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wenty Four Doors--the home of Master
Solutions, Inc.--is a rather remarkable
building in appearance and history. It is a
large, almost square two-story clapboard
structure, nestled among and shrouded by
massive oaks draped with Spanish Moss in the
historic Victorian District of Savannah, GA.
Built in 1904, the appearance is venerable
and invariably elicits a second glance. |
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On the adjoining lots east, was another clapboard house of the
same era, the remains of which are now an addition to Twenty Four
Doors. The lots east now host an old English style courtyard garden
with meandering paths of black mist flagstone and patios of Savannah
Gray Brick salvaged from the site of an old Savannah home. Tree
lines of water oaks, poplars, Savannah Hollys and crepe myrtles
tower over the bedded grounds. A pergola draped with sprawling
wisteria and kiwi canopies the north patio, bedecked with potted
herbs, flowering plants, a fire pit and timeworn furniture which
bids one--sit, read, converse, meditate and enjoy. The sweet,
delicate aroma of Carolina Jasmine permeates the south end of the
garden, hanging like a veil over the garden wall and spilling into
the lily beds and onto the bricked courtyard. An adjacent rock
garden with cacti, various ferns and ornamental grasses gives way to
the tranquil sounds of a bubbling mountain stone waterfall spilling
five feet into a 3000 gallon Japanese Koi pond.
On the north end of the garden stands the greenhouse which now
serves as a multipurpose area. The interior corresponds with it's
exterior, having walls of stucco; the north wall reaching twenty
feet and the forward fifteen. The sloping roof is verged of cedar
shakes framing glass panes laid four deep and fifteen wide. The
greenhouse is now divided -- on the west end a small enclosed room
serves as a garden shed; the main area opening onto the north patio
is floored with flagstone and serves as an entertainment area with a
raised center platform and spa; and the east end serves as an area
for preparing and cooking food plein air. The courtyard abuts a
raised wooden deck which spans the entire east side of the building
and gives way to the studio's rear entrance and the residential
stairwell.
The house was named in memory of Mary Hoover Augusta Aiken,
artist and widow of the noted quintessential author Conrad Aiken.
The Aiken retreat, Forty One Doors, in Brewster, MA -- was named by
Mary on a boredom filled day when she counted everything which hung
from a hinge, to include the cupboard and pantry doors. Unlike the
naming of the Aiken retreat, twenty four is the actual count of real
doors which one may pass through at Twenty Four Doors -- which was
by Mary's account the argument for citation.
Welcome to our home -- please enter, enjoy and always
"may your
house be safe from tigers".
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