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Marie-Stéphene Bernard von Essen and her husband, Capt. Wolf I. Krusemark von Essen feel right at home on the water in their Harbor Town home. “We felt something special here,” Marie said. “The kindness of the people is really exquisite. We have never met people anywhere in the world like this.”

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The von Essens’ Harbor Town home has new decking and decking foundation as part of a total renovation.

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Faux-finished yellow walls and great natural light make the von Essens’ kitchen a cheerful space. Stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and a light finish on the cabinets build on the room’s contemporary feel.

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The curved veranda on the second floor that overlooks the living room (below) was a favorite selling point of the home for the von Essens.

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In the study hangs a collection of Wolf’s ship paintings above an antique 1650s desk from a monastery.

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The master bedroom was painted purple and cherubs were added to the existing wood shutters. Carpeting was removed and hardwood floors put down.

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The couple painted the master bathroom a bright strawberry and enclosed the shower.

It was a match made in the heavens.

Literally, in the case of new Harbor Town homeowners Marie-Stéphene Bernard von Essen and her husband, Capt. Wolf I. Krusemark von Essen.

“We met on an airplane,” said Marie, a Paris-born opera soprano. “And they changed our seats. We would never have met if we had sat one row apart.”

Seven years later, fate intervened on another flight, again in a life-changing way. This time Wolf, a ship captain for an offshore drilling contractor and a native of Hamburg, Germany, was traveling alone when a delay during a Memphis layover left him with a few extra hours to kill.

Wolf, who had lived in Memphis years earlier, spent that time driving around the city.

“I slowly began to remember how beautiful it is here in the summer,” he said.

When he next spoke to Marie, he asked, “What do you think about Memphis?”

At the time, the von Essens were looking to move from Alexandria, Va., to a city closer to Wolf’s home port of New Orleans. They had been looking in the Miami area. But from their first visit to the Bluff City, the couple were sold.

“We felt something special here,” Marie said. “The kindness of the people is really exquisite. We have never met people anywhere in the world like this.”

On the heels of their Florida home search, the von Essens also liked the value for the money they saw in the Memphis housing market. They were drawn in particular to Mud Island.

“Since I make my living on the water, I like to be very close to the water,” Wolf said.

Early in their search, the couple took their list of criteria to Realtor Briscoe Ellett of Weichert Realtors-BenchMark. Ellett led the von Essens to what is now their charming yellow house on the east side of the island, its stacked rear balconies overlooking the Wolf River.

The couple purchased the three-bedroom, three-bath, 2,620-square-foot home in September for $377,000. It had everything they were looking for: a water view for Wolf, a quiet location for Marie and an open, airy living space with soaring ceilings that appealed to both of them.

However, as Wolf said, “The house was not in good condition. It wasn’t taken very good care of.”

But it had good bones, so the couple decided they were up for the challenge of a renovation. Over the course of several months, they worked from the ground up on a revamp that included rebuilding parts of the foundation, painting the exterior, rerouting drainage and repairing gutters and woodwork. Inside, they tore out all the carpet and put in hardwood upstairs. They tore out a wall in the guest bath, enclosed the showers in every bathroom, and painted and relit the entire house.

And they did much of the work from a distance, Marie performing in Paris and Wolf out on a sea rotation.

“We are talking a lot of patience and also a lot of trust, because I was gone and the contractor took care of the house while I was gone,” Wolf said. “He could have walked out with half of my antiques and he did not. Briscoe also kept his eye on it for us.”

The results were worth the stress. The home, today, is a reflection of the von Essens’ personalities and interests.

The furnishings, art and other decorative elements reflect the couple’s European background. Wolf, an avid collector of antiques, brought in several pieces that have moved with him around the world. An armoire in the dining area has been in his family for two centuries.

Nearby, his collection of antique spoons is displayed in a wood cabinet on a wall in the kitchen. Across from it, a desk originally used as a table in a New Orleans restaurant rests against one of the room’s Tuscan-style, faux-finished yellow walls. Its enamel tabletop is signed.

“And I use it because I love it,” Wolf said. “I am very loyal to my old stuff.”

Marie’s taste and talents are on display as well. In the paprika-colored entry hall, a collection of framed photographs highlights her prolific career on stages across Europe. Marie, who hopes to one day perform on the Memphis stage, selected the home’s warm, friendly color palette.

In the living room, she made a focal point of the clean-lined, floor-to-ceiling fireplace surround by painting it a rich, warm copper.

The fireplace is flanked by built-in bookshelves. A cozy conversation grouping that includes a red, gold and brown sectional sofa divides the space from the nearby dining area, which contains a modern table and chairs flanked by Wolf’s antiques.

The kitchen is open to the dining space, set apart only by a large, granite-topped island with a built-in cooktop and warm, terra-cotta-painted base. The remaining cabinetry has a light wood finish and brushed nickel hardware. Stainless steel appliances continue the room’s contemporary feel.

Off the entry, Wolf’s mustard-colored office contains a desk, sofa and antique cabinet, but highlighting the room is a wall of paintings of ships.

Up the lighted wood stairs, the master bedroom is painted a soft purple. The modern furniture is softened by coral-and-white damask bedding that gives the room a distinctly European feel. The en-suite bath features strawberry-painted walls and a corner whirlpool tub.

Outside the master suite, a wall of built-in bookshelves stands opposite a curving wrought-iron balcony that overlooks the living room below. Down the hall, a guest bedroom sports the same violet walls and coral-and-white bedding as the master suite.

Now that they are settled in, the von Essens feel a sense of harmony and community every time they return home from their frequent travels.

“Each time we come back, we have a welcome present in front of our door from our neighbors,” Marie said. “That touches me a lot. It’s incredible.”

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