It’s taught in math class that a whole is the sum of its parts, and this certainly proves true when applied to Debby and Kevin Rogers’ home on Worth Street in Munger Place.
Built in 1909, the stately two-story most likely was built as a duplex.During the housing shortage after World War II, the home was further divided into four apartments. Tenant turnover was frequent. By the time the dilapidated structure was sold in 1978, little remained of its original charm.
The new owners were antique dealers who intended to renovate it as a single-family dwelling. Over the next 20 years, until the couple retired and moved to North Carolina, they scoured the city and sometimes the state looking for materials to use in the restoration.
“The previous owners tried to keep the feel of the early 1900s,” Kevin said.“The tin ceiling isn’t original to the house, but it’s as old. It’s from an east Dallas warehouse. The marble floor in the downstairs bathroom came out of Union Station. The cupboard in the kitchen was salvaged from a store in east Texas.”
They loved the early 1900s decor, but the Rogers quickly added one modern-day accouterment. “We had central heat and air installed downstairs.Last summer was really tough – we had two window units and one barely worked,” Debby laughed.
There was another disadvantage to life in the early 20th century. “The closets were added to the house,” Kevin pointed out. “They were built probably during the ’30s, but even then they didn’t make them very large.”
During its 90-year history, the house had been parted out and painstakingly put back together. The final piece of the project was getting the home furnished properly. In this the Rogers’ methods have sometimes proven similar to the previous owners’.
“The piano is from 1895. It’s a working pump player piano,” Debby said. “We found it in the Thrifty Nickel. An old man in Garland had it, and when I called, I asked why he was selling. He said, ‘Well, Mama, she wants a sofa.’ I assumed he was talking about his wife, but when I got out there to look at it, his 90-year-old mother was sitting there.”
