Great Space: Storybook Home

Fan house reflects owner’s travels and adventures.

In spite of the spaciousness, the overall warmth allows you to feel right at home and welcome.

“The neighbors made me feel welcome and at ease when I first looked at this house during the house hunt,” Anderson says. “That convinced me to buy. I want my home to be inviting — just like the neighborhood.”

The house is inviting to the mind and the eye in multiple ways. From the contemporary statuary to the wall art, which softly rattles as you pass by, to the colorful and slightly whimsical furniture, the rooms speak volumes about the world traveler — the adventurer — who inhabit this space.

The 18th-century Irish candlesticks found in a Dublin nunnery and the small model of St. Basil’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral make one’s mind ponder what went on in those respective places during their heyday. Contemporary and traditional furniture joins unique collectables — each piece commanding its own history, its own story of how it came to rest in this house. An impressive seashell collection is comfortable next to ancient Chinese chop sticks. A carefully preserved King James Bible, dating to the 17th century, can be found on bookshelves bulky with titles.

Anderson’s life and work are played out through the photographs that cover the walls. You could spend an entire day viewing, discussing, and critiquing all of the photography with its varying subjects, people, localities and colors.

Renovations to the house include additional space downstairs and in front. Recently constructed windows allow the afternoon sun to illuminate the living room. The weather vane atop the roof at the rear of the house has its own charm.

From the books, photography and architecture to the statuary, weather vanes and candlesticks, this West Avenue home is one you don’t want to miss while on the Fan Holiday House Tour. And if you’re fortunate enough to speak with the owner, who defines her interior design as “prophetic and visionary,” you will understand that the adage can sometimes also be occupant, occupant, occupant. HS

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