Featured Home of the Week

The Chesbrough-Martin home at 2220 Robinwood Avenue is offered at $357,777. Interested? Call Judy Stone of The Danberry Company at 419-241-1717 for a private showing.

This home needs a party. With grand rooms and an inviting, lavish interior, the home at 2220 Robinwood Avenue is perfect for entertaining.

It was built in 1894 by Abram Chesbrough, a lumber wholesaler, and later owned by the Martin Family, who raised 11 children here. There are seven bedrooms, three full baths and two half baths. Outside, there is a carriage house with two apartments, a one-car garage, and off-street parking.

A wraparound porch at the front of the home has been made into a solarium, with tile floors, large windows and abundant sunshine. Enter through the front door, framed by very large sidelights, and you ll be in the reception hall, which features a fireplace flanked by built-in bookshelves with glass fronts. Imagine ladies coming for

tea on a winter s day, handing their wraps to a waiting maid and warming themselves by the fire.

Travel further into the home, and you re struck by the wide, grand staircase. The newel post features a carved cherub. A small door near the stairway leads to a half bath. A very generous landing is topped by a large window with a fanlight above.

Just opposite the stairway, behind pocket doors, is the dining room, with a large bow window. The woodwork in this room is exquisite; quarter-sawn oak makes up the wainscoting and built-in buffet. Small pillars and a mirrored backing are highlights of the buffet, and dentil molding trims the coved ceiling.

Moldings are a highlight in this home, as might be expected of one built by the owner of a lumber mill. Why have just one molding where three will do? Egg and dart, dentil, and bead and rail moldings add visual interest to so many of these rooms.

Beyond the dining room is a butler s pantry, with a tile floor, a sink, and very tall cabinets. This narrow room was made to hold the family s china, table linens, and to act as a staging area for servers during formal dinners. It leads to the kitchen.

In many homes of this period, the kitchen seemed little better than an afterthought. Not so in this home, where the kitchen is quite generous, open and airy. A walk-in pantry also has a convenient countertop. Nearby, there is a back staircase to the second floor, a half bath, and steps down to the basement, where the washer and dryer are located. There is also a door to the back porch.

Through the kitchen, enter what was once a gentleman s parlor a place for men to enjoy cigars after dinner, separate from the ladies. Today, this space has been made into a theater room. A beamed ceiling is a highlight, as is the Tiffany-style lamp.

The formal parlor can be reached from here. This room has a tiled floor, fireplace with tile surround, and a lovely glass chandelier suspended from the coved ceiling. The cherry fireplace mantle is beautifully carved, and is flanked by built-in bookshelves. Moir fabric wallpaper adds to the elegance of this room.

On the second floor, the master suite boasts a beautiful fireplace with tile surround and hearth, another glass chandelier, and a large bow window. The master bath has a wonderful clawfoot tub, ornate tile, a marble vanity top, and a large-walk-in closet.

Across the hall from the master suite are three more bedrooms, one of which has been converted to an office. Two of the bedrooms share a sitting room which can count as a bedroom, as it has a closet. There is a hall bath that can also be accessed from one of the bedrooms. At the end of the hall is the back staircase, leading to the third floor.

The third floor offers many possibilities. It has a kitchen, laundry room and full bath, so it can be rented out as an apartment. Or, use this very generous space under the eaves for yourself. There are two smaller bedrooms and one very large one, all with those architectural flourishes like round windows that make this home so captivating. Each of the bedrooms has walk-in closets, cedar-lined closets, and window alcoves. The third bedroom also has built-in dressers.

Since it was built, this home has only had five owners