Holiday Delight

There was a big departure in last year’s Holly & Ivy holiday home tour, sponsored by the Salisbury House Foundation. For many years, the tour focused on homes in the South of Grand neighborhood. Last year among the open houses were the Bergman Mansion on Grand Avenue just west of downtown and a spectacular new home in the Bella Strada Estates development in northwest Johnston.

“There was, of course, concern that tour goers would not come out as far as Johnston for the tour,” says Andrea Westmeyer, president of the foundation. “I took full responsibility for the decision since it was my home that was in question.”

It is a fact that people love home tours, so she had no need to worry. In fact, a whopping 700 people came to the tour. “It was a beautiful day, and we lucked out,” Andrea says. The home, which Andrea and her husband, Tim Downing, built, has 8,000 square feet of living space that’s full of style and technology. Add a little Christmas layer, and there’s a home tour winner.

Andrea planned every detail of the home, which is light and bright. “I’m not afraid of color, and every inch of space is important,” she says. “I ‘live’ in a house in my mind’s

eye long before I move in. I know that what is planned will work, down to furniture placement.” There are no steps to enter the home, called a zero-entry approach. This walkout ranch is her third home to build.

Versatile space

The space has a future, too, if needed sometime. Both Andrea and Tim own a business, and the office wing of the home gives each of them efficient space, complete with a conference room for meetings and presentations. That wing has its own outside entrance.

Her business is Measurement Mojo, a marketing measurement company providing insights, optimization, and ROI analyses for Fortune 500 companies. Tim’s company is Poly Evolution, which engineers, manufactures, and sells custom resins. Andrea says the office space is set up so that if a future owner needs an in-law space, it can easily be converted. “Our architect, Randy Milder of Ahmann Design, says such versatile space is becoming more a part of home design.”

Guests coming in the front courtyard are treated to an airy and light great-room with oversize windows. The focal point is a two-story turret that is 25 feet tall and surrounds a grand piano. A curved seat in the rounded alcove of windows keeps music books and sheet music at hand. The dramatic touch is a multipoint Moravian star chandelier, which is in place all year, of course. It was perfect for the home tour. The German star honors Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. It often is used in areas where there is a Moravian church. “The turret is a nod to the influence of homes on Long Island, the Hamptons, and Cape Cod, a favorite area,” Andrea explains.

Andrea worked with Sheila Carmichael of Kenilworth House in Urbandale and Betsy McCrea, the store’s interior designer, on furniture and details. McCrea also helped with adding items for the home tour. Kitchen Classics designed the open kitchen, where mixed metals and a butler’s pantry for housing appliances give a spare, clean look.

Open kitchen

Banquette seating with an oval table works well for casual meals. For the holidays, silver trees and a Father Christmas decorate the space. Nearby, at a larger table set for eight, the place settings include a gold charger, Williams-Sonoma salad plates, and pearlized place mats. The centerpiece is a trough with greenery, pine cones, and silver balls. Andrea and Tim love to entertain, so the open floor plan works well. Greenery and berries on the kitchen counter add a natural look.

In the living room area two curved sofas encourage conversation. A tall, thin Christmas tree in black, white, and red details, including checked ribbon streamers and many ornaments from MacKenzie-Childs, adds a festive look. Tall ceilings—22 feet in the entry, 18 feet in the great-room, and 12 feet in most other rooms—add to a spacious feel.
The mantel is trimmed with garlands of greenery and berries, signature black-and-white MacKenzie-Childs wide ribbon, and silver tree cutouts.

With its feeling of a sanctuary, the master bedroom in white and muted gray and blush on the main floor has a seating area, a three-sided fireplace, and a large jolly Santa figure sitting among a bevy of pillows on the bed. Huge snowflakes hang from the chandelier over the sculptural soaking tub in the master bath. A chair is tied with a gray and pearl bow.

A big sign with Santa greets guests when they open the elevator door to the lower level. Close by in the conference room, tree twigs twinkle with LED lights.

Lower level

On the lower level are a family/television room with a red leather sofa and two guest suites. One has subtle black, white, and creamy beige furnishings with a Merry Christmas pillow and a display of mercury glass and a frosted greenery arrangement atop a wardrobe chest.

The other suite has a festive guest tray on the bed. There’s also a whimsical and nostalgic room full of furnishings and toys from Andrea’s youth. Details include a frilly and intricate wicker baby carriage holding Andrea’s mother’s doll, a dollhouse, and a variety of vintage details.

Down the hall are a dedicated massage room and, just for Tim, a neat-as-a-pin man cave, complete with an extensive bourbon collection on a wooden antique workbench, a vintage motorcycle, his touring bike, and a 1968 Mustang restored by Andrea’s father.

Besides all that can be seen, the home has SmartHome technology. All systems (climate, media, security, intercom, and lighting) can be managed on touch screens or a phone app. Electricians told Andrea that there are over 5 miles of low-voltage cable throughout the home.

McCrea, the designer, says the whole project was so enjoyable to work on. “Andrea loves to change up her details for the seasons, including changing area rugs, so it’s all fun. It’s fun to mix contemporary and traditional details. I call the overall effect simple elegance. It’s inviting and subtle.”

Says Andrea, “Getting ready for the home tour was a lot of work, of course, but it worked out so well when all those people showed up. We enjoyed talking with visitors about the inspiration for our home.” •