Stylish residence in a recharged setting

Some five years ago when Moses Freeman helmed the city’s neighborhood services department, he toured a Leadership Chattanooga class through several residential urban enclaves. "I was extolling the virtues of downtown living when something went off in my head," he said. "The best times in my life have been spent in cities that have an active downtown area. I thought, ‘I should be living downtown, too.’"
   Soon after, he formed a development company with James Pratt and bought six lots in the East 10th Street area, he said. They planned to build Mr. Freeman’s home on one lot and to pique buyer interest in further construction.
   It came almost as fast as the sale of Mr. Freeman’s former home in Brainerd. By the time he and his wife, Louise, left temporary lodging for their new home in 2004, the historic neighborhood had become a rich melange of luxe 21st-century dwellings, energetic transplants and five-minute commutes to an increasingly vibrant metropolitan scene.
   Boasting upper- and lower-story balconies to tap sweeping mountain views, the couple’s 2,800-square-foot residence was designed "to blend in with the neighborhood — a traditional exterior with round porches, columns, no bricks or siding," according to Mrs. Freeman, a retired Krystal Co. manager. "Easy upkeep was important to us."
   In most rooms, hardwood floors, stained the color of honey and accented with lush woven area rugs, provide the fuss-free care they favor. Ceramic tile, with a neutral hue and subtle sheen, is the ticket in the kitchen and bathrooms.
   Tile, this time rough-textured travertine, also dresses the hearth and surround of a clean-lined fireplace that forms the living room’s focal point. Mrs. Freeman said, "The fireplace was a ‘must-have.’ So was the room’s bay window."
   A jazz and classical music aficionado, Mr. Freeman said his "non-negotiables" included a sophisticated system with controls to admit or close off recorded sound to five separate zones.
   More evidence of an affinity for technology — a vast flat-screen TV, computer and other gadgetry — appears in his media room. A masculine retreat that’s furnished with a soft-leather sectional sofa, the space boasts one of the home’s three balconies, where Mr. Freeman quipped that he paces when watching intense sports action on TV.
   Mrs. Freeman’s personal haven takes the form of a first-floor bedroom that she turned into a pretty parlor. Because the room’s lone window is high upon the wall, she added a transom above the door to flood the area with added light.
   But its wall color, a Tuscan gold that enhances all rooms in the first-level’s open floor plan, serves almost as a light source itself, alternately seeming to glow warm or cool, depending on the time of day, according to Mrs. Freeman.
   She said the color inspiration was the living room’s wing chairs and that she picked up other shades in their botanical-print fabric when selecting window treatments — fringed valances and drapes in patterns of crimson and spring green.
   A similar palette presides in the formal dining room, which the homeowners said represented another must-have, and also in the breakfast nook. The adjoining kitchen carries out the color scheme with maple cabinets, stained "Sugar Beet" and taller and deeper than standard-sized units, as a nod to Mrs. Freeman’s often-complimented culinary skills.
   One of the home’s most attractive areas is the master bedroom, an airy spacious refuge designed with dual tray-ceilings in shapes that evoke emerald-cut gems. The adjoining master bath sports his-and-her vanities and closets, a glass-doored shower with multiple spray heads and a pampering platform tub with numerous pulsating jets.
   "People think it’s papered, but it’s actually painted," said Mrs. Freeman, referring to the wide-stripe pattern on the walls. She said, "I just went up one notch on the color strip to get a slight contrast (in the seafoam-green hues)."
   From fabrics to furnishings, all her decorating decisions reflect a personal style of understated elegance. She said, "I’d see things I like; I picked it all out, and it actually blended together."
   The Freemans seem a good fit for their new surroundings, too. Mr. Freeman said, "We have wonderful views.
   "The houses are close to each other, yet have the feeling of being separated. We hear birds and crickets, yet have a quietness in the neighborhood," he said. "Most people wouldn’t attribute those things to urban living."