The moment you turn onto the long driveway cut through grass pastures and your eyes settle on the magnificent brick Georgian Revival home you immediately feel a sense of warmth and comfort. The 7,500-square-foot, two-story home serves as the epicenter of this equestrian estate in Ashland, and it shows. The culmination of this masterpiece was years in the making as the homeowners collected ideas, photographs and magazine clippings from a variety of homes. “In 1992 I saw a house in a magazine and I tore it out and started my wishful thinking folder,” says the homeowner, whose family roots trace back to John Adams. “I had a three-ring binder and any time I saw something that caught my eye that was warm and inviting I would put it in the binder.”
Dreaming about the future
The homeowners were living in Montpelier when her husband gave her a horse for a Christmas gift. They chose to board the horse in Hanover, but dreamt of one day purchasing enough land for an equestrian estate. They often looked for land while driving around and this particular area bisected by a winding country road was one of their favorite spots. “For years we had driven on the motorcycle and in the car past this parcel of land that I thought was beautiful. Sometimes I would drive by just to see it,” says the homeowner.
But it was not until a chance meeting that she found out who owned the property. “I met someone at a cocktail party who told me who owned it so I called them,” she explains. “We met with him and spent an hour in his pickup truck driving through the property.”
The 180-acre property with a pre-Revolutionary house was not for sale, but the landowner said he would consider selling a section. After a lot of negotiations they were able to settle on an 18-acre parcel that fronted the road.
A grand entrance
As you approach the all-brick house the high pitched slate roofs, tall chimneys and numerous windows flank a front porch with a roof-top balcony. The porch is built with white cast stone balustrades and columns with Scamozzi capitals. Herringbone pattern brick pavers lead to a massive custom designed solid wood front door bejeweled with Colonial brass hardware. The door is surrounded by leaded glass transoms and sidelights.
As you step into the sunny two-story foyer you are greeted by a massive switch-back staircase leading to the upper floors. A grandfather clock is perched on the landing and overhead a crystal chandelier shines dappled light on the walls.
The homeowners paid specific attention to the architectural details. The interior walls of the home are 12 inches thick to give dimension to the large living areas and accent the wood paneled elliptical arches between the rooms. The exterior walls are also 12 inches thick affording deep period-style windowsills. Each room is finished with period-correct moulding with multiple pieces and Colonial details and there is a different color on almost every ceiling in the house.
Favorite pastimes
The kitchen is one of the couple’s favorite rooms. “We both love to cook and have a blast cooking together so we knew we wanted something special in the kitchen,” says the homeowner.
Custom cherry cabinets hide all the appliances except the stainless steel Viking oven and range that features a brick back splash and a stainless pot hanger. “I wanted the cabinets to look old and warm with a farmhouse sort of feel so we added some green painted cabinets,” she adds. “I saw a piece of furniture in an antique shop that had that finish and took a picture of it and had my cabinet maker replicate it.”
The kitchen fireplace is one of four fireplaces in the house—each with custom made surrounds. “I run the kitchen fire from September through May or June. It is absolutely the best literal and figurative warmth,” says the homeowner.
The adjacent half round breakfast room is completely framed in glass windows offering views of the veranda, patio, barn and horses.
All in the details
The gallery off the kitchen contains plenty of storage, a butler’s pantry and a full bath. The floor has a hand painted teal checkerboard pattern with gold Federal stars that the homeowner did herself. The office off the butler’s pantry has large windows that give it plenty of light and views to the front of the property as well as the side looking over a porch and towards the barn. The homeowner calls it “ the house of many porches” referring to the front porch, the porch off the back gallery to the herb garden, another off the side of the gallery near the office and the veranda that leads to the patio.
The wallpaper in the dining room came from a visit to the Inn at Little Washington. “My husband had taken me there for my 40th birthday and their gift shop had beautiful wallpaper,” says the homeowner. “I asked the lady where they got it and she did not know at the time but told me she would find out. Two months later I got a note with not only the manufacturer’s name but the book I could find it in and what the print was called.”
The persimmon colored family room has magnificent cherry cabinetry, a fireplace with custom surround and a Leo Burke table that looks like a stack of giant books. The same persimmon can be found in the wallpaper in the library that features a grand piano.
Private spaces
A curved wall at the far end of the downstairs leads to the master suite, which includes two large walk-in closets and its own laundry room. The master bathroom done in black and white features heated floors, a tile shower, soaking tub and tall cherry cabinetry around his and hers sinks. The fabric on the vanity chair resembles a southern bell with her bustle in the back.
The second floor holds four more bedrooms and three more bathrooms with a back staircase that connects back to the downstairs gallery. The upstairs workout room is another favorite spot of the homeowners who use it almost every day. While working out they can either look out the window to the horses or watch television. It also features a second laundry room.
A place for family
A big part of creating this home was so the owners would be near the extended part of their family: their horses. Even though they moved into the home in 2002, they didn’t build the barn until last year. Before that, they used a neighbor’s barn and then a run-in shed. The barn is now home to their two horses and one border horse. It features three stalls as well as a tack room, a storage room, a wash room and a hay loft.
The barn’s exterior is clad in rough hewn oak. The design—done on a computer by the homeowner—was made to tie in with the house by using the same black and green trim and high pitched roof design with windows in the apex.
This equestrian estate is something the homeowners built to host and entertain family and friends and live with their beloved horses. “We really hope that our home has a warm inviting feeling and that you would feel compelled to drive up and ring the doorbell and come on in,” the couple says. “We would love to stay in this home forever.”
article resources
Architect: Dan Ensminger
Builder: Jim Dunkum, Dunkum, Inc.
Interior designers: Lori L. Melton, IFDA; Lynne Watkins, C.I.D, IIDA,Virginia Colours, Inc.; Jane P. Staley, C.I.D, ASID
Cabinetry: Artistic Design, Inc.
Countertops: Empire Granite & Marble Company
Appliances: Fisher & Paykel dishwasher; Viking range; Sub-Zero refrigerator
Wallcoverings: Brunschwig & Fils; Thibaut
Landscape: Wayne S. Ambler; G. Preston Dalrymple
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