The W.P. Budd House

When I learned that the beautiful brick and half-timbered Tudor revival house at 903 S. Duke Street in Durham's Morehead Hill was one of Preservation Durham's 2009 recipients of the George and Mary Pyne Preservation Awards, I was not surprised.

The condition of this 1924 home has certainly improved since Distinctive Properties Broker Eugene Brown and I listed and sold it for $299,000 back in 2003. Since Steve and Ruth Chandler have become its new owners, they have extensively renovated the house and garden.

They painstakingly restored all the original plaster walls and wooden floors throughout the house. The bathrooms retain their original fixtures and period tiles, including a marble slab shower enclosure (which I remember leaked terribly before the Chandlers acquired it). And the large master bedroom has both his and hers closets and bathrooms, which is a novelty for the time. They completely renovated the kitchen and butler's pantry, while maintaining many of the original built-ins.


Shortly after purchasing the property, Ms. Chandler told me that she was able to get in touch with and visited with some of the W.P. Budd family, who helped her piece together the history of the home. W. P. Budd was one of the partners in the Budd-Piper Roofing Company. To design his stylish new home, Budd hired Raleigh architect Murray Nelson.


"Noted builder, George Kane, constructed this house and subsequently built the Hart House on the Duke Campus, presently the home of the President and Mrs. Richard Brodhead," Ruth Chandler said. "The development of Duke University's west campus carried the Tudor Revival style into the 1930s, and the town of Durham had many fine examples. Few remain or rival the Budd House in purity of design or richness of detail. Two generations of Budds lived in the house until 1982 when W. P. Budd, Jr. sold the residence.


"The entry is modestly scaled but beautifully detailed with an impressive curved plaster and wood stairwell with hand-carved newel posts and jamb. The large living room has a coffered ceiling with carved beams and pendant finials, a grand limestone fireplace, built-in bookshelves, and a small curved prayer nook complete with a stained glass window. Beyond the living room, the sun room is a lovely space in which connects to a loggia overlooking the beautiful trellised rose garden. The spacious, light-filled dining room could easily seat the extended Budd family."

Ruth is an artist and the Chandlers have converted the attic level, which was a former children's play area into an artist's retreat. With the light streaming in from the windows on both sides of the house, this area has become a wonderful studio. Her paintings are displayed throughout the house and on several of the basement walls leading to their new media room/bar, Ruth has painted colorful murals of well-known Durham landmarks, such as the Bulls ballpark. In that same hallway the original icebox (which is incredibly heavy) still stands.