Flexibility is key to Victorian country home

 

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The only conundrum facing the Newsy Neighbor this week is what to call each room in the new ranch-style house at 260 Tanager Drive. The $300,000 house is “finished” only in the academic sense. The buyer can designate uses for two spaces off the large living room, and the full basement offers another opportunity to add living space.
Beveled glass adds a distinctive touch to the sidelights, transom and front door that opens to the foyer. The foyer and kitchen have matching hardwood floors. Off-white carpeting runs through the rest of the house, and white walls await the new owner’s choice of paint colors.
Opposite the foyer, two large windows draw the eye to the stone fireplace with oak mantel and poured stone hearth. The living room, with a 10-foot ceiling, comfortably accommodates a couch, loveseat and chair.
A 16-by-12-foot area off the living room could be a dining area with a table and chairs, reading nook with bookcases and easy chair or the right spot for the entertainment center, so that those sitting in the living room can see both the fireplace and the television.
To the right of the front door, a 13-by-13-foot space is currently open to the living room and set up as an office. The space could be a formal dining room with a table and chairs and hutch. If the buyer would prefer a third bedroom, the builder will put up walls and a closet.
Adjacent to the living room, the kitchen boasts many of the home’s upgrades. A solid-surface gray, black and beige countertop with the appearance of granite sets off the 42-inch maple cabinets. Stainless-steel appliances include a gas stove and dishwasher, although there is no refrigerator. An extra set of cabinets with built-in sink functions as a butler’s pantry near the eating area. No dinky little space, the eating area can fit six around a table, with room left over for a hutch. A sliding door leads to the deck with a view of the over-sized yard.
Cabinets in the laundry room, including a handy one set between the spaces for the washer and dryer, match those in the kitchen. A large coat closet is a bonus, as there is another coat closet near the foyer. A door from the laundry room leads to the two-car garage, with a nook of built-in shelving that the Newsy Neighbor found herself sinfully coveting.
The bedroom wing includes a 14-by-11-foot room with double closet at the front of the house and the master bedroom wisely tucked in the rear of the home. A hallway bath with a tile floor, maple cabinets, single-sink vanity and tub and shower surround serves the front bedroom.
Two windows on either side of wall space mark the natural spot for the bed in the master bedroom. Special features include a tray ceiling with fan and a room-sized walk-in closet. Two nightstands, a dresser and a narrow chest of drawers would fit in this bedroom.
The master bath leaves no wish unfulfilled with a ceramic tile floor, double vanity, maple cabinets, antique brass fixtures, a whirlpool tub, step-in shower with glass door and a skylight. A pocket door opens to the master bath’s own linen closet; a second linen closet in the hallway serves the guest bathroom.
The Newsy Neighbor was astounded to find that the unfinished basement included not an area for a bath, not a plumbed-in bath, but a full, finished ceramic tile bathroom, thus sparing the homeowner the wait and the expense of doing the job himself. The roomy basement could be a spacious family or recreation room, with space left over for storage.
For information about the house at 260 Tanager Drive, call Kim Keefe of RE/MAX Traditions at 815-338-4455.

This article was published in the April 30, 2008 edition of The Woodstock Independent.