(Christine Nesheim)
LUXURY LIFESTYLES: Stone Fence Acres
New Wegman home just one of five featured at Home & Garden Walk
Celeste and Dick Wegman relish the process of building and designing. And it shows in their enchanting new home, the 34th residence shared by the couple.
With this move, as in others, they held onto prized antiques and personal accessories while transforming the space they live. The 3,000 square foot, Carolina low country-architectural-style-home, sits on ten Ellison Bay acres, surrounded by a Door County stone fence. So, the couple, owners of City Farmer and Celeste Wegman Interiors in Ephraim, named their property, Stone Fence Acres, and gave ten adjoining acres to their two sons.
Dick served as general contractor of the custom build, which was completed late in 2009. And Celeste, an interior designer, handled the design − from the natural landscaping and wide front porch, to the open flow of the space, high quality architectural details and finishes, and savvy decorating. Their home will be one of five residences and gardens open to the public during the Door County House and Garden Walk, sponsored by the Door County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary on Tuesday, July 27.
“It is always a new adventure with a house. Dick loves the building part, and I love the design part of it,” Celeste said.
“And we never get attached to things — except our personal antique furnishings,” Dick added. “All our lives, we have sold things. But there are certain things you don’t want to sell.”
Prior to moving in earlier this year, the Wegmans resided in a loft above City Farmer; their home furnishings and garden store housed in a repurposed dairy barn.
“Space I can always recreate. My things always fit perfectly,” said Celeste.
Custom design
And recreate space she did. The home, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, affords peaceful views of meadows and trees from 36 large windows − eye-catching elements themselves. The home has an open floor plan to suit the couple’s penchant for entertaining family and friends. The front entry opens to the spacious great room; dining area to the right of the door, and living area to the left. Beyond, one glimpses the kitchen. Adjoining the kitchen is another eating area, with outdoor access to side and rear decks.
All bedrooms are on this level, while a home office for Dick is perched above. The lower level has storage space and a bathroom. And with 3,000 more square feet, it will eventually be finished with a media room, wine cellar, play area for the couple’s two grandchildren, and what Celeste, who was born in Italy, called an “Italian kitchen.”
“Italians always have a second kitchen for canning,” she said.
Unpretentious luxury
Back upstairs, the home has an unpretentious luxurious feeling. The decorating style is Country French and English with some coastal influence. Sophisticated antiques and striking contemporary oil paintings mix with diverse accessories, family heirlooms, and photographs.
Forming a cohesive backdrop for it all, are hand-scraped oak floors with a walnut stain, custom-milled crown molding and trim throughout the home, and a color palette of blues and greens.
In the great room, for example, vintage work benches are repurposed as side tables in the dining area. A long harvest table seats at least fourteen for dining. Hanging above it is a more formal appearing chandelier, which the couple had for years in other homes.
In the living area of the spacious great room, the wood-burning fireplace (with gas starter) has a Carrara marble surround. Nearby, two sofas upholstered in a blue natural fabric flank a large pine coffee table. Blue and white ginger jars and lamps are all around.
Remotely raise the oil painting hanging above the mantel, and a flat screen television appears.
While that’s pretty cool, Celeste called the kitchen “one of her favorite things” about the home. The focal point is the ten-foot-long island, topped by one seamless piece of honed white Carrara marble from Italy. The countertops are crafted from white Carrara marble, too. And there are Kohler fixtures here, as well as in the bathrooms. Three sinks—a prep sink, farm-style sink and bar sink — along with a 60-inch Wolf stove, make party planning easy.
“It is a working kitchen, yet it is very lovely,” Celeste said.
Some of the pretty white cabinets, made by Valley Cabinet, Inc., are accented with glass doors and a back bead-board wall painted in a bright apple green color. The door hardware was hand-forged in Italy.
A wall-covering design of pheasants and roosters helps make a country French décor theme come alive in the kitchen.
“And this is also Door County. This is where we are,” said Celeste, who drew inspiration for much of the home’s décor from its setting.
A discerning eye
Her ability to pull old and new together also shows in the bedrooms. No matchy-matchy dressers, bed frames and end tables in these spaces.
The master bedroom, for example, has specially made linens in harmony with the hummingbird-patterned wall-coverings. A dark wood antique bench rests at the foot of the bed, while side tables in a light finish flank it.
The adjoining master bathroom has white cabinets and a vanity for her – all topped by more white Carrara marble, the focal point being the shower with a tall, clear glass door in a frameless style.
“I wanted this space to have an open feeling,” said Celeste.
She tapped her store’s “Seabrook Classics” line, for monogrammed linens in one of the guest rooms. The room also has a floral wall-covering with a green background, while another bedroom has geranium print wallpaper.
Meanwhile, Dick’s upper-level office has a more masculine look with antiques, including an old apothecary, a pie safe (repurposed for storage) and accents such as old oars and skis.
“They are things I feel comfortable with and have fallen in love with,” Dick said.
“And look at this view,” added Celeste, turning to glance out the window above her husband’s desk.
“You can look, and there is nothing except a beautiful sunset. And our garden in the summer will be right next to the garage. We’ll do tomatoes, eggplant and peppers,” she said. “And I love the feel of it all when I look out.”
Donna Marie Pocius, an Egg Harbor-based freelance writer, writes about decorating and other topics. Suggest a photogenic home to her for consideration in Luxury Lifestyles of Door County by writing donnamarie@dcwis.com.
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