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Courtesy photo

Continued across the kitchen’s decorative pot shelves is the wrought iron motif of the loft’s railings.
(Click picture for full size image)

Courtesy photo

With the look of an altar, the spa is elevated from the swimming pool and contributes a pyramid-step cascade to the landscape.
(Click picture for full size image)

Warmth of wood, awe‑inspiring space
by RaeAnne Marsh

With its 9,400 square feet of livable space, you would expect the house to awe you. And it does, of course, with its curving sweep of staircase to your left upon entry and its bowed apron of foyer leading into a grand expanse of living room. But these initial impressions are immediately mellowed by the warmth of wood featured extensively throughout the house.

All wood, the living room’s cathedral ceiling is spanned by beams that meet at the high center line. Below, the floor is sleek mesquite. And the wet bar peeking out from the near right-hand corner of the room is furnished with rich cherry cabinets.

The design materials with which the home’s interior is finished compliment each other well. Natural materials with the look that speaks of artisans’ handiwork: The travertine tiles that first greet your eye in the foyer and extend into many of the reaches of the home feature a chiseled rather than a sharp edge; and the wet bar sink, undermounted in a slab granite countertop with its own chiseled edge, is of hammered copper. (Most of the home’s six and a half baths also feature hammered copper sinks.)

Centered in the foyer floor is an inlaid mosaic medallion, its shape picking up that of the tall Tudor tower under which it lies. More curving lines are exhibited in the short hall. Opening from the foyer’s right and turning gently back toward the front of the house, the hallway continues past a conveniently but discretely situated powder room and the coat closet to end at the door to one of two garages.

The curving staircase to the second floor borders the foyer on the left. A few steps away, a low wall abuts the foyer’s curving front edge and adds definition to the dining room from the living room of which it is an ell.

In stately splendor as the room’s focal point, a carved canterra gas fireplace also serves to tastefully divert attention from the space behind it–a very open but inconspicuously situated hallway that is, essentially, a foyer before the double doors to the master bedroom suite.

With the hardwood floor running up to the threshold, the master bedroom is carpeted, as are all the bedrooms. Wood, however, remains a dominant feature as the room’s cathedral ceiling matches that of the living room. A long room, it is separated into two areas by the fireplace centered on the outside wall. The further area serves well for bedroom; the nearer, for sitting room.

Looking for spaciousness in your bathroom? This master bath delivers. There are his and hers sinks on opposite walls. His wraps widely around a curving wall, while hers measures a tad shorter but includes a comfortably proportioned makeup vanity. And then there are the grander proportions of the tub, deeper and wider than most. A separate snail shower is finished in granite tile sustained by that of the tub surround. The walk-in closet, opening from the bathroom, offers not only spacious square footage but height enough for two rows of upper shelves, contributing to available storage space.

The other wing, downstairs, houses the kitchen and family room. The kitchen, adjacent to the dining room, features more of the wooden, beamed construction–but at the two-story height. Filled with cherry cabinets and upscale appliances, the kitchen opens broadly, and its two islands do nothing to crowd. With a large double sink, one island functions more as work station, close to the refrigerator and the 6-burner electric range. The other island stands at the outer boundary of the kitchen and grants separation from the open family room.

The ceiling looms as the defining feature of the breakfast nook. A wide circle, it echoes the foyer’s Tudor tower in a kind of reverse, as it is lower than that of the surrounding space. The ceiling is also lower in a room that seems a rear alcove to the family room, but is designed to be a media room.

Only steps removed from the kitchen, although not actually a part of it, lies a wine cellar with knotty alder racks. Also nearby is an enormous walk-in pantry. Continuing down a wide hallway to the second two-car garage, you pass a large laundry room that features extensive cabinets and slab granite for the countertop.

This hallway also leads to two more of the home’s six bedrooms, one a suite with its own bathroom–with a jetted tub sitting in a slab granite surround–and the other with easy access to a bathroom that is also convenient to the kitchen and family room.

Two more secondary bedrooms remain upstairs, where a large loft overlooks the kitchen and family room through a wrought-iron railing. One bedroom boasts its own balcony. The other enjoys access to a deck, which can also be reached through doors from the loft.

The outdoor entertainment areas over which the deck looks include a ramada–with a fireplace similar to the one in the living room but on a smaller scale, along with a chrome and granite outdoor kitchen. Dramatic water cascades and flaming fire pits punctuate the swimming pool.

Located in Carefree, this 1.6-acre property is offered at $6.3 million through Olga Reed of Sterling Fine Homes and Land, (602) 570-1652.

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