Welcome to Day #3 of our week-long tour of houses from the Indianapolis Home-a-Rama: Luxury Edition! This traditional New England-style house was built by Phil Myers Custom Homes and is still on the market for about $2.5 million (check out the MLS listing here).
It was decorated by Deanna Whetstone and Theresa Sherley of Whetstone & Associates, who say they wanted to blend “historically accurate appeal with the desired modern conveniences.” The builder was inspired to create “yesteryear charm with details such as a wrap-around front porch, a grand-curved staircase, formal walnut woodwork, a paneled, two-story library, and lighting and molding you may find in an early 1900s estate home.”
The house has 5 bedrooms and 8 baths, and it sits on 1.5 acres. Take a look around and then let me know–is this the kind of house you’d want to live in?
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- Front staircase off the entry.
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- Study.
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- The first-floor study with wood paneling.
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- Living room off the front entry.
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- Fireplace in the living room.
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- Entry.
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- Built-in study area in upstairs loft.
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- Upstairs loft used as a study.
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- Nursery.
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- Nursery.
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- Little girl’s bath.
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- Little girl’s bath.
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- Upstairs hallway.
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- This table in the guest room was…unusual. Wonder if you have to keep it watered?
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- The laundry room with blue cabinets.
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- Playroom over the garage.
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- View of the kitchen from the top of the stairs.
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- Kitchen.
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- Kitchen.
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- This may look like a free-standing hutch, but it was actually part of the kitchen wall.
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- The butler’s pantry off the kitchen.
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- The back staircase leading up from the kitchen.
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- The kitchen table.
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- Looking into the family room from the kitchen.
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- Family room fireplace.
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- Entry off the main hall to the dining room.
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- Hutch in the dining room.
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- Window seat in the dining room.
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- The dining room table was set for fall, when the Home Show took place.
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- Dining room.
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- Powder room had hand-painted walls that looked like wallpaper.
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- The lower-level family room doesn’t feel anything like a basement, thanks to full-sized windows and a walk-out to the patio.
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- The lower level has plenty of room for a pool table.
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- Back of the house.
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- Master bedroom.
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- French doors lead from the master bedroom onto a covered porch.
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- Master bath.
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- Master bath.
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- The covered porch off the kitchen.
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- A computer/work station in the back hall by the mudroom.
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- Mudroom off the back door had built-in storage and a bench.
I thought it was interesting the way the four garages were arranged–two on each side of the house–to create a courtyard effect in front of the house.
What do you think? Do you like this house better than the first two I showed you? Come back tomorrow to see a house that was built to look like a classic on the outside but feels a little contemporary on the inside!
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If You Missed the Other Home-a-Rama Houses:
- Home-a-Rama House #1: Heartwood Homes
- Home-a-Rama House #2: Environmentally Friendly Tudor
- Readers Favorite: Sophia’s Harbor from the Cincinnati Home-a-Rama
- See All Fantasy Open House Tours Here
It seems as if the trends here are very dark colors and wood. Is it just me?
Very pretty. Love the Grand piano and living room.
And that computer nook is cute.
CarolinaMama’s last blog post.."Boosting Your Baby’s Brain Power" Is A Wealth of Information
…like the garage concept…that is very clever…but…who is doing the interiors of these homes…i suppose i am spoiled seeing all the beautiful “real” homes on the blogs…
Very dark house. It almost feels ‘Spooky!’ I think I would have problems with depression living in such a home. The patios outside though are BEAUTIFUL!! That makes up for the inside!
I’d love that laundry room! A lot of it was too dark for my taste but really beautiful still!
Emily’s last blog post..Link Love: Baby, It’s Cold Outside Edition
I agree, too dark. I really don’t like wood trim at all. The laundry room looks like it might be just big enough. LOL!
I love these tours you are doing. We used to have something similar here years ago. It was my favorite thing to do and I looked forward to it every year.
Jenny’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
I agree this house did seem a bit dark for me as well. But there were things I did like. Sometimes I have a hard time getting pass the decorating when it isn’t my style.
Shannon’s last blog post..Tag You’re It
I almost felt like I was looking at two different houses…the front areas were so dark and heavy but the kitchen area and master bath were lighter. I didn’t feel like the house had a consistent style which often happens in showhouses which tend to get over done.
I wonder why it is a New England Style House?? We have very, very few brick houses in New England, remember there is/was a lot of wood in these here forests! I also don’t think the style is particularly reminescent ( OK, so I can’t spell that word) of New England and the back doesn’t look like it belongs with the front. There, now I have that out of my system, it’s a nice house, but I wouldn’t want to live with such excess.
