Main Line Monday: A French Fantasy in Merion Station

247 Winding Way, Merion Station, Pa. 19066 | TREND images via Keller Williams Realty

Sometimes, the soul just craves a romanticized French farmhouse rather than a traditional colonial home on the Main Line.

This beautiful Normandy-style stone home, built in the mid-1920s in a style modeled after French provincial country manors, is nestled on dreamily landscaped grounds in Merion Station. From a distance, you can easily spot the home’s most distinctive feature: the round stone tower topped by a cone-shaped roof with a touch of Tudor style decorative timbering. Approach the front doors at your own risk: you may find yourself just about ready to purchase this home from the curb appeal alone, what with its four sets of French doors topped with hand-carved wooden lintels.

As you enter through the arched wooden front door into an impressive turret and the two-story foyer, be prepared to be wowed by an original tile floor from famed Bucks County craftsman Henry Mercer’s Moravian Tile Works. Random-width hardwood peg floors and leaded stained glass windows throughout the home add a unique flavor to this already charming home.

Something else to give you reason to swoon: the expansive living room offers an impressive array of bay windows with seating and a picket ceiling with wooden beams. Should your friends stop by, swing over to the formal dining room, where a built-in wine cabinet with an intricate iron grill door and a large fireplace with carved wooden lions and scrollwork await their guaranteed approval.

The eat-in kitchen is particularly special, showcasing white brick walls and cedar barn wood siding beams and cabinetry. With an ample amount of countertop space, prep areas, two sinks and a Dutch door, this kitchen will easily be one of your favorite spots. Should you want a designated place for entertaining your friends and family, the library/den offers the ideal playroom, featuring a stone fireplace, oak wood paneling and a full matching bar with access to a comfortable patio and pool. A bright office and powder room also exist on this floor, perfect for creating your dream home office space.

Up that gorgeous tower stairway is an arched doorway leading to five bedrooms and four full bathrooms. The master suite includes a sitting room, a dressing room with a fireplace, and a large walk-in closet. The star of the master suite is perhaps the stunning oak-paneled bathroom with Jacuzzi, perfect for a personal spa day. A second bedroom has an en suite bath, and two more bedrooms with full baths can be sectioned off for an au paire or in-law suite with private stairs to the kitchen.

An unexpected surprise awaits you on the lower level. Downstairs, enter through a door with a carved ship wheel and be amazed by a spacious nautical-themed room. Integrated into the molding around the walls, the themed original paintings by well-known classical Pennsylvania artist Maurice Molarsky are prominently featured. Other details include a fireplace, carved wooden seating, the original architect’s renderings of the ship room, and a wet bar.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 5

BATHS: 5

SQUARE FEET: 4,556

PRICE: $1,499,999

247 Winding Way, Merion Station, Pa. 19066 [Beth Samberg | Keller Williams Realty]