A Love Letter to a New England-Style Farmhouse

I always ask agents to find out what sellers love about their homes. After all, we can see the beautiful photos and read the MLS description, but that simply does not cut it for me. Nothing speaks more about a house than a seller’s love for it.  

Compass listing agent Gianna Cerullo went the distance and sent me an entire love letter about this New England-style modern farmhouse, penned by seller Jennifer Duncan, who also happens to be a builder we all admire.

Dear CandysDirt.com,

I was asked by our beloved Realtor Gianna Cerullo, with whom we have worked since 2008, to write a few notes on what I love about our house in Greenway Parks.

This is a problem, as I truly don’t think there is anything I do not love about my most recent residential project, this house — my home.  

As you arrive at the 100-foot wide lot, you see what I perceive as a sprawling, yet incredibly inviting, warm New England-style modern farmhouse that exudes charm. We all know that “Father of the Bride” was a California movie set, yet that’s the warmth and charm I feel when I arrive home. I LOVE courtyards, and our house has a delightful courtyard with a center-placed koi pond. I also love the detached quarters with a private entrance off the courtyard. This set up is fantastic for the work-from-home environment that we are in now and equally great for the host and their guests. 

Our New England-style modern farmhouse on Wenonah was significantly added onto and completely remodeled in 2015. I am obsessed with lighting, both natural and designer, and this house 100 percent hits the mark. The way the rooms transition, with both the newness and original character, is perfection, allowing for some privacy at times, yet flowing continuously for entertaining. 

There are numerous enticing conversation zones throughout the house, working both for family discussions and entertaining. The charming formal living room is bathed in natural light and overlooks the greenbelt. It’s tucked in the east end of the house and is a favorite room. It holds a special place in our hearts because it’s where the negotiations took place with the previous owners to buy our New England-style modern farmhouse. 

The seating around our fire pit overlooking the greenbelt segues perfectly from a glass of red wine with friends on a crisp fall evening to making the perfect s’mores with both small children and teenagers. I built a sizable screened-in porch with retractable phantom screens, which opens up from the kitchen and keeping room and overlooks the pool and our greenbelt. I don’t think it would be possible to enjoy time on the loggia any more than our family does. We dine, watch movies and sporting events, and simply get lost in our dreams and thoughts out there at all times of that day that our schedules permit. 

No matter how grand a house is, I think we have all learned that everyone congregates in the kitchen. On holidays like Halloween, we open our kitchen up with retractable doors to the screened porch. It overlooks the heated pool with a fire pit, and there is more seating around the corner. With additional greenbelt interaction, it makes a beautiful evening backdrop to festivities.

Every bedroom upstairs and the entire back of our house overlooks the greenbelt and what I have discovered is truly a magical community. The principal bedroom and bath are filled with light, and what was once a home office off the owner’s suite is now my oh so perfect accessory closet. Additionally, my daughter’s bedroom, bath, and closet are also a second principal bedroom, added in 2015. I honestly considered taking that room during the project as my bedroom. 

One of my other passions is landscaping. Having the courtyard in the front, combined with perfectly placed hedging in our backyard, allowing both privacy and inviting discussions with our neighbors, is a perfect world for me. This neighborhood is fantastic for raising children and retiring. Ask our neighbors. No one leaves! In fact, our previous sellers, who raised three children here, downsized to their next residence just a stone’s throw from this house. They couldn’t bear to leave the neighborhood. 

I am genuinely heartbroken to leave both this neighborhood, our greenbelt, and this house. Wenonah was built for my family and has been absolute perfection for us. However, I look forward to passing the torch to the next family that will unquestionably feel the same way. 

I have a passion for building and creating, and I have curated so much new information over the past few years that I need a new outlet. I have looked for the last couple of years for another perfectly placed wide lot in this community to no avail. Yes, we will be moving, and I hopefully look forward to years from now having yet another house featured in a CandysDirt.com write-up. Trust me, I have all, or at least most of it picked out! 

Thanks for the interest,

Jennifer  

See what I mean. A passionate homeowner is the only person that can perfectly sum up their love for a home — the sort of love that cannot possibly come through in photographs or the words of an admirer. You have to have lived in a house to truly understand it and pass on that knowledge. So thank you, Jennifer!

The house is now 6,104 square feet with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a powder bath, and guest quarters.

Cerullo has 5514 Wenonah Drive listed for $3.85 million and tells me showings have been non-stop. I’ve no doubt this New England-style modern farmhouse will capture the hearts of just the right buyer.