When Steve and Adrienne Taneff found a model home they liked a few years ago, they had Romanelli & Hughes build a similar home, both inside and out.

Then residents of Clintonville, the couple with two young daughters selected a home with about 3,500 square feet, four bedrooms and 3½ baths on the two floors. The chosen location was on a large cul-de-sac lot Adrienne selected in Willow Bend in southern Delaware County.

A 2,600 square foot basement remained unfinished, but that was part of their three-year plan for the first home they had ever built. The Taneffs would see how they grew into the space and then gradually upgrade and decorate the European styled home.

During construction, they dressed up the pillar-lined front porch by tiling the concrete floor and adding wood-stained wainscot to the ceiling. Adrienne chose to have a wood door, an upgrade from the original, with clear leaded glass sidelights and a transom designed and installed around it. Otherwise, changes to the original plan were minimal.

In the foyer is the feature that Steve and Adrienne like most – abundant handcrafted wood trim, prominent in all Romanelli & Hughes homes. It catches the eye in all directions and, Adrienne says, is symbolic of the company’s quality work.

To the left is the dining room with a tray ceiling. Wood trim, painted off-white, as it is throughout the house, encloses the arched window. Both sides of the wall above the expansive opening are handsomely trimmed. The room is almost wide open except for a short wall and decorative columns that separate but keep open access to the great room and kitchen.

Steve’s office is to the right of the foyer with a curved front wall and three arched windows. When the Taneffs worked with the builder’s carpenters to design a work station with a wall of shelves, a desk top and drawers, they “stood here and drew stuff on the wall,” Steve says. The wide wood trim above the shelf compartments is curved and is an attractive coupling with the windows. The room is large enough to allow a leather couch, a coffee table, and two upholstered chairs.

In the great room, one wall is for another handcrafted piece – the white entertainment center that covers much of the wall that leads to an outside corner and a marble faced fireplace. To break up the long chimney wall above it, Adrienne chose a lighted, arched niche. Below that is a crafted wood mantle and matching facing, or “legs,” all off the floor above the fireplace opening and floor-level hearth.

Three rows of windows, including three double-hung windows at the bottom, make up the rear wall that extends to the two-story-high ceiling. A deck had been planned across the entire rear of the home but Adrienne opted to reduce it so it wouldn’t inhibit the view. The rear deck is accessible from the casual dining area.

The kitchen features an island that’s long enough for four stools at an eating bar, and wide enough to include a sink in the counter-height worktop. It appears narrow enough so it doesn’t dominate the room. Plain-front wall and floor cabinets house the refrigerator, oven, microwave and dishwasher. Dark granite countertops are accented by a tan tile backsplash. Adrienne had the kitchen and dining rooms and the short connecting wall faux painted in a light gold.

Off the great room, opposite the kitchen, is the master bedroom with a large window affording a view of the backyard. The master bath includes a Jacuzzi, a glass-enclosed shower, and a double sink counter top with separate mirrors. The walk-in closet is off the bath.

Up the carpeted stairs from the foyer are three bedrooms – one a guest room with a full bath, and two for their daughters, Kathryn, 10, and Olivia, 8. Steve and Adrienne recently let the girls pick the colors: one room is predominately pink and the other mostly purple with accent stripes.

The Taneff’s most recent and most expansive upgrade was to finish the basement. They designed it themselves and Adrienne filled the role of contractor and arranged all of the subcontracting work.

At the top of the stairs, a 15-pane glass door creates an inviting entrance. Features include a recreation area with a pool table, a general seating area, and a dry stacked, stone arch that opens into an entertainment center. A hand crafted wine rack is along the far wall. There’s also a flat screen television over the fireplace and a bar with a double-door refrigerator, a small sink and a dishwasher.

Rough-faced tiles with several deep colors add to the allure of the room, and are reminiscent of the subterranean vaults in former breweries in the Brewery District. On the other side of the lower level is a large playroom that could be converted to a bedroom. Just outside it is a bath with a shower that includes a steam jet and marble bench. There is also a large cedar closet for winter clothes storage.

A French door to the rear of the informal seating area opens to the paver patio and bottom of the deck stairs. The lower-level project encompassed about 1,900 square feet and left about 700 more for storage. And though it seems that no house is ever finished, the Taneffs certainly have come a long way.

Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor for Luxury Living Magazine.