Main Line Monday: An Off-Center Hall Contemporary Colonial in Haverford

119 Green Lane, Haverford, Pa. 19041 | Images from Long & Foster Real Estate (via TREND where indicated in photo)

The center-hall Colonial is the dominant house type in the upper reaches of the Main Line real estate market. You can probably describe its layout as well as we can: formal living room on the left, formal dining room on the right, kitchen behind the dining room, with maybe a butler’s pantry thrown in for good measure, and behind the living room, a library, den or study. Everything else aside from the upstairs bedrooms is an add-on.

We don’t know about you, but we like a little bit of variety every now and then. Which is why we were pleased to run across this contemporary Colonial in Haverford that’s just a bit off the beaten path.

This barely-two-year-old home in the Carriage Homes at Haverford Reserve development is a variant on the custom-built model home that was chosen as this mag’s 2008 Design Home, and the same care and creative flair that went into that house can be found here as well, starting with that informal Colonial layout.

The main entrance is tucked in between the two-car garage and the smaller wing of the home. The main entryway is elegant without being overbearing and features arched entryways to the adjacent rooms. Off to the right as you enter is the formal dining room, which is dressed in decorative wallpaper and features a bay window.

Behind the dining room is the combined kitchen and breakfast room, which blends traditional elegance with modern sensibility — and, of course, the usual array of top-of-the-line appliances and finishes, including Ceasarstone countertops.

In place of the formal living room is a breathtaking great room behind the kitchen and also accessible from the entrance hall. This soaring space with its beamed cathedral ceilings, fireplace and Palladian-window-topped French doors that open out onto a hardscaped rear patio should impress your guests as much as any formal living room would.

You’ll find on the first floor a picturesque office/library space with built-in bookshelves and a luxurious master suite whose bathroom includes a separate dressing table in addition to dual vanities.

The second floor has two bedrooms, each with its own en suite bathroom and one with a seating area. There’s also a carpeted, skylit craft room that can also be used as a bedroom.

If you’re an art lover, this home has spaces that should suit your fancy. The large second-floor hall can double as an art gallery thanks to its expansive wall space and lighting. So, for that matter, can the finished walkout basement, which also has a fireplace and is set up for home theater, games and recreation; its decorated curved wall is another distinctive feature. There’s plenty of storage space in the basement as well.

Surrounding the development is an added amenity: Haverford Reserve, home to the Haverford Township Recreation Center. This outdoor lover’s dream has more than 100 acres of preserved open space laced with hiking and biking trails. The community has been honored with 11 Pyramid Awards from the Home Builders Association of Delaware and Chester Counties, including Community of the Year, and it’s convenient to just about everything good the Main Line has to offer.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 3

BATHS: 3 full, 1 half

SQUARE FEET: 4,636

SALE PRICE: $1,285,000

OTHER STUFF: This home is also equipped with a Kohler backup generator, Sonos whole-house sound system, Hunter irrigation system and Gemini alarm system.

119 Green Lane, Haverford, Pa. 19041 [David L. Alexander | Long & Foster Real Estate / Christie’s International Real Estate]