Family art fills a Tudor Revival in East Falls
Caroline Patten’s home is fully adorned with art made by family and friends, as well as items she’s found in her travels.
When Caroline Patten bought her East Falls home in 2013, she could envision how she would display her favorite pieces of art. Having grown up in a house overflowing with artwork in Washington, D.C., she wanted each creation to find a meaningful home.
“There were so many different blank walls to hang artwork,” recalled Patten, a veterinarian at Liberty Veterinary Clinic in Roxborough.
The approximately 3,500-square-foot Tudor Revival-style house includes six bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms. That’s plenty of room for her blended family, including her sons, Marlowe Asbury, 17; Gus Asbury, 12; her partner, Trevor Naidoo; and his four kids, who range in age from 13 to 29.
The one weak spot in the house was the kitchen. In 2023 she hired Vestige Home in East Falls for a complete kitchen renovation, which included creating a mudroom.
“The original kitchen had numerous problems in terms of functionality, including a lack of workspace, cramped corners, and it felt isolated from the main dining area,” said Nicole Cole, CEO and principal designer of Vestige Home. “They were lacking in any sort of space to have storage for the coats, bags, shoes, and leashes that inevitably accumulate.”
Now the kitchen is where the family spends most of their time. Patten, an avid cook, has organized storage space and plenty of counter space to prep meals. The kids eat at the kitchen island.
White cabinets fill the walls, offset by a deep-green tiled backsplash and black granite countertops. The cream-colored quartzite island with black and gold streaks sits atop a black-stained island. Oak and ash highlights include a storage unit, open shelving, and hardware.
The refrigerator and shelving is concealed behind white paneling for an uncluttered, clean look. Patten is drawn to Japanese and Scandinavian Nordic design with natural tones, black, white, and gray.
Most of the home’s color comes from artwork, including paintings by her mother, Sherry Patten; quilts by her sister Brooke Patten; prints and paintings from artistic family friends; and pieces she acquired while traveling.
Among her favorites are two abstract oil paintings her mother made of what resemble angular houses.
“My mom paints these abstracts but also still lifes which are a completely different style,” said Patten. “I like the simple design of the abstracts. The houses remind me of the house we grew up in with a very modern, clean design.”
She also cherishes her Brockie Stevenson print of a firehouse. The artist, a family friend, was known for painting symbols of Americana. A Lou Stovall print, hanging in her living room, is another favorite that Patten snagged from her mom’s house when she moved out. It shows trees and a mountain under a cloudy sky.
“It has a dreamlike quality that I always liked as a kid,” she said.
One of the quilts her sister made, inspired by artist Gene Davis, lies across the living room sofa.
Patten’s son Gus, who appreciates graffiti art, helped local street artist PlasmaOne paint Gus’ name in bright red, filling his bedroom wall.
Mementos from the family’s travels are showcased throughout the house, including bowls from South Africa on display in the kitchen, a ceramic octopus from Vieques, Puerto Rico, above the kitchen door, and a cloth octopus from Jamaica that sits in the dining room.
“I saw an octopus when snorkeling in Vieques so that prompted the first octopus art purchase,” Patten said.
The family built a backyard patio soon after moving into the home, where they spend much of their time together now. It’s a calm spot for morning coffee, watching and listening to birds flying overhead. The kids play basketball there, and it’s where Patten gardens vegetables and flowers.
The vegetable garden is vibrant with beans, beets, radishes, and Japanese sweet potatoes, as well as marigolds, zinnias, and other colorful flowers in containers nearby. It’s a favorite spot for their dogs, Cruz, a 4-year-old pit bull mix, and Mabel, a 13-year-old toy poodle, to play.
Patten especially appreciates her neighbors, who share a long driveway behind all their houses.
“A lot of people here use their back door more than their front door,” she said. “Our shared driveway creates a mini neighborhood within the larger East Falls neighborhood.”
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