Recapping the Quail Creek Home Tour
text and photos by Lynne Rostochil.
In case you didn’t know, Quail Creek is a huge neighborhood that boasts quite a few mid-century modern and contemporary homes, so perhaps it’s no wonder that I look forward to the annual Quail Creek Home Tour the second weekend of May every year to have the opportunity to check out some of the area’s coolest houses. This year was, by far, the best tour yet and featured four mod homes — the others were also nice but more traditional. Here’s a brief recap of the mods we got to check out….
The festivities began on Friday night with the Cocktails in the Creek party, which was held at one of my favorite houses in the ‘hood, a rustic modern house on Rolling Stone that boasts a bridge and a moat! Owners Beth and Jeremiah Jensen purchased the home a couple of years ago and turned what was already an impressive space into a jaw dropping, pee-in-your-pants incredible one. Honestly, I wanted to scream with delight at all of the color and pattern everywhere. The home was packed with people, but I did get a few decent photos of the place. Let’s start with the original carved front door…
… that leads to the formal living room:
The Jensens added the wall of windows overlooking the moat and front yard. And, yeah, how about that light fixture?
Oh boy!
The rock fireplace is beyond fantastic, too:
The Jensens did a great job of keeping all of the original charm of the 7,900 sf house while updating the rest of the areas and creating even more charm. As an example, take a look at what is often the throwaway room of the house, the dining room:
The hand-painted mural adorns two walls of this room, creating a fun and peaceful space where you definitely wouldn’t mind camping out for awhile. The updated kitchen is pretty fantastic, too:
And check out the backyard:
Yes, that’s Astroturf!
Back inside, the back of the house is more casual living space:
Yes, that’s tile on the railing overlooking the den – love it!
How great is this dining/wine room?
And don’t even get me started on how much I love all of the original art everywhere:
I cannot express enough how much I adore this house and the uber creative way the Jansens remodeled and decorated the place. It’s a dream!
The actual home tour was the following day and three homes stood out to me. The first was a fresh take on the urban farmhouse/beach house. Although it wasn’t mod, the 1995-era home was updated in a very friendly and practical way that was really very impressive:
That fireplace totally took my breath away, and I’m always a sucker for good banquette seating:
Light and bright and fun.
Another house I really liked belongs to Squadder Shawn Abernathy:
Now, before you get all mad about the painted rock, it was already like that when Shawn purchased the house a couple of years ago. Once rock is painted, good luck getting it off so she just went with it. Inside, she really modded up the space and opened it up in a very creative way. The kitchen is TO DIE FOR and is so well done that the cabinets look like they could be original:
It’s a great space.
The dining/living area is offset by a well designed pass-through shelving unit:
And the living room is both bright and inviting:
The back lounge area isn’t too shabby, either:
This house boasts some pretty exciting art, too:
How’s this for a master bathroom?
And the spare bedroom has some of the best foil wallpaper EVER!
I love it so!
The big highlight of the tour was a true mid-century modern gem that my husband always lusts over on our morning walks on the golf course:
This is the only house he has ever told me he’d be willing to move for and I’m happy to say that the interior completely lived up to his hopes and dreams. Just take a look at the downstairs living/game room:
The back of the house is the big wow, with a two story overlook of the backyard and golf course beyond:
Out in the back is an incredible, zen-like cabana:
I’m starting to agree with my husband that this would certainly be a home worth moving for. Back inside is the kitchen with original cabinetry and an early rendering of the home with a top hat roof that I don’t think was ever completed …
… a stairway that leads to a landing…
… a library/office with private balcony overlooking the golf course …
… and three bedrooms and this great hall bath …
Back downstairs is the huge den and dining area, which spans the width of the house and also features a useful passthrough from the kitchen:
This is another home with so much interesting original art — you just want to stop and savor every vignette before moving on to the next area of the home. So fun!
The last home we’re going to discuss was the Twilight Home, where patrons gathered for food, drink, and lively conversation at the end of a long day of touring. This home, located on Brownstone Road, was built in 1974 and just underwent a sensitive remodel. Located on the lake, the two-story, 5,200 sf house is another one that is filled with bold color and very fun art:
And how’s this for a view?
I lusted big time over the dining room chairs:
They look as comfy as they are pretty.
There’s even an attached greenhouse that is painted ORANGE:
All of this is so great, but my favorite room of the house is the tiny half bath with walls covered in faux greenery…
… butterflies on the ceiling…
… and the cutest rabbit lamp ever…
What a celebration of everything fun this room is! It just makes you smile, it’s so happy.
And that’s it for this year’s Quail Creek Home Tour. If you’ve never been, be sure to add this exciting event to your list of things to do next spring.