Home of the Week: Wine cellar is toast of Mediterranean-style ranch
The home, priced at $919,900, has three bedrooms, two full baths, and two half baths.
18 Durham Drive, Lynnfield
$919,900
Style: Ranch
Year built: 1976
Square feet: 4,115
Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2 full, 2 half
Sewer/water: Private
Taxes: $11,209 (2018)
If your conception of Lynnfield is formed by the walls of the odious Lynnfield Tunnel on Route 1, reboot your brain. This nearly-on-the-North Shore town is beautiful, and this three-bedroom home in the King James Grant neighborhood looks more like a villa than a ranch.
The reasoning is clear without even seeing the house: The fence has red-brick posts connected by concave walls coated in white stucco. The driveway slides past the fence and a cluster of mature trees to arrive at a courtyard of red brick, a bubbling fountain at its center.
To the right and left of the fountain are the wings of the U-shaped, white-stucco home. The asphalt roof is the color of terra cotta tiles; the windows have cast-iron decorative grates. Three curved archways mark the front porch and entry.
A hand-carved wooden door, original to the house, opens into a surprisingly large formal living room with burly exposed beams and an angled ceiling, all painted a peaceful white. There’s a single step down into the living room, which features a large gas fireplace on one wall and a sizable picture window with views of the backyard on another. The flooring is maple laminate.
The living room is the conduit between the two wings. To the right, an arched doorway leads to the kitchen, which has been updated without sacrificing original design elements. Along the top of the white wooden cabinetry, carvings of grapes can still be found. The counters and backsplash are granite, and the electric stove is black. From the sink, set underneath double windows, one can view the brick pizza oven and firepit in the backyard.
A breakfast area sits near a slider that leads to a deck with a hot tub. And on the right side of the kitchen, there is a small hallway with a half bath and a mudroom connected to the two-car garage.
Another arched hallway connects to a dining room with maple laminate flooring, a chandelier, and a large window.
The bedrooms are in the other wing. The master suite is comprised of a 270-square-foot bedroom with double closets and an electric fireplace. The full bath features a single vanity topped with granite and a shower with multiple sprayers and a clear-glass wall. The flooring is tile. The two remaining bedrooms vary in size, but both are sunny and offer adequate closets. The larger has an electric fireplace. The floors in all three bedrooms are carpeted.
From the family room, a stairwell leads to a lower level designed to serve both as a “man cave’’ and a family gathering space. The cave part: There is a wet bar (said to be built with part of a pew from an English church). Next to it is a movie theater with a retractable screen. The space has a drop ceiling, and the flooring is green ceramic tiles that mimic marble.
A few steps away is a space with knotty-pine paneling – a custom wine-tasting room with direct access to the 700-bottle wine cellar. The remaining lower-level space is given over to a half bath, a cedar closet, laundry and exercise rooms, and utility space.
The backyard reminds one of Bill Belichick’s voice during a press conference: It’s flat, flat, flat.
The listing agent, Helen Bolino of Northrup Associates Realtors in Lynnfield, hosts an open house from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 24.
Follow John R. Ellement on Twitter @JREbosglobe. Send listings to [email protected]. Please note: We do not feature unfurnished homes and will not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
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