Country charmer Old-fashioned feel with modern amenities

JACKSON, Mo.

The sky seems to be the limit and the dreams are for the making at the home at 214 Carolina Place.

This is a home with all the charm of your grandparents' farm house, but all modern conveniences from maintenance-free vinyl siding to an interior that is minimum maintenance and maximum beauty.

Just the drive to the home is a pleasure -- out Route PP through spring countryside that reminds you on a sunny day why life is so good. Down the road you'll find a yard dotted with masses of daffodils the color of sunshine against a sea of green lawn.

Past a friendly front porch and through a beautiful mahogany-stained door with leaded and frosted glass, you enter a home filled with light. Plush cream-colored carpeting and light walls expand the light coming from generous windows all over the house.

Using an open floor-plan, the designer of this home smartly incorporated lots of space for both family and individual living. A gas log fireplace with an earthy reddish brown ceramic tile is the focal point in the living room. The surprise is that mounted above it is a 38-inch television, which both saves floor space and allows for great television viewing. Another creative idea featured is a large plant ledge in the living room area *where the stairs descend.

This was the builder's model home, which has created a showcase for a number of original design ideas. Colors are well-integrated. For example, the reddish-brown color of the ceramic tile in the fireplace is repeated with the kitchen floor, and in the kitchen countertop laminate. The effect is smooth and modern, yet warm. The sunny kitchen is outfitted with all white appliances, including a smooth-top range and a refrigerator with drink and ice dispensers.

A well-organized utility room and large folding-door pantry offer additional convenience for the kitchen work area. From the utility room is an entrance to the home's two-car garage. Another one-car garage is located in the basement level of the home, offering space for family vehicles and hobby supplies. Also downstairs is a well-organized workshop, with cabinets so nice that they would be the envy of many a cook.

Roomy bedrooms

The bedrooms are all generous in size and are bestowed with generous light because of the two windows in each. Both bathrooms are well-designed, and the master bathroom features both a whirlpool tub and a separate shower. Lights above the tub area are on a dimmer switch, offering the opportunity for mood lighting. Another unique touch to this area is a mirrored folded door between the master bedroom and bath, which creates an illusion of even more space and light.

The finished basement features a wet bar and large spaces for entertaining or for an in-home office. Even the basement is blessed with natural light. An unusual seven windows are incorporated into the downstairs structure. Also downstairs is a fourth bedroom or family room area, along with two generous closets and a third bathroom with a shower/tub.

As beautiful as the inside of this home is, it cannot hardly compete with the outside view. Featured outside are a large deck off the kitchen that runs across the back of the home. A master bedroom door also opens to the deck, for that wonderful quiet time before bedtime. Below the deck is a large patio, and a 14-foot-by-28-foot in-ground pool. Around the corner of the home is another surprise -- a hot tub. The lot size is generous -- almost three acres, offering plenty of room for landscaping a dream.

Priced at $249,900, this home is being offered through Bridgeport Prudential, 335-0121. Another home in the subdivision will also be available for open house viewing today during the same hours.

traddle@semissourian.com