At Home: Pretty as a picture

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November 7, 2009

By Emma Bowen Meyer, For The Herald Bulletin The Herald Bulletin Sat Nov 07, 2009, 05:34 PM EST

PENDLETON — Gazing at a Thomas Kinkade painting compels many people to admire the charm of his old world homes and imagine living in such a unique and peaceful setting.

But after studying Kinkade’s print of the fairy tale-like “Winsor Manor,” Xavier Carrico wasn’t content to just imagine the cottage. He wanted to build it.

“I saw that picture and thought, ‘I can make that a house,’” he said. “If you can create a picture in my head, I can build it.”

Xavier has been building custom homes since 1969, mostly during the summers since his full-time job was teaching science at Pendleton Heights High School. Retiring in 1998 supplied him with extra time to build houses — a hobby he says goes hand-in-hand with the discipline of science.

“Science is problem solving,” he said. “There are so many different parts to building a house that there’s usually a problem.”

Some of the problems he encountered as he built his Winsor Manor forced alterations to the design. Regulations wouldn’t allow the garage door to be accessed from the side of the home, demanding he add the necessary feature to the front. To compensate, he added windows to the garage door that are similar to the windows in the painting.

Imagining the interior

Since the inside of the dwelling is not depicted in the painting, it was left totally to Xavier’s imagination. The longer he worked, the more his imagination grew, filling the home with a large amount of detail work and well-thought-out conveniences.

“It has a lot more features than I imagined when I began,” he said. “When I was building, I just kept thinking up things I wanted to add. It’s built like I was going to live here myself.”

“He just enjoyed piddling with it and kept adding details,” said his wife, Fran, who added a few details of her own. Her hand-painted flowers adorn the walls of the laundry room, brightening up a mundane task.

While all the additions are pleasing to the eye, including the use of beautiful, intricate trim throughout the home, they are also quite functional.

A great number of built-in cabinets and shelves are arranged conveniently and reduce the need for furniture. In the great room is a computer desk and adjacent display shelves that make use of the space underneath the stairs. Both upstairs bedrooms feature a long wall with a counter reaching all the way across, drawer space underneath and an area designed as a desktop.

The master suite downstairs not only includes a bedroom, walk-in closet, and a large bathroom (donning a double-sink vanity and garden tub), but also a dressing area. An attractive floor-to-ceiling mirror, rounded at the top and accented with shaped pieces of mirror inlaid into the elaborate trim covers a wall across from ample drawer space. Xavier even thought to add a pull-out pegboard perfect for hanging ties and necklaces.

Attention to light

Even in the eating area, three floor-to-ceiling storage areas are built to resemble china cabinets. Along the ceiling of each one are four square openings to store bottles of wine. The nearby kitchen has been designed to allow the table to be set without crossing the path of the chef as the finishing touches are added to the meal.

Other details add flair to the abode. Built into the corner of the living room is a gas fireplace with a ledge above to set the television. Not to be outdone by the theatre, a curtain lines the back of the television while pillars run alongside it.

Even something as simple as the windows were given extra attention. Palladium windows welcome a great deal of light into the upstairs bedrooms and circular windows adorn the both sides of the living room near the eighteen foot ceiling. Accenting the pantry and laundry room doors are leaded glass windows.

Although Xavier has the home on the market, he also has plans to add a few more touches if it doesn’t sell right away — and maybe even if it does. Showing a picture of an elaborate deck for the backyard, he intends to build one with a raised circular area and outdoor fireplace.

“My only problem is to get him to stop working here and do projects for me,” Fran said.

Each week, Emma Bowen Meyer features a Madison County home. If you know of a home that should be showcased, send an e-mail to emmagoldiemeyer@yahoo.com

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