Welcome to Wowsville! Just for a minute or two imagine yourself on a long trip to through rolling hills of the French countryside on your way home to the vineyard where you live. I do this all the time and when you arrive this is what your house would look like. This is what my house would look like. The amazing thing about this dream is that this fantastic home isn’t in France; it’s in Wisconsin and has to be one of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen.

There are so many incredible details inside and out in this European country style home that it’s difficult to keep track of them or even identify your favorite room, they’re all great! It’s a target rich environment for the creative senses.

Driving up to this amazing home you can tell that this is going to be a treat. The circular drive and the stone keyhole arches leading up to the house instantly grab your attention as they narrow at your feet and widen at the top. I’ve never seen a shape like those before and as you walk underneath them on your way to the front door. You cannot help but look up. It’s beautiful! The landscaping is incredible and even the garage is done right with the stone exterior, flower boxes and wooden shutters.  The dormer on the roof is rounded at the top which matches the windows and you feel as though you’re ‘not in Kansas anymore,’ you’re in France.

As you look through the glass paneled double front doors you get a glimpse of what’s inside as you can almost see straight through to the lake this beautiful home sits on. The doors open and the smiling face of Kari Schmidt greets me and welcomes me in. Travertine floors in the entryway entry give way to the magnificent living room. The twenty-five foot ceiling in the living room with large wooden beams seem perfect for the gigantic fireplace and the stunning artwork above it. You have now entered “Wowsville.”

Hart DeNoble was the builder of this home and they also designed and built The Nelson home written about and pictured in a previous article. So what does that tell you? The Nelson pictures are the current home page images and although the styles are different both homes are completely fantastic.  National Award winning designer Terri Schmidt (no relation to home owner) from Dream Kitchens designed the kitchen, baths, butler pantry and bar and I’ve photographed enough spectacular homes to tell when Terri’s involved.  She’s nationally recognized and one of the best designers there is.

European country homes are warm and inviting and although the house is big it doesn’t feel big, it feels cozy and comfortable and it’s a little deceiving from the driveway. You don’t expect it to be like this when you first drive up. Kari is an interior decorator and it really shows with her attention to detail. The inside is decorated to perfection and her taste in art, furniture and sculptures that fill the home is impeccable. There’s no trim work on the walls or ceiling as this style of home uses drywall returns around the corners and large wooden beams and natural stone throughout the home.

The ‘Dream Kitchen’ is where I always start to work and this kitchen is bright, inviting and beautiful. Double porcelain sinks with a butcher block cutting board between them allows for plenty of room for more than one cook in the kitchen. A gorgeous marble top island and stunning wood floors dominate the room and the dark wood cabinets and two glass chandelier style fixtures hang above the island. What’s also interesting the smaller living area off the kitchen, which allows the cook to be part of the family conversation if the big game is on or the fireplace is burning nicely. The back of the home is glass providing a few of the lake.

Although the kitchen is stunning the master bathroom is magnificent.  The stone arch over the tub is incredible and on cold winter nights you can flip a switch and turn on the gas fireplace set in the wall at the foot of the tub. There’s also a walk in shower that is fit with a steam nozzle as well as the option to use the large overhead rain shower fixture.  There’s plenty of room in this bathroom as the sinks and cabinets are on opposite sides of the room.

Every room in this incredible home is decorated to perfection and the comfort level of this home takes center stage.  The home owners have two Golden Doodles and their toys are scattered throughout the home. Their children and grand children are frequent guests and there was once a wedding ceremony conducted here.  You can actually picture the bride walking under the keyhole arches through the front door and into the living room.  It makes perfect sense to me.

This home is at the top of the list for style and comfort.  Congratulations go to everyone involved.  You can reach Terri Schmidt at tschmidt@drmkit.com

Jim