Article By Ron Ortiz, Photos by Rebecca Binno Savage
The DAADS board meeting in August was held at the private home of Cheryl and Nino Chiuchiarelli in Grand Blanc, Michigan. Board members who opted to make the hour long drive to Grand Blanc were treated to a tour of the Art Deco home that sits on an irregular three acre lot with a stream meandering below. The house has three levels, each with a balcony that offers a magnificent view of the Grand Blanc golf course.
Most Art Deco devotees' find or build a modern styled house and then seek furnishings to decorate their dream home. The Chiuchiarellis' took a different route by first falling in love with the Deco period, then amassing a large collection of Art Deco furnishings and finally finding the ideal home to house their love of Art Deco. After years of looking at one disappointment after another, Cheryl found this modern streamline house that suited both their tastes and their respective commutes. Nino manages the Rattlesnake Club on the Detroit riverfront and Cheryl is a human resources executive for Delphi Corporation in Flint.
The original owner of the home was William Minter, a Flint, Michigan theatre mogul. Minter built the home in 1935 for his Hollywood starlet wife who had chosen love over career and relocated in Grand Blanc to be with her husband.
Minter hired C. Howard Crane, the architect who designed the Fox Theater in Detroit to design and build the 1930s Hollywood style "wedding cake" home. Crane had designed over 250 theaters across the US and designed the house as a personal favor to Minter.
There are four bedrooms (including a maid's quarters) and five ceramic tiled bathrooms all in the original condition. The lower level has a black and white tiled ballroom. The master bedroom on the top level, the dining room below it and the ballroom all have curved walls and multiple curved windows as well as curved doors. There was an inground swimming pool that had fallen into disrepair. Rather that fix it, the Chiuchiarellis' chose to fill in the area and build a spectacular waterfall and pond in its place.
Cheryl and Nino are the fifth owners of this property. Some of the previous owners didn't appreciate the dated 1930s look and removed many light fixtures and other decorative items replacing them with items that suited their taste, or lack of. Cheryl has delighted in restoring the house with original accessories to accent her Art Deco passion.
After a tour and some fabulous food, the DAADS board held their regular meeting in the lower level ballroom. Thanks to Cheryl and Nino.
