This century-old home renovation offers a bright, welcoming hub for the Levy family
By Morgan Cartier Weston | Photography by John Michael Simpson
The Eugene D. and Mary A. Grady House stands in Old West Durham as a testament to a bygone time. The Gradys purchased the lot from the Durham Loan and Trust Company on what was then B Street, part of the grid road naming system established around Erwin Mill (lettered streets ran east to west, and numbered streets, north to south; Ninth Street is a rare remainder of this system). The family, which included Eugene, Mary and their daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, lived in the home until 1928.
In the following decades, the home became a rental with a rotating cadre of owners and occupants. A transformative restoration in 2022 revitalized the Victorian-style home, breathing new life into its aging walls while preserving its connection to Durham’s rich history – and even unveiling answers to some of its mysteries.
“We thought it was built in 1929, but our design team got in and was quick to tell us they thought it was older,” says homeowner Tina Prevatte Levy. Details like the bay window, gabled chimney and steep roofline hinted at an earlier construction date, and records confirmed that the Gradys bought the lot in May 1912.
The Levy family, which includes Tina, her husband, Josh Levy, a senior policy analyst with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, and their children, Logan Levy, 14, and Ida Levy, 10, moved into the house in 2010. “I was pregnant with Logan,” Tina says, “so the initial plan was to move in with plenty of time to get settled before the baby came.” Tina had her hands full elsewhere, too, as she was busy building up Firsthand Foods, a food hub she co-founded with Jennifer Curtis that supplies local, pasture-raised meats to individuals and restaurants; she remains CFO and COO of the business, which celebrates its 14th anniversary this year. When Logan decided to arrive seven weeks early, the family’s plans for the house turned in a different direction.
LEFT The primary bathroom features bright geometric tile in the shower, a refinished vintage tub and penny floor tiles – a nod to the early 1900s.
RIGHT “Guests love the powder room because it feels like you’re walking into a magical cave,” Tina says. The wallpaper pattern is composed of poisonous leaves, snakes, mushrooms, bugs and flowers.
Tina believes that was a good thing. “We had to wait quite a while, both to save up but, more importantly, to feel ready for the renovation,” Tina explains, knowing the remodel would need to be a holistic endeavor and require a lot of time, thought and collaboration. “I think living in the home for 12 years before undertaking an ambitious renewal ended up being for the best,” she says. The family’s day-to-day experiences were crucial to informing their decisions – including who to work with.
They turned to Four Over One, a preservation designer, to ensure their planned modern updates were intentionally balanced with the home’s existing charm. “The house had such wonderful bones when we started,” says Four Over One owner Sara Lachenman. “High ceilings, tall windows and the long center hallway; much of our design focused on celebrating those original features while making sure each space flowed well and the sightlines carried all the way through.”
“We knew we wanted to update the bathrooms to be aesthetically pleasing and more functional to us,” Tina says. The addition of a primary suite was a significant goal, addressing the family’s need for improved space and practicality. “For the first 12 years, the four of us actually shared a single bathroom because there were cracks in the second bath’s tub that rendered it unusable,” Tina shares. Other pragmatic aspects fueling the redesign included a closet for Tina and Josh, and a more useful – and aesthetically pleasing – kitchen.
Tina worked closely with Sara and, when the time came to put plans into action, hired Cadence Construction to bring the vision to life. “They made [the process] very fun for me,” Tina says. “I credit both teams for making it as easy as it could have been on me.” The collaborative effort resulted in preserved architectural elements among new modern features.
“For example, I wanted to keep the two fireplaces, and I didn’t want to touch the staircase banisters,” Tina says. These were easy decisions, but others were uncovered while making several other necessary improvements, like reinforcing the kitchen’s foundation, replacing the knob-and-tube wiring and insulating the home. “Older houses always present challenges arising from neglect, undiscovered damage, remnants of poor quality repairs and renovations, and the unsound building practices of the past,” says Cadence Construction’s Todd Hershberger. The design work brought forth a few of these unexpected discoveries, including a forgotten well.
RIGHT Tina and Sarah worked together to ensure the design checklist preserved the home’s two original, elegant fireplaces.
“Tina and Josh went with some of our suggestions, like the window seat in the primary bedroom, that others might have cut along the way,” Sara says. “When we drew it initially, it was to create a little more space without getting too close to the 100-year-old well in the backyard!”
In the end, Cadence Construction worked out how to fill the well, so it wasn’t an issue. “It feels great when we’re able to address these concerns in such a way that not only makes a house a home, but ensures that the home will last for years to come,” Todd says.
LEFT Cadence Construction’s Kristy Gibson commissioned artist Bailey Hunt to paint a portrait of the home as a gift for the Levys at the end of the project.
RIGHT Tina starts every day at the kitchen banquette. “I love to sit there with my laptop in the mornings or end my day journaling,” she says. “It’s just the perfect place to sit with a mug and think.”
The window seat is now one of Tina’s favorite spaces – along with the screened porch, the cozy banquette in the kitchen and the utilitarian laundry room, which are all connected by the central hallway. “Stepping into the house once the hall was opened up and seeing straight out into the screened porch was such magic, like we were putting everything back to rights,” Sara says. Each space reflects the careful planning that went into the year-long makeover. “This is our forever home; we’re rooted here in this community,” Tina says, emphasizing the long-term vision that informed their choices.
The home now boasts a fully functional primary suite, a bright, welcoming kitchen and a showstopper of a powder room, all a testament to the Levys’ commitment to preserving history while embracing modern living.
The renovation not only improved the Levys’ quality of life, it also turned their home into a welcoming haven for Logan, Ida and their friends. “We’ve become a bit of a teenage hangout,” Tina says with pride. “It makes me happy; it’s a sign we’ve created a welcoming space that our kids are proud of and happy to have friends visit.”
LEFT Ida, 11, practices at the family piano in the music room, which was painted a rich green during the redesign. Dark colors like maroon, brown, navy and green were popular choices for Victorian-era homes.
RIGHT The reconfigured kitchen – with its open shelving and large island – provides more connectivity to the rest of the home and plenty of space to prepare a snack or work on a project.
LEFT The central hallway boasts stunning high ceilings and reclaimed floors. It is the home’s heartbeat, connecting all main living areas.
RIGHT Josh relaxes with a book in the primary bedroom’s new window seat.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 bedrooms
2.5 bathrooms
1912 – year built
2022 – year renovated
2,000 – original square footage
2,300 – renovated square footage
