Brooke Steuart, a petite mother of four young children, enjoys living large. Her 9,200-square-foot home in the Calvert County town of Owings is a testament to that.
The house, clad in vinyl siding with generous use of Pennsylvania fieldstone, sits on seven acres, its exterior punctuated by 20-foot-tall white columns.
In 1991 when the couple purchased the property for $450,000, the home, almost 30 years old at the time, was about a third its current size. It wasn't until 2001 that Steuart, an interior designer, felt the need to expand.
"I told the builders I wanted enough space [to] add all of my antiques," she said. "Everything here is from my grandmothers' houses, my uncle's house, or antique shops." It also provided the space to display thousands of collectibles, including dolls that belonged to her mother and grandmother, barn signs, a Norman Rockwell plate collection and antique sewing machine.
The $900,000 expansion bumped the house out and up, providing space for thousands of collectibles and achieving, she says, "my dream home, what I've always envisioned, always."
Her vision, from a visitor's standpoint, begins at an entry hall. The floor is made of travertine marble with a large inlaid Italian mosaic design at the center. Hanging from the ceiling is an Austrian crystal chandelier.
Several rooms are visible from the foyer, seen through columns supporting sweeping archways. Straight ahead, the family parlor presents a picture of English country warmth with a lodge-like feel. Six leather pub-style chairs are grouped around a large, round mahogany table in front of the stone fireplace.
"I call this my conversation circle," Steuart said.
Family meetings take place in the parlor, which is devoid of a television and other electronics. At the north side of the room, a Juliet balcony hints at the second-story bedrooms of the couple's children behind its curtained opening.
The home's combination kitchen/great room is the grandest part of the multiple additions, measuring the full 75-foot depth of the home and half of its 100-foot width.
Here, under a pine cathedral ceiling 33 feet high, Steuart has created the hub of the family's living quarters. Windows 30 feet high flank a tall fireplace of man-made stone, its carved mantel decorated with silver leaf. The Australian cypress floors are kid-friendly, she points out, and her children often roller skate across the room. A massive microfiber sectional sofa can accommodate the whole family.
The kitchen area boasts a Viking stove and rustic light beige pine cabinetry. The family table, 10 feet long, is made of reclaimed oak from Ireland. A collection of copper pots and pans hangs over a large island center, its top capped with dark granite.
North of the great room, the music room is resplendent with ceiling and cornices of copper tiles. The sunlit space is tempered by the coolness of potted tropical plants placed throughout the area. The room's centerpiece is a mahogany grand piano.
The family, with children Ruby, 8, Talmadge, 7, Reagan, 4, and 3-year-old Rivers, sing and play in this light-filled environment.
Steuart's color scheme for much of the home's interior is one of soft earth tones. Jewel tones, however, dominate in the formal dining room, which showcases a mahogany Chippendale table and chairs against ruby-colored Venetian plaster walls with custom stenciling in 24-karat gold.
Another variance is found in the master suite, which fills the entire north wing of the home. Here the plaster walls are a serene blue-green. Large windows overlook the partially wooded property, family pool and patio area.
"We built this house to party," Steuart said reflectively. "And for the kids to live in, to play in and to enjoy."
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