It’s not every day that a home can be built to accommodate practical daily needs and also serve as a beautiful showcase for an exquisite art collection. But that is exactly what a Washington Township couple set out to create on five acres in Bellbrook. The 4,200-square-foot home was built with a contemporary design not often seen in the Miami Valley, but with enough deep, rich materials to make it feel more like a warm lodge.
The homeowners instantly fell in love with the lot, but initially didn’t have a clue as to what type of home they wanted to design. Over time, however, the vision came into focus as they blended the desire to display their ever-growing art glass collection, their love for entertaining and their need for an open floor design that would give their two Siberian huskies enough room to roam.
The couple also paid particular attention to the outdoor living space, which they considered to be an important part of the home’s design process. More than 1,100 square feet of covered living patio area is located at the rear of the home and can be accessed through various entry points.
Sliding glass doors lead from the hearth room to an outdoor living room that has a sofa, wood burning fireplace and flat screen television. A bar just to the side is equipped with a Kegerator, which allows them to dispense beer from the tap whenever they want.
The outdoor kitchen area has a refrigerator and a four-foot gas grill. The patio floor lends color to the area with its stained concrete and provides a contrast from the kitchen area’s light cabinets and granite countertop.
The outdoor living space is perfect for entertaining and the home’s windows create a transparent feel from the inside out. It’s not unusual for the couple to open up the sliding doors—even on a cool December night—allowing friends and family to move to the outside with ease. And the outdoor fireplace creates a type of continuity with those lit on the inside.
The home’s expansive back yard made it possible to position a swimming pool off to the side so it wouldn’t dominate the view outside during the winter months. A vegetable garden and a fire pit are also located in the back yard, and two acres of unused land provides plenty of open space for the owners’ dogs to run free.