Upscale Upgrades

A quaint unmanned guardhouse at each entrance signals that you’ve arrived at Arrowhead Lake Estates, a development that began in the 1990s and was originally 265 acres. Seven lots have been added to the neighborhood within the past five years, bringing the total now to 300 acres. There are 40 private lots.

This home, built in 2003, has 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a theatre room, fitness room and 2.5 acres. But, perhaps the best part of this home? That it has easy access to the development’s namesake lake, Arrowhead Lake, a tranquil 45-acre lake stocked with fish and featuring a boat ramp and large shelter house for gatherings that has seating for 80.

The home’s master bedroom is the only bedroom on the main floor — the remaining four are upstairs, along with two of the full bathrooms. The hardwood flooring throughout the main floor and the staircases is oak and the basement and upstairs are both carpeted for comfort.

The home was recently remodeled with Anderson Homes — the kitchen, master bath and basement were updated. “The look I was going for is bright and light,” owner Jen McCallister says. “The style of the home is farmhouse classic, so if the styles change, it’s still in-style no matter what.

“I love to have a lot of light in the house, and I want the light to shine, so a lot of the light fixtures are shiny chrome and glass.” The kitchen boasts a large island with seating accented by three contemporary pendant lights and was refinished with a Carrara marble backsplash, granite countertops, white cabinets and stainless-steel appliances, including a double oven. A round table with chairs offers another dine-in kitchen seating option and is flanked by additional cabinetry and countertop which can serve as an office space. The formal dining room adjacent to the kitchen was painted a bold Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore and has a large abstract painting as the center point. All of the light fixtures from the remodel are from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery. “We added a white shade to soften the light fixtures and, in the foyer, changed the light fixture into a lantern style to pull in that farmhouse look,” McCallister says.

McCallister worked with Andrea Anderson to update the look of her home. “She adds little touches to the design that make you go, ‘oh wow that looks really good,’” McCallister says. “She likes to bring in some greenery to give everything a little life and a little color.”

The master bath was completely renovated from an enclosed shower to a much larger-feeling space with a counter-to-ceiling single piece seamless mirror above the double sink vanity, glass fixtures, a sleek, roomy stand-alone soaker tub and an all-glass shower with floor-to-ceiling subway tile. “For an affordable price, we were able to take the mirror all the way up so that it resembles more of a piece of furniture and looks like one big piece with the vanity,” McCallister says. “It really helps the space feel more open.”As a realtor, McCallister says she knew that they had to renovate their basement. “I know what people are wanting in houses of that price point, including special rooms like a fitness room and theatre room, so I knew I wanted to add those two things,” she says. To break up the big, open space the basement was before, they added farmhouse doors at the bottom of the stairs to complete the classic farmhouse look. Now, the basement offers a variety of clearly defined areas for entertaining — a designated poker table area, large wet bar with counter seating, a comfortable, inviting family room, and McCallister’s ever-important upgrades to ensure that the home’s attractive to future buyers — a theatre room and dedicated fitness room.

All of the paint colors in the basement are matched with the grey cabinets at the wet bar and are in the same color family as the theatre room.

But, despite all of these “extras,” McCallister’s favorite room isn’t even inside the home. “For me, the best space is the front porch,” she says. “It’s timeless, and we spend so much time out there in the summer since it’s shaded and there’s always a little breeze.” The expansive wraparound porch has a distinctive brick surface and also has two pieces of her and her husband Brett’s personal history as well. “When we built the home in 2003, we each took a brick from the places we grew up and put them into the porch,” she says. “It’s a conversation piece that we think is special in that it brings the two of us together, and it’s our first home together.”

Tying back to her design concept of classic farmhouse style, McCallister’s favorite interior aspect is the natural light that streams through the shade-less windows.

This home is currently for sale on Zillow. Just search “6455 S. Arrowhead Lake Drive.”