A
French Chateau in Cleveland
by Melissa Townsend
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Andy Ellis and Scott Speakes
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It
took more than two years for Dr. Bennie Wright,
a Cleveland surgeon, and his wife, Millie, to
find an architect who could capture the design
they imagined for a new family home. Jackson
architect Robert Moore appeased the Wrights
with plans for an eye-catching home of stucco
and distressed brick with copper accents in
the French country style.
“We
didn’t want anything garish or ostentatious,
but we wanted something different,” says
Dr. Wright, who took a hands-on approach in
every facet of the interior to create state-of-the-art
modern conveniences to meet his family’s
lifestyle. Each room in the home is wired for
high-speed internet, built-in surround-sound
and an intercom system.
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Cherry
trees greet guests on either side of the circular
field stone driveway, and the aroma of fresh rosemary
warmly welcomes visitors at the front door. The flooring
throughout the four-bedroom, 6,000 square-foot home
is stone with a slate border and antique heart pine.
Exposed hand-hewn cypress beams—left unstained
to age naturally—evoke the rustic charm the
Wrights say they wanted to achieve. Cleveland interior
designer Judy Wilson and family friend Mike Chiz helped
the Wrights choose fabrics and colors that create
the casual yet elegant feel of a French chateau.
“We are not formal people,” says Dr. Wright,
who considered omitting a formal dining room in the
house plans. Cooking and casual entertaining takes
place in the spacious Viking kitchen that sports a
granite island large enough for the whole family to
eat in comfort. The built-in bar, McCarty wine goblets,
and trivets made of wine corks show signs of a wine
enthusiast before the door to the custom-built wine
cellar is discovered. Dr. Wright, a collector of Bordeaux
and Cabernet, designed the cellar himself and commissioned
a company, whose clients include Bill Gates, to build
the western red cedar racking system and ship it from
the state of Washington. Through the walk-in archway,
the cellar features a “waterfall of wines”
and stores up to 5,000 bottles at the ideal 55-degree
temperature. “We could drink a bottle of wine
every night for ten years, and we would still not
run out,” says Wright, laughing. “That’s
a lot of wine.”
Dr. Wright says he also likes fireplaces. A mantle
made of Texas limestone is the focal point of the
living room while three other fireplace mantles, handcrafted
by a local woodworker, are located in the library,
master bedroom and an upstairs den.
The library is suited for watching the news behind
an antique partner’s desk in a bay window. Western
drawings above the mahogany mantle complete the masculine
look of the private room.
The master bedroom is painted in a cool shade of green
that Millie says she chose because “it reminded
me of being at the beach.” Next to the bed,
a silk Iranian rug that the couple purchased in Syria
is hung on the wall. The master bath features His
and Hers conveniences with a large walk-in shower
made of slate and a whirlpool bathtub.
Landscaping was the final project. The Wrights worked
with landscape architect Mimi Gould, a Leland native
residing in Connecticut, to add unique curb appeal
to compliment their unique home. Gould collaborated
with a nursery in Memphis that sent more than 1,000
plants for the front lawn.
The Cleveland home was completed August 2002.
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