Summer 2006 About Town

In a Man's World

By Kathy Grant Westbrook

At the front door, Pounds ushers guests in to what he describes as "a floating foyer." It's open to the living room, yet distinguished from it by two white columns. During his travels, Pounds is always looking for ideas he can use when building, and a visit to Europe provided inspiration for the columns. The wall of the foyer is mirrored, and mounted on it are two lights, along with a large, gold-framed mirror.

Entering the living room, Pounds says, "Everything in here is over scale." The bell-shaped ceiling, for example, is 23 feet high at its highest point. "I went to the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas; that's where the idea for the ceiling came from," he explains. The cherry floors and eight-inch, museum-style molding continue throughout most of the rest of the downstairs.

Adjacent to the living room is the dining room, and just beyond that, a breakfast room. The three spaces are nicely tied together by the repeated use of arched or curved elements. For example, fireplaces in both the living room and breakfast room have arched features, while the top portion of the glass panes in two dining room cabinets are curved, as well.

Pounds particularly enjoys spending time in the breakfast room, which looks out over a pond in the back yard. "On a rainy day, this is a good place to get a piece of cake and cup of coffee and just sit and watch the rain," he says. The walls in this room are a subtle green, painted to match a hanging tapestry that depicts a Parisian street scene.

The nearby kitchen has cherry-finished alder cabinets and black, granite countertops that impart a rich, polished look. Although the kitchen "is set up for a gourmet cook," Pounds admits he seldom uses it except when entertaining or getting breakfast for his 6-year-old greyhound, C.J. One special feature in this room that Pounds highly recommends is the wine cooler.

As for Pounds' favorite room, that would be the master bath. It features a beautifully tiled European shower that measures five feet by ten feet, as well as "a true, two-person hot tub." Two custom-made, leaded glass windows add the finishing details to this room.

In the master bedroom, Pounds used several large windows to let in plenty of natural light. He loves light-filled rooms, as evidenced by the fact that the 3,350 square-foot house has a total of eight Solatubes (tubular skylights) and 54 recessed lights. Almost all of the lights can be dimmed. In addition to the master suite, the house has two guest suites- each consisting of a bedroom, full bath and walk-in closet. All of the bedrooms have cherry floors, while the floors of all of the baths are high-grade porcelain tile (as is the kitchen floor).

When Pounds wants to settle in for an evening of movie-watching, he heads upstairs to the carpeted media room, which features a topnotch theater system and a wet bar; there is also a full bath upstairs. This spacious home may have been built by and for a bachelor, but it has all the comforts and conveniences any family would want!

Kathy Westbrook is a freelance writer