You might say homeowner Tom Brown has a penchant for vintage homes and for Heritage Hills! He has owned three other homes in the neighborhood, all three of which were on the home tour. He bought this Colonial Revival home in January 2015 after moving back to Oklahoma City from Denver. He featured the home on the 2015 Historic Homes Tour.

In the 1920s, developer G.A. Nichols built six homes on NW 18th Street, all in the Colonial Revival style, providing a unified streetscape unusual in the neighborhood. One of the chief elements of the Colonial Revival style is symmetry, observable from the outside in the balanced arrangement of windows and inside with rooms balanced around a central hall. The windows, all original, have 10 small panes in the top half over a single pane on the bottom.

Tom's home was built in 1922 and had five owners before it was purchased by Judge Clarence Mills in1938. The 1940 census shows Judge Mills, his wife Evelyn, their 8-year-olddaughter Ethelyne, and a housekeeper living in the home. Born in Muskogee, Indian Territory, Mills graduated from Eufaula High School in 1914, then farmed a year and started college before joining the army. He received the Silver Star for Gallantry for his World War I service in France.

After returning to Oklahoma, Mills found a job as a telegraph operator and enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, where he completed the law degree in 1923. He joined the firm of Shirk and Danner, then opened his own practice. In 1935 he was selected a district court judge, a position he held for 25 years. One national study found that this court had the highest rating of efficiency of any court in the 97 largest cities in the nation.

A portrait of Judge Mills is on display in the home. The artist was Lajos Markos, a Hungarian American artist known for his portraiture of such celebrities as John Wayne, Robert Kennedy, President Ronald Reagan, the royal family of King Hassan Il, and Pablo Casals. The Mills remained in the house until the 1960s.

Paul and Nancy English bought the home in 1968. Paul was a UPI correspondent for the Oklahoma State Capitol; Nancy worked hard in the fledgling neighborhood association. The next owner was Mike Metzger, PhD, a respected economist who taught at the University of Central Oklahoma.

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When Joe and Kristen Carson purchased the house, they did extensive cosmetic renovations and redesigned the kitchen and the upstairs bathrooms. They also refurbished the downstairs powder room. The woodwork in the home had always been painted, and the Carson's choice of a medium dove gray lends unity and elegance to the home.

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With some minor fluffing, the house was move-in ready for Tom and created the perfect setting for his stylish mix of antiques, model car collectibles, and art. His uncluttered style fits the formality of the Colonial Revival home, while his artistically displayed collections and family items provide interest and warmth. Every detail is important, from the Schonbek chandelier in the dining room, an upstairs replica of a Cuban ceiling fan owned by Earnest Hemingway, a hand-carved chandelier in the guest bedroom, to the sectional sofa once owned by Tom's parents. In addition to furnishing the interior of the home, Tom landscaped the back yard, took the ivy off the front of the house, installed awnings, put in a new driveway, and built a back porch.

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