330 Homes Spring 2021

d r e a m h o u s e

There’s a microwave built into a drawer in the large island at the center of the kitchen — a must-have for the Ceas, who didn’t have an island in their last home. There’s also a small countertop built into a wall for a coffee station, taking the coffee maker and its accessories off the island. The exterior design of the windows — black frames with contrasting white trim — carries inside the house, which has a color palette of mostly whites and dark accents. The couple fell in love with Sherwin-Williams Silver Strand, which is used in the dining room, upstairs hall and throughout the

house, because it seems to take on a different hue depending on the lighting. The counters in the kitchen, as well as a bar top in the dining room, are granite but not in the traditional sense. It’s white leathered granite, a textured surface that’s not polished or reflec tive. “It feels softer, it feels warmer, and we fell in love with it,” Don says. “Everyone who comes in the house — the first thing they notice is the counter.” In the kitchen, it’s the nexus amid soft white custom-painted cabinets with silver hard ware, but it’s more muted as the bar top amid the

dark wood cabinets with crystal hardware and dark ceramic tile backsplash in the dining room. Up an open staircase — with black powder-coated railings, a charcoal blue accent wall and a modern metal-and-glass chande lier — are three bedrooms, home made it impossible to have a first-floor own er’s suite, but Don says “aging in place” changes can easily be made in the future. The first-floor half bathroom is large enough to accommodate the installation of a shower, and a first-floor office can become a bedroom. including the owner’s suite. The size of the

That foresight shows the Ceas are planning to stay there for the long term, themselves becoming part of the fabric of the neighborhood. In the warm weather, they are looking forward to sitting on the porch and eventually tak ing part in the neighbor hood’s annual PorchRokr Music and Art Festival. “One of the things that was really important to us is our outside space,” Don says of the home’s front and back porches. “Highland Square is a front porch neighborhood.” “We want to be true to the neighborhood too, and I think we achieved that,” Kara adds.

1 8 | 3 3 O H OM E S s p r i n g 2 0 2 1