Janet
janet’s last blog post..FAVORITE HERB
I love the curb appeal of this house but the inside was lacking. House #1 is still my fave!
You know. I really love the house from the curb! It has that wow factor, the exterior of the rear of the house doesn’t really fit like the front did. Same goes for the interior….I don’t think that it really fit for the style of the house. Don’t get me wrong there were details that I loved. Who wouldn’t love a butler’s pantry like that, or that sweet covered porch? But, I agree with many of the other comments, it really felt a little dark and too heavy.
Personally I do not care for the garages on either side. I think that’s a poor use of the land. And I think the way they jut out from the house hides the facade too much.
Love, love, love all the dark paneling in the study, but the dark trim and stairway seems more Arts & Crafts to me than New England style. I agree with a previous commenter – too much brick. I would have put more siding on this house.
I do love the porch off the master bedroom, and love the mudroom, butler’s pantry, and for some odd reason I am just tickled by the blue cabinets in the laundry room.
Cute exterior but the back and front dont match?! What is up with the designers in that area…looks like HGTV came in with Matt and Shari from Room By Room and Joan Steffend of Decorating Cents circa 2002. The colors and scale are all off. Oh well, I do like the house, especially the dining room and kitchen. With a few changes such as brightening the rooms and a whole redecor I would totally move in!!
Love the tours…thanks for taking the time to shoot, write, and post!
I wish it sat back from the street a little further, the kids definitely can’t “go play out front!”
I like it, except for that stupid green table.
Fighting Windmills’s last blog post..Vintage Doll Photo Series
This one is my favorite so far. I love the staircase! I’m enjoying your “tour” this week.
A nonsymmetrical federal revival style house is just wrong. And did they hire an out of work motor home cabinet maker to do all the woodwork?
I like older dark houses, and the the inside of this is not a bad interpretation. Except the brick bar in the MLS photo has to go.
The outside is why I wouldn’t buy it. For $2.5 it’s right on the street? I want a long winding drive and a few more acres around for that price.
And the back patio looks too suburban. Not in keeping. It seems the outside and inside aren’t appealing to the same people. A special buyer is needed!
Lovely….but a tad too much wood for me (but I am not a wood moulding kinda gal…give me painted anyday!)
Linda@Lime in the Coconut’s last blog post..Some humpday turquoise, perhaps?
This has been my favorite by far! I didn’t care for the living room though. I felt cold to me.
Heather’s last blog post..Abby the cat
I love this house! I do agree that there are a lot of dark, masculine colors, but overall it has a lot of light in it. I love houses with walk out basements like this, too… and the color os awesome (exterior).
Laundry room, kitchen, family room, PATIOS!! Love love love.
The rest of the house seems so dark and dreary with all that wood. Almost like the inside didn’t match the outside and nothing was consistent.
Kristen @ More Than Mulberries’s last blog post..Home Theater at it’s Finest!
I sort of like it. Okay, I like it, but it’s really dark. Too much dark wood. Other than that, it’s nice. The staircase is gorg. What were they thinking though with that playroom. Who did they decorate it for? It’s just weird.
Mom in High Heels’s last blog post..How to blend
Love: the leaded glass windows at the window seat and master bath, the stonework at the back of the house, the arched woodwork that echoes the arched window in the sitting room off the kitchen, the curving staircase. Not loving: all that heavy dark wood! The woodwork itself is beautiful, but to me it’s just too dark.
Holly’s last blog post..Repurposed Kitchen Island
I liked the exterior of this house the most of all three you’ve showcased this week, but the interior design was so far from what I was expecting that I found it shocking. I thought it would have been much lighter and brighter inside. I did love the leaded glass windows in the master bath, and the structure of the house, but I’d pass on this one. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us tomorrow!
I agree with coco. It seems like two different houses. The first photos don’t really mesh with the exterior of the home. They look like they were taken at the tudor style home.
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I like the outside well enough, the cozy courtyard. Might be nice as luxury city house built on the lot lines. I don’t like the dark trim everywhere. I would have walked right back out and tried the next house. If I had time I’d visit this one last.
Terry Kearns’s last blog post..The Barnett, another high-style apartment in Virginia Highlands
I actually like the house a lot (I’m afraid I’m a fan of the “dark and hairy” look as opposed to the “light and airy”), but I could do without the power lines running across the backyard.
I liked the rooms but not the decorating and a little to much wood! The lower level was my favorite.
Jan Rochefort’s last blog post..Jewish Apple Cake
The woodwork in that house is amazing! I love the kitchen too. Thanks so much for posting!
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I really liked this house. The staircase was beautiful. My favorite room, believe it or not, was the laundry room.
