinetry, doors, appliances and all windows were replaced.

Located at the edge of Ann Arbor Hills, with its Currier and Ives neighborhood of stately homes, the Geddes Avenue ranch, even in its sorry condition, was structurally sound and only minutes from The Arb.

“It was well-constructed,” Millman said. 
“It just needed some love.”

Walls were removed and windows added and repositioned.

“We reconfigured the space to give it a more current flow,” Millman said. “There were random windows that looked out at the sides of the other houses. It felt like being in a submarine it was so dark.”

The large, single-pane window in the living room at the rear of the house summed up 1950s design. In its place, Millman installed a cluster of four, double-hung windows, adding bold molding and trim for detail around the windows and doors.

The walls were painted grays and warm taupes.

The style now is more transitional, somewhere between traditional and arts and crafts, Millman said.

**Photo slideshow**

The arts and crafts style shows at the entrance with a large oak door accented with six small beveled glass windows. The multiple layers of crown molding also hint at arts and crafts.

The worn cream-colored shag carpet was lifted to reveal a partial oak floor. Where there was subfloor, matching oak was added. Granite countertops were installed in the kitchen along with a ceramic tile backsplash and a suite of stainless steel appliances. 


The lower level was virtually unusable space, Millman said. Carpet was laid, some walls were removed to create a niche space that can be used as an exercise or sewing room and a fourth bedroom was added.

Double egress windows were installed in the lower-level bedroom after the ground around the foundation was excavated and new footings poured.

Outside, the grounds were improved by adding mature evergreens and a covered porch with a coffered white birch ceiling was built in the backyard. A blue slate front porch was added.

Millman is banking on the idea that couples are downsizing from the 4,000-square-foot houses that popped up across Ann Arbor and are now looking for smaller but still tasteful space.

“People don’t want space that sits empty, they are re-evaluating how they live,” Millman said. “This could be for someone who wants to downsize, but they don’t want a condo. For me, this is a test, to see if that buyer is out there looking. I’m curious.”