With a last name like Greathouse, the owner of one of Huntington’s most uniquely decorated homes is a perfect fit.
By Susan Nicholas
HQ 70 | SUMMER 2010
Some of the most famous musicians of the Big Band era visited this home on Huntington’s Willow Glen Road, giving it a unique history that adds to its charm. During the 1950s, Leonard H. Samworth and his family lived in the home. At that time, Samworth was the president of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra, and he often invited the musicians over to relax after the shows.
Samworth’s son, Leonard Samworth Jr., said he remembers trying to stay up past his bedtime to catch a glimpse of the stars.
“I would sit on the top of the stairs and watch people in tuxedos and evening gowns come in the front door,” Samworth said. “It was an exciting time.”
Two of the most well-known visitors to the house were Benny Goodman, the “King of Swing,” and Artie Shaw, who came to town to open the 1949-50 season of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra with his signature clarinet.
If Shaw and Goodman were alive today, they likely wouldn’t recognize the home. It’s been transformed into a retreat you might expect to find in South Florida.
The original musical artists once made quite an impression there; but now, visitors come to see the work of design artists, whose artwork decorates the remodeled home.
“I knew right away that this was the home for me,” Don Greathouse said after touring the home with his realtor. “It needed a lot of work, but there was just something about it. It was like the house was talking to me, telling me, ‘You’re going to like living here.’”
Greathouse grew up in Huntington but moved away 30 years ago. He’s lived in New Orleans, Atlanta and Chicago and has spent much of his life in South Florida but recently came back to the area to be closer to his family. His job with Ashland Incorporated now allows him to work from home. Before moving in, he spent 11 months completing major renovations, from knocking out walls to updating the windows and electrical wiring.
“I didn’t want to take away from the house,” Greathouse said. “I wanted to enhance it. That’s hard to do with a house that’s 75 years old. You knock out a wall and – uh-oh – you have to do something else now.”
To help with this transformation, Greathouse hired Justin Randolph with JMR Contracting. Randolph said older homes are often the most difficult projects. He found a lot of crooked floors and windows that had settled over time.
“My advice to anyone wanting to remodel an older home is to do it all at once,” Randolph said. “Get the mess over with because it will be messy. If you have to move out during the renovations, do it.”
Greathouse took that advice but remained very involved in the renovations.
“There were no blueprints,” he said. “It was just me standing around talking to the contractors. Justin did all the woodwork and trim. Ed Taylor Construction did all the electrical work for me.”
A neighbor and friend introduced Greathouse to Beverly St. Lawrence, a Huntington painter who added special embellishments throughout the house. St. Lawrence created a trompe l’oeil design on the dining room ceiling; she also added details to the fireplace in the living room and on various wood trim moldings and walls throughout the home.
Greathouse said his favorite room is the library.
“I can come in here and read and relax,” he said. “I feel like I am back in South Florida.”
A wall of windows allows natural light to flow into the library and onto two oversized chairs. On the bookshelf sits a gumball machine filled with trinkets Greathouse collected as a kid. On the wall hangs a whimsical painting of a monkey.
“I like monkeys, as you can tell,” Greathouse said. He has paintings and sculptures of monkeys throughout the house, things he has collected during his travels.
“It’s a very comfortable place,” Greathouse said. “When I’m out on the road for a few days I can come home and relax. One of my friends said there are a lot of different rooms you can go to and get lost. You feel like you are in a different place.”
One of those places in which guests to Greathouse’s home enjoy getting lost is the living room. It has a New Orleans feel to it.
“Women always want to sit in the king and queen chairs in my living room,” Greathouse said. “My friends always think I’ve done something new to the house, but it’s just that there is so much to look at.” Greathouse said his decorating style is Tommy Bahama meets antiques. One of his prized possessions is a clock from his grandfather, made in 1853.
Some of the designs in the house happened by accident. Greathouse said a decorative metal frame was propped up against a door that opens up into the dining room. He liked it so much he grabbed his drill and attached it to the door. In the kitchen he turned a former hide-away ironing board into a spice rack. And next to the front door an old bell ringer box for a telephone is now used as a night light.
The kitchen was small and enclosed, so Greathouse had his contractor knock out four feet of the wall to open it up.
“Back in the 1930s kitchens weren’t for entertaining; they were for cooking only,” Greathouse said. “Now, the kitchen is the place people gather. If I had been smart I would have taken all my money and added another 40 feet to my kitchen.”
Greathouse said guests may enjoy congregating in his kitchen, but they also love his spa bathroom. He kept the original cast-iron tub, which was pink before Greathouse had it painted white. To update the look of the tub, he added new hardware to it. Greathouse also had slate shipped from Atlanta for the bathroom walls and floor. To finish the spa feel, he had St. Lawrence paint a textured pattern on the ceiling.
Now that Greathouse is finished with the inside of his home, he has plans to tackle the outside. He wants to add wrought-iron gates and a fence to surround the property.
“You’re never done with an old house,” Greathouse said. “With a new house you’re done; there’s one day in your life when you say, ‘Hey, this house is finished.’ With an old house that day never comes. There is just always something more you need to do.”
And yes, Greathouse really is Don’s last name. So it seems fitting that he has created a home worthy to be featured in the pages of this magazine.
