Restoring Pacific Grove homes while keeping their spirit intact.

The plaque by the door reads “L. Gydison 1889.” The original owner and date of construction thus define Pacific Grove’s historical homes but in this case, a second plaque could read “Love’s Labors Rewarded 2007.”

Bruce and Elizabeth Fryman buy houses with sorrows from age or neglect and reincarnate each one, soul intact, the new construction beautiful. Although this particular house required many labors, the love of the effect is palpable.

Elizabeth says, “It was 600 square feet with two bedrooms and a kitchen/ bathroom arrangement.” Now nearly 2000 square feet, it includes a third floor dedicated to the master suite. By rights, it should be “master sweet.” (More to follow.) The main floor offers an expansive, gracious living room with formal dining room area, terrific kitchen with dining alcove and glass- paned doors to the three “outdoor living decks.”

To build it all, one side of the house was removed, leaving the part with the original Victorian veranda, always the front entry, but now has become the side veranda with access from inside through a paned-glass living room door. “We redesigned the front facing Willow Steet instead,” Bruce says.

The two driveways weren’t intended to replicate Victorian anything, though. What seems to be a lawn is actually small pavers tightly chinked with thick grass. Bruce explains, “Water soaks in rather than drain away.” Elizabeth adds, “We use every ecological option.” Others include gas fireplaces (living room/master suite), the Fisher Paykel Double Drawer dishwasher and High Efficiency 95 percent rated furnace.

One enters the glowing warmth of the house by the formal 12 X 5 foot. foyer revealing implications of the layout: the main floor living room ahead, kitchen (glass-paned door to court yard) with Professional Viking Range/convection and a terrific dining nook surrounded by four big windows and steps to two-first floor bedrooms. The master staircase is unseen from anywhere in the house.

A total of 29 windows account for the flowing light here. Most are latching lift-ups, some with original glass. Paned glass doors leading to decks delicately reflect on pale walls and ceilings and the wide-plank hickory floors gleam. Elizabeth says, “The original oak floors were impossible to salvage.” Clear Heart redwood framing from 1889 remains termite-free.

The lure of this house begins outside; it’s set back, comfy on the land, beautifully landscaped, surrounded by wondrously tall trees and designed and subtly painted Victorian thinking. Inside, open rooms flow with airy light that genuinely gratifies, but the “master sweet” reigns: 21 X 14 feet. with vaulted ceiling, south-facing French doors to the private terrace, windows with filtered views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the bay. The fireplace is flush and perfect and the atmosphere fairly sparkles with life yet is nearly ethereal– a magic carpet soaring.

The bath is a hoot in the very best way, elegant, totally contemporary with view windows cornering a very deep, shimmering smooth oval, wonder of a tub unspoiled by hardware. The spigots are set discreetly on the side of a nearby cabinet, the tub filling from the ceiling in a stream with no splash.

So much defines the brilliantly designed and engineered house that nevertheless may ultimately be most appreciated for being poetically experienced.

Price $1,695,000 227 Willow St., Pacific Grove • Contact Bruce Fryman 233-6068 • The Jones Group Coast and Country Real Estate