I LOVE a good home tour, don’t you? Well go grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and get your “Pindex” finger ready to pin because I have another Stephen Alexander home to share with you! This coastal home tour features the Fall 2012 Homearama home in the East Beach neighborhood of Norfolk, VA. It boasts 2844 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths AND a detached in-law suite. My words in this post will be few so you can just take it all in, but I will point out all of the luscious details that catch my eye as we go along.
This neighborhood sits right on the Chesapeake Bay and all of the homes within are dripping with character, charm, and moulding! Aren’t you loving the hanging topiary balls around the front porch? So cute! Let’s go inside and look around.
As you enter the home the formal dining room is to the left, staircase to the right, and kitchen straight ahead. Hello cute starfish in the transom window!
Notice the wainscoting, window moulding, and crown moulding throughout. And see the door underneath the staircase? Let’s open it up and see what’s under there…
It hides this beautiful little half-bath!
Here is a close-up of the crackle paint effect giving this plank wall a weathered appearance.
Next, we will walk over to the formal dining room complete with ginormous windows and board and batten treatment.
Looking into the living room, I like how the half wall and columns separates the dining room without closing it off from the rest of the home.
All of Stephen Alexander homes are dripping with built-ins and attention to detail which is why I am such a huge fan. Love the blue coffered ceiling!
Take note of the beadboard backed cove above the mantel and the gorgeous herringbone brick pattern inside the firebox. I also love the subway tile pattern on the fireplace surround. So much beauty resides in the details!
Now we’ll walk into the kitchen and admire the cabinets, school house pendants, and drafting stools.
I like the blue-backed cabinets with decorative glass shelves.
From the kitchen you can see the master bathroom on the left of the built-ins and the sunroom to the right. Let’s go peak around the corner to get a view of the informal dining area.
And here we have more gorgeous built-ins providing extra storage next to the breakfast nook. Since the kitchen storage looks a bit smaller than some, I’m sure this comes in handy for storing extra dish sets and seasonal dish-ware. Do you see how the beadboard on the built-ins mirrors the beadboard wainscoting in the dining area? Me likey!
And here is a cute idea to steal, this “boardwalk plank/pallet cork board” is a great one to add to your DIY files.
One last look back on the kitchen and informal dining area before we move on to the sunroom.
What a delightful room! Love the diagonal flooring and beadboard ceiling. The windows with transoms are gorgeous to boot. But ooooo, look outside! I spy a pergola with my little eye.
As a city girl, I’ve grown accustomed to a small yard (which equals low upkeep and more time to enjoy on weekends) so I am loving this back patio! To the right is a glass outdoor fire pit and to the left is an outdoor kitchen.
This is kind of a grill & bar master’s dream right here! And since it is HOT during Norfolk summers, the pergola is a brilliant must for keeping said grill master from melting.
And on a cool autumn or winter nights, a glass fire pit is a brilliant must for keeping the wine-sippers cozy ;)!
Here we are looking at the entire yard and the detached garage. Notice all of those windows on the top level? Let’s go check it out.
Above the garage is this adorable guest suite! Often called the in-laws suite, but no in-laws are required to enjoy this special space. What a fantastic efficiency apartment to rent out, or simply have for your guests to enjoy. Okay, time to head back to the main house and tour the master suite.
We have entered the master bedroom from the sunroom. Again, all the walls in here are all moulding’ed-out-the-wazooskie! Yes, that is the technical term for the vaulted ceiling and wall treatment. *wink*
Attached to the master bedroom is the master bath complete with sit-down vanity area.
Not pictured is the walk-in closet and laundry room which you can catch a glimpse of in the video at the bottom of the post.
Time to head upstairs! There’s more??? Yes my pretties, there is MORE! And this house is called “The Little Big House” because although it’s not a McMansion it is by no means lacking in all the extras. At the top of the stairs we are greeted by an office nook and family room.
If you have some stored up driftwood, take note of this fun art that could be DIY’ed.
The family room/library of course isn’t without its own amazing built-ins. These have a secret though! Oooo, sneaky storage space. I love it (and I’m sure any children playing hide and seek with unsuspecting friends would LOVE this space as well).
There are two bedrooms on the second level which share a jack-and-jill bathroom.
Here you can see into the bath from one of the bedrooms. I love how each kiddo gets there own sink and toilet with the shower as a shared commodity. Also note the glass floats as tie-backs for the shower curtain–super cute.
Pencil sea stars are adhered to the bathroom wall for some fun coastal flare.
And we end our tour with a peak in on the last bedroom!
So, what do you think? Could you see yourself moving in? I would pack up my home tomorrow if it were a possibility :). Thanks for coming along on the tour with me and a huge thank you to Stephen Quick of Stephen Alexander Homes & Neighborhoods for designing new homes the way they SHOULD be designed and for generously allowing me to share his work with all of you! You can see more of Stephen’s work on their website and follow along the progress of new homes on their facebook page. (I’m in no way paid to promote Stephen’s work. I’m just a long-time groupie.)
The photography is by Jonathan Edwards Media. All photos are copyrighted and used with permission and may not be placed on your site without expressed permission. Thanks!
Carmen says
Is there a site to see the house plans he builds? Love this!
Beth says
Here you go: http://www.stephenalexanderhomes.com/Award-Winning-Plans
Shelby says
Beth,
I am from the same area in VA and recently moved to Texas!!! We just bought our first home, and rather than embrace the bold southwest colors, I’m trying to bring a coastal flair to our home. Do you have any idea what color their master bedroom is painted????? It is the PERFECT color, and I’m hoping you can end the patchwork on our wall that has YET to yield a color we are happy with!
Beth says
Hi Shelby, congrats on your move! I’m not sure what the actual color is but Rainwashed by Sherwin Williams is similar and gorgeous.
Marcia says
Wow…I live about two miles from East Beach and feel like I need to start stalking this house. It’s not totally my taste, but it is extremely well done! Thanks for featuring peeps from Norfolk!
Mariann Russell Looney says
Beth….I do believe I know just who’s home this is!!!(tee-hee) Always in good taste!
JP says
Beth, Seriously!….I am,so stuck on this house tour. Three cups of coffee later and I’m still here! That is one wonderful home builder. Makes me want to move to Va; too, but a little further south is our destination.
That hidden storage behind the bookcase is brilliant! Everything about it is gorgeous and the ideas for projects,”oh my!”
My ‘pindex” finger is itching to start, right now!
Thank you so much for this feature!!!
Beth says
So glad you’re enjoying it JP!
kristin says
I’m moving in 🙂
Thistle says
I LOVE this…..seriously. I mean….I was sold at the starfish transom. What a great use of color and texture 🙂
What a great way to start a Thursday 🙂
Have a blessed and wonderful day!
karianne
Amy From Grown From Scratch says
Oh I LOVE this!
Christy @ Our Southern Home says
Thanks for sharing! This home is spectacular!!!!
Gina says
I’m packing my bags! Gorgeous!!
Jenny@Evolutionofstyle says
GORGEOUS tour! I love all of the nooks and crannies and the great hidden spaces. Never mind the amazing moldings – my favorite! I really liked the clever window treatments in the kitchen breakfast nook too! How were those hung? It looks like they mounted hooks on the wall and hung them with loops attached to the window treatments. Any insight?
Thanks for sharing!
Beth says
I think they are just curtain ring clips.
Mary@athomeonthebay says
What a gorgeous home! Thank you for the fun tour.