“Rooms With A View”
by Harry Funk, The Observer-Reporter
November 6, 2005
Set atop a South Franklin Township ridge, the just-completed house was built with the view in mind: From all directrions it overlooks hills and valleys that are full of foliage.
Location certainly is a prime consideration when it comes to building a home, but so are the design elements of the house. And the Keiths have come up with some distinctive features. Walk inside, and you’ll immediately take note of the floorboards: planks of Eastern white pine cut in uneven widths, some as wide as 20 inches, anchored by square-head nails to create an effect reminiscent of an early American home.
The fireplace, directly in the line of vision from the front entrance, also appears to be straight from yesteryear. It is built of solid-face brick in a style known as Rumford, which was prevalent in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, characterized by a tall, shallow design to reflect more heat from the blaze.
“We wanted that to be a focal point of this living area,” explained Lew. The open plan of the main floor of the ranch house has the living area flowing directly into the kitchen, which features a dining area set amid banks of windows to let in plenty of natural light.
The house’s plans are based on a model called Timbervine, one of the varieties of residential structures offerd by the family business, Keith Homes in South Franklin.
“We have a couple of houses similar to this that we’re working on in Sycamore Reserve,” Cherie said, referring to the 122-acre Keith Homes development in progress in North Franklin Township. The Keiths intend to show their own home as an example of the company’s workmanship, as it already has served as one of the stops on the Washington County Builders Association’s recent Parade of Homes. The main floor also featurees two bedrooms, a spacious laundry room and a garage large enough to accommodate two full-sized vehicles.
The master bedroom and adjoining bathroom are positioned to receive maximum morning sunlight, with windows facing to the south and east. A sliding glass door leads from the bedroom to a deck that spans the width of the house. The deck materials made by Trex, are a composite of recycled materials, reclaimed wood, and plastic.
While the main floor certainly is inviting, a walk downstairs leads to the house’s real amenities. To the right of the bottom of the stairs is the exercise room. Its focal point is an 8-by-14-foot pool built by Philadelphia-based Endless Pools, featuring an adjustable current and whirlpool jets. And the room’s temperature can be set at whatever meets the Keiths’ comfort level.
“This is completely independent of the rest of the house, in terms of the heating and cooling system,” Lew said.
On the other side of the lower floor is the media room, a place where plenty of folks wouldn’t mind settling in and never leaving. The room features seating for four in comfortable theater-style chairs, whith a multimedia system that includes a massive high-definition television screen and sound pumped through seven speakers and a booming subwoofer. All components for the system, designed and installed by X1 Systems of Heidelberg, are in an adjoining room, and everthing is coordinated through the convenience of a single remote control.
“These media rooms are pretty much becoming standard fare in luxury houses,” said Lew. “It’s something people can afford to do now.” And believe it or not, the room also is designed to serve as a guest bedroom when needed.
“That’s in touch with the smaller house idea, making it multi-purpose,” Lew said, noting that many of the house’s design features are based on the concepts of architect-author Sarah Susanka in her “Not-So-Big House” series of books. “We wanted the house to be very comfortable, very livable,” he said.
In that regard, visitors to the Keiths’ new home would agree that they’ve met their goal.
