I’m doing a special feature in our July issue here at Sarasota Magazine, about houses that appeal to the creative spirit, and here to preview things is this home at 809 S. Jefferson. It’s one of the oldest homes in Sarasota, dating back to 1913, and started off life as a church, of all things. Later on it served as the home of the town’s first mailman. Today it’s owned by an artist and her husband, who lavished a lot of time an effort in to restoring it to its current splendor.

It’s got a great central location, just south of the Y, and, at two bedrooms, one bath, the scale is, well, “intimate.” But the details are terrific. Many are original; many come courtesy of my favorite store, Sarasota Architectural Salvage. Check out the home’s claw foot bath tub. My grandmother used to bathe me in just such a tub, back during the war, which war I’m not saying. Also very neat – the cottage- style garden and landscaping.

The living and dining rooms.