TUDOR Takeover

A 1926 Tudor-style home leads the design choices for this Michigan couple.

- VICTORIA VAN VLEAR

WHEN YOUR HOUSE has a particular style of architecture, it's helpful to let that architecture lead the direction of your décor. This was the case for homeowners Josh Gratz and Vanessa Chaverri-Gratz. They were living in a mid-century ranch house in Texas when they happened to be scrolling through real estate listings one night during a date night in. "[Josh] is from this area, Detroit, and always looked back here. He happened upon this listing," Vanessa says.

"You usually can't afford those perfect listings, but we were shocked to see that we could. We happened to be coming into town to visit his family, so we went to see it and made an offer that day." They've been in the house two years now, and Vanessa has decorated with a style that fits perfectly in the 1926 home.

SWOOPING CHARM. The exterior facade of the Tudor house has an asymmetrical gable with a swoop, which creates charming curb appeal. Vanessa would like to either repaint the house at some later date or encourage the climbing ivy to cover more of the home's front.

PERFECTLY IMPERFECT. What looks like wallpaper in the stairwell is actually a pattern Vanessa handpainted with a stencil. "I wanted wallpaper so much, but the vast majority of the house is the original plaster walls that aren't smooth and we're not major DIYers so we weren't going to redo the walls," Vanessa explains.