The natural elements laid out in the BIA Parade of Homes theme will certainly be present in this year’s Foundation Home, but they’ll have to compete with artwork and built-in convenience for the highlights.
For the second year in a row and the sixth time overall, Truberry Custom Homes is building the Foundation Home.
This year’s Foundation Home is 4,244 square feet, with five bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms and a three-car garage. All proceeds from its sale go to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation and other children’s charities supported by the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio’s foundation.
The house’s many windows make its commitment to the outdoors clear even before entry. The three stories of windows in the back of the house, in particular, are an impressive sight, says Truberry President Lori Steiner.
An open-air covered porch is off the kitchen on the main floor, a story above the deck. It boasts a stone fireplace and a flat-screen TV, as well as a wood cocktail table and a variety of plants.
“It’s going to be a wonderful place to hang out outdoors, but indoors,” says Steiner.
Among the other natural elements in the house are a wood-branch lamp, a petrified wood accent table that resembles a tree stump and leather basket-weave tables in the lower level. The nature theme is also on full display in the dining room.
“The dining area chandelier is a large oval tree chandelier in antique silver and gold,” Steiner says.
A deep, extra-large front porch is primarily off to the right side of the front door.
On the main floor, the two-story foyer has been renamed the “gallery” thanks to its three alcoves, high on the second floor, that sport sculptures. Three framed pieces of nature scene artwork along the first floor wall add to the gallery feel.
The gallery also includes a built-in table, rather than a sofa table or hallway table. Built-ins are consistent fixtures throughout the house, appearing also at the top of the stairs, in every bathroom and in the form of a credenza and bookshelves in the study/studio. There’s even a built-in bunk bed system in one of the bedrooms.
“It has a column that is a combination of bookshelves and niches, and it glows from inside,” says Steiner.
An island with a charcoal look is the centerpiece of the gourmet kitchen, which also features granite surfaces, a freestanding oven with five burners, stainless steel appliances, a 36-inch dual fuel range, a French door refrigerator and a beverage center, as well as a walk-in pantry with a swing door.
Upstairs, the large master bedroom has windows looking out on the lawn. The master bathroom offers a TV, in addition to a double-tier bench with a step up into the 8-foot shower with built-in benches.
The shower “has double everything … two jets, two handheld showers and two rain-head showers,” Steiner says.
A teen suite with its own bathroom sports a floral mural inspired by the throw pillows on the bed. A girl’s bedroom with a magical garden theme shares a Jack-and-Jill bath with a boy’s bedroom.
On the lower level are a sizable game room and family entertainment room with a pub-style wet bar. A guest room with its own bathroom is also on the lower level, as is a walkout to the brick paver patio with a fire pit.
And like all Truberry homes, the Foundation Home offers a convenience station with cubbies for cell phone chargers and a bench off the garage.
Garth Bishop is editor of CityScene Magazine. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