They call it New England because of all that dark wood. All the bigger mansions here have that dark wood, but I prefer it painted a cream color, it just looks more clean that way. They also should have done cedar shingles all over the outside. All and all not too bad. Looking forward to the rest of the week….
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I don’t get the New England style here? I’ve never been to New England but I picture Federal or Cape Cod homes with Early American furniture and decor. I’d rather have a little cottage in the woods somewhere…
I do like the stenciling in the corners of the living room.
This house is just too big and too modern for me.
I LOVE the dark wood. It’s just like the house I grew up in. Still my favorite type of house. And the den is awesome! Especially the library ladder. Love it!
It’s my favorite in your series so far.
Only thing I would do is tuck it back in the woods on 20 acres with a river running through the backyard.
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Julia–did you spend two hours in this house??
I agree that the house is more reminiscent of Arts & Crafts than Federal or “New England” style. I couldn’t even see the “wrap-around” front porch until you took the close up. I hate that they had nothing there. No stick of furniture, no greenery…I applaud the effort in the two-story study, but if I had one I’d want it to look like Henry Higgins’!
Liked: leaded windows in bathroom, butler’s pantry, what I’m assuming are painted faux tin tiles on the dining room walls, the hanging light fixtures.
Disliked: That awful grass table, most of the furnishings, the disparate master bath w/a tres modern tub directly under the leaded glass windows
Ya know I liked Monday’s house a LOT better.
Of course I had to stop twice – okay 4 times – to look at the butler’s pantry.
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This isn’t my favorite. I think I like Monday’s house best so far. I expected the interior of this one to be much different based on the exterior of the house. I felt like it was kind of a let down.
I did love the family room in the basement w/ the windows and the butler pantry. I mean, who wouldn’t??
Lindsay’s last blog post..Bringing the Outside In
I liked it the first few pictures but then it just got to be SOOOO much! Room after room and just HUGE. and not in a good way.
Love the kitchen, overall it is nicely decorated. Plus good use of beige (tee hee). However, in a real New England house those stairs would have been white with natural treads.
Robin’s last blog post..Now I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger
This is not my style at all but I really like it. I love unpredictable houses. This seems to have surprises with every turn.
Cathy’s last blog post..Looking for the cache
One thing I do like is the window seat in the dining room. But that table in the nursery? I think it might have spiders in it.
I don’t know…the decorating seems a bit…off. Call me picky, but it just doesn’t do the house justice. I agree with the others, there is way too much dark wood in there.
It does, however, have an Aga, so I guess I’d take it…!!
Thanks for the tour, Julia!
Linda
Linda@ Restyled Home’s last blog post..Inspired Speechless…
I love the colors on the walls. But the woodwork looks kind of cheap- I’m sure it wasn’t!
The carpet in the study is great.And Can I just move into the master bath or the kitchen, love them! There’s enough room they’d never notice.
Love. your. blog! Thank you so much for all the time you put into it. I’ve always loved to go “housin’” too!
I don’t really care for traditional decorating, but this has been my favorite so far.
Anyone know wha brand of stove that is in #3?
Here’s a link to a home show called “Vesta” they have in the Memphis suburbs. Try to work it so they give you a free trip here
I’d love to meet you! http://www.tnbuild.com/bf/tn/mahba/mem/association.jsp?pid=1040
Nice house. I think there are a few things I would do differently, but overall, I thought it was very classy and pretty!
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I’m confused by the arts and crafts arcitectural elements on the iterior. The lighting and the finish work tend to lean more craftsman here and there. Not a true New England on the interior. They did an outstanding job on the exterior. I exspected the interior to be as outstanding. I was dissapointed.
sorry my spelling could have been better there. Fighting a cold here.
Beautiful house, a little too formal for my taste. I love the moulding in the dining room and that window in the master bath though.
Carla’s last blog post..A budget recap
Lots of things to love about this house, especially the laundry room and butler’s pantry.
sandra/tx’s last blog post..Home of the Week — Spicewood
hmmmm what does one do exactly with eight bathrooms …. a single pee in each, each day …mind boggles ….
le’s last blog post..I can see clearly now ….
i didnt like the master bath. pretty much the decorating was boring. i liked the masterbedroom for the layout only. loved the covered patio off of it. loved the basement. and the green table was just plain weird. and i loved the family room. but the house for me is way too big.
Oh My! The decorating is awful
I like the lower level pool-table area. As well as the sitting area off of the kitchen. The large window in the dining room is VERY beautiful. I do really love the second staircase though. So few houses have a second staircase these days!
decoration for this house did not do it justice. It was bad.
I WANT THE FLOOR PLANS
I don’t have them. Try contacting the builder to see if they’d sell them to you (link is at the top of the post to their site). -Julia
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