Sometimes houses are described in the real estate adds as “cute” or “sweet” or a “dollhouse,” which usually means “small.” Well, this one really is sweet. It’s a 1940s cottage in Avondale, the classic old neighborhood just south of Mound Street. Rumor has it that it was designed by Ralph Twitchell before he went modern, and there may be some truth to that, as it’s several notches above the usual cottages in the area. Check out the corner windows.


The house is made of cypress, inside and out. Some of the interior panneling has been painted; other rooms have the original wood finish. Wood floors, of course, and a fireplace. The rooms are not large, but the house has its original footprint, without any ill-advised remodeling. The kitchen and bathrooms have been updated, but they still have the feeling of the past.


The front garden is particularly nice, with hedges and brick walks. In the back is an ultra modern carport, of all things, designed by Totems, a local firm. It sort of works, although I would be tempted to put in a pool and turn the carport into a pool/guest house.


It’s a short sale and it’s priced at $449,000. Call Lou Salvatori at (941) 374-2666.

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This 95-year-old Southern Gothic mini-mansion in Bradenton may be the most atmospheric home in the entire area. You could reenact entire Tennessee Williams plays right on the verandah without changing a thing. On gloomy days it exudes melancholy; when the sun comes out it’s like you’ve time-traveled back to the comforting past. Add to that a secret garden that slopes down to Ware’s Creek and you have something that is going to make old house lovers
salivate.


It is currently owned by either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, but the previous owner got about 75 percent through remodeling—the neighbors say he was a yacht carpenter—and the interior is definitely on the right track. He installed intricate paneling all over, did a great-looking kitchen and two artily updated baths. Still, there’s a lot to be done: the siding is a problem (but at least its original) and the second floor is lacking a ceiling. There a weird swimming pool that fits in perfectly. But the glory of the place is the two main downstairs rooms, beautifully proportioned, with great windows and a fireplace in each.


The location is perfect, at least for the purposes of a great old wreck. It’s in a shabby part of downtown Bradenton, just down the street from the shuffleboard courts. Both properties on either side are empty and boarded up. It doesn’t matter.

I am told it is just over 2,100 square feet, and is currently configured as five bedrooms.  There is also a two-car garage and a pavered motor court, added later, I’m sure, plus an aquarium and a white picket fence. I seem to remember back during the boom it was on the market for $750,000. Now it’s priced at $179,000. Call May Aston at 941-545-3417.

Every once in a while you find a house in Sarasota that’s so Key West in feeling that you can just picture yourself hanging out all day by the pool, wandering into the kitchen for margarita refills, while  your biggest worry is what to do about dinner tonight. This house right in the middle of McClellan Park fulfills that fantasy perfectly.


It was built back in 1935 but remodeled several years ago by prominent architect Gene Aubrey, the master of the New/Old Florida look. The main house is flooded with light, has lots of space, and is very informal but stylish in feeling. My favorite twist is the whitewashed wooden floors. Upstairs there are two bedrooms, each special: the master has a lovely sleeping porch overlooking the pool, and the guest room has a large semi-circular alcove lined with window seats, overlooking  Cliff Roles’ house. With any luck you’ll catch him sunbathing in a Speedo.


Like a true Key West house, everything focuses on the pool. There’s a pool house and a guest house, with a nice one-bedroom apartment that was added during the remodel. The entire property is surrounded by a charming celery-green fence, with special indentations here and there to preserve the old trees for which the neighborhood is famous. (In case you’re unfamiliar with McClellan Park, it’s Old Sarasota, with winding streets and bungalows, just minutes from downtown.)

The house has two, possibly three, bedrooms (not counting the guest house) and comes in at just over three thousand square feet. There’s a very large one-car garage and more parking under the porte-cochere. The asking price is $975,000 and the listing agents are Donald Geike and Dana Westmark at (941) 951-6660.