Below is an
excerpt by John Ellement from the Boston Globe’s
Home of the Week featureof
22 Brook StreetinWalpole, exclusively
listed by
Nancy and
Tara True.The rough-hewn stone walls, curving oak
stairwell & wide barrel & vaulted ceilings are among the home’smost
striking features. . .
In a way, this contemporary invokes childish wonder in the
delightful way it mixes fundamental geometric shapes: cylinders,
squares, rectangles, and half-moons.
Entry is through double doors, and inside is something
wonderful: The walls of the foyer are clad in light-colored,
rough-hewn stone from floor to ceiling. In the middle of this is a
rectangular, thin slab of blond oak across the top that creates a
frame for what follows the formal dining room, where a dividing
wall is dressed in rough-hewn stone.
To the right
off the foyer is the first of two master suites. The bedroom offers
two sliders to a wraparound deck. The full bath has a single vanity
and fish-scale ceramic tiles on the wall and shower surround.
The expansive living room features a small fireplace flanked by
firewood boxes in a stone surround. Eyes traveling up the wall are
led to two large exhaust pipes for the homes high-efficiency hybrid
heating system. The vaulted ceiling is clad in solid ash planks,
and three sliding doors, each framed in oak, open to the deck.
From the
living room, a wide entry leads to a dining room with a chandelier
and six windows built into the curving wall of the cylindrical
faade at the rear of the home. The view is of the backyard. The
house sits on 1.5 rolling acres that provide seasonal views of
Willett Pond.
Across the
hallway from the dining room is the kitchen, a space that has not
been updated recently but still has panache. The cabinets are
cream-colored with blond oak trim. The kitchen has two peninsulas:
one for cooking, the other for eating breakfast. Both are clad in
bead board on one side. The adjacent breakfast room has a skylight
and a windowed bumpout overlooking the deck and backyard. There is
also a half bath/laundry room off the kitchen.
An expansion
added a family room just beyond the kitchen. Among the arresting
features here is a red-brick gas fireplace nearly surrounded by
windows, making it look as if it is outside. Atop the fireplace is
one of several half-moon windows in this home. The cathedral
ceiling is clad in wood planks, and the space also gets natural
light from a skylight and sliders to the deck.
Another visual
treat is the curving oak stairwell that connects to the second
floor. Here, the suite is defined by a wall of windows, a half-moon
cutout resting atop sliding glass doors. This wall of windows is
inset into a wide barrel ceiling. There are closets are either side
of the windows, as well as a walk-in closet.
The master bath has a whirlpool tub under a skylight, a separate
shower with a glass door, a bidet, and a double vanity topped with
a Formica counter. The walls and floor are ceramic tile.
A long hallway is open to the living room below and connects the
other two bedrooms and full bath. Clerestory windows add light.
The second bedroom takes the barrel window of the master and
magnifies it. Nearly the whole room is a magnificent cylinder that
flows out from a bank of windows. The third bedroom is traditional
in design.
The full bath
is almost a mirror image of the master, with a tub, a separate
shower, and a single vanity, but no bidet.
The first level has a mix of flooring, including hardwood in the
dining room, and all of the bedrooms are carpeted. The lower level
is unfinished.
To learn more about this elegant estate at 22 Brook Street in
Walpole, click
here. For additional details, contact listing agents
Nancy and Tara Trueat (781) 329-8008 or
Nancy.True@gibsonsir.com
and Tara.True@gibsonsir.com.