Walk the layout of 4 Herrick Mews in Cleveland Heights, and you’ll find a rainbow of colors across 4,246 square feet of space that somehow, all works together.
Listed at $599,000 by Chris Jurcisin and Katherine McCarty of Howard Hanna in Cleveland Heights, they assure that its value, spirit and legacy will continue to make it a standout gem for future homeowners.
It’s a showroom of its own, shouldering a bustling neighborhood that matches its vibrancy — where you’ll find Case Western Reserve University, Little Italy and University Circle. Its rustic features remain a pause in time even as it undergoes a paint job.
Herrick Mews is a narrow brick alleyway connecting what used to be a set of six carriage houses. Each housed servants, while owners — prominent lawyers, brokers, architects and politicians of 19th-century Cleveland — lived in mansions on the neighboring Overlook Road.
Five of the carriage houses remain as residential spaces, and they’re rare to come across on the market, the former owners of 4 Herrick Mews explain. Their neighbors have inhabited their respective spaces for at least 50 years.
Sign Up to Receive the Cleveland Magazine Daily Newsletter Six Days a Week
For the former male homeowner, who attended Case Western Reserve University School of Law, this carriage house was a dream.
“I always said, way back when, ‘If I could ever move into Herrick Mews, I would,’” he recalls.
Once he got married, his wife had a mission to carefully modernize the space.
“The floors were leaning,” she says. “[The doors] were dark and woody. It was pretty much a mess.”
In their 25 years of inhabiting the space, they brought life and light where they could — appliances, wallpaper and built-ins, modifications that made the place livable while staying within the terms of ordinances set by the historic city district.
A brick exterior layered parallel to green tongue-and-groove panels is untouchable, and the design continues across the floors and ceilings inside. It remains reminiscent of a carriage house, especially attributed to a heavy, bolted front door with metal bars across a window.
RELATED: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Final Home Design Opens to the Public in Willoughby Hills: First Look
The established entryway greets you with teal walls, white trim and intricate door frames taken from an old gas station. The character you get in the foyer alone sets a precedent for the rest of the space.
The sprawling, two-floor abode boasts two living rooms, two distinct dressing rooms, one bedroom, two and a half bathrooms, a den and a finished laundry room — before you even get upstairs.
Directly off the foyer, enter through a set of stained glass accordion doors to meet the first of the two living rooms, with brick flooring repurposed from Severance Hall and a granite-framed fireplace anchoring the space. It’s an architectural rarity in modern-day design, accented by wooden bookshelves and tin ceilings dating back to 1897.
Venture the rest of the downstairs to find a red-ceiling laundry room equipped with cabinets, appliances and the remnants of a pulley system converted into a small storage space. The neighboring kitchen, painted head-to-toe with white walls, cabinets and backsplash welcomes cooking and baking in their simplest forms. A living room, den and bedroom all continue the pale facade. The former owners explain that they operated these lower level spaces as a rental suite for one tenant, so they intentionally left it a blank canvas — given they weren't the ones using those rooms.
Upstairs, you’ll find the couple’s living quarters. Pops of color and personality are introduced by a winding hallway of deep red paint and carefully dated brown wallpaper, illuminated by track lights tinted orange-red. The area connects a bedroom drenched in mustard yellow and a sage green office. Each begs for bold and fun hues through furniture and decor, which the former owners sufficed with art and accessories curated from their global travels to places like Africa and Asia. The art continues in the nearby dining room and den.
RELATED: The 2025 Cleveland Home Issue: Are You a Minimalist or Maximalist?
A gentle sky blue in the master bedroom invites an airy feeling that leaves you on cloud nine. The ensuite’s boisterous floorspace — leaving ample footage for additional seating and entertainment areas — accounts for a bathroom and closet, plus direct access to a private outdoor deck. Find other small details peppered throughout, including original barn doors, latch locks and hinges. Additional amenities include a sunroom — capping the elaborate hallway with a custom-made wood and glass door — and a downstairs patio.
While the former homeowners call this sale a bittersweet goodbye, they concede, “We will let somebody else enjoy it.”
For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.
Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, publishing 12 times a year with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.
