Remodel of 100-year-old KC area mansion draws inspiration from NY museum. See inside
A historic home in the Mission Hills neighborhood in Johnson County recently received some big upgrades, inspired by a famous museum in New York.
Architects with Kansas City-based Hoke-Ley Architecture and Design combined New York City’s Guggenheim Museum with European craft to restore the Tudor-style mansion built in the 1920s. Before they went to work, the home was on the verge of demolition, because the previous owners had gutted the inside and never repaired the home.
Located at 5930 Oakwood Road, the spacious three-story, five-bedroom home took over a year to complete, said Katie Hoke, co-owner of the architecture firm. It’s now on sale for $6.8 million through real estate firm Reece Nichols.
“We love saving old buildings,” Hoke said. “We love bringing new life to them. It’s more challenging to take an existing building that needs a lot of work, revitalize it and make it useful today than building one from the ground up.”
The centerpiece of the home is the Guggenheim-inspired spiral staircase that travels up and down all four floors inside the home. It also serves as a light well, bringing light from the ceiling to the basement.
Hoke said they came to the clients of the building with the staircase idea and as the concept art kept evolving, they got more excited.
“You might be on a different floor, but that center circulation really connects you to another family member on a different floor,” Hoke said. “As architects and designers, the Guggenheim has always been a favorite building and if we’re able to draw inspiration from that, if we have the opportunity, it’s something we always take advantage of.”
The construction also brought the installation of custom European white oak flooring, quartzite countertops, a built-in coffee machine, a four-bottle wine dispenser and dishwasher drawers for the kitchen. The wine cellar also received upgrades with the installation of mosaic basalt tile.
The primary bedroom suite features a custom fireplace, an integrated dropdown TV and an en-suite bathroom. The bathroom has heated tile floors, a steam shower, a soaker tub and a custom closet. Additional bedrooms are found throughout the home and in the adjoining carriage house, each with their own private bathroom.
The outside of the home also features new amenities, like a heated in-ground pool, barbecue grill and pizza oven for al fresco dining. You also get access to an in-ground sprinkler system, a dumbwaiter elevator to make your grocery transfers easy and the capability to charge an electric car.
The location of your home places you near State Line Road, putting you close to the Country Club Plaza and Loose Park in the Missouri side and the Kansas City and Mission Hills country clubs on the Kansas side of the road.
Nearby schools include Prairie Elementary School, Indian Hills Middle School and Shawnee Mission East High School.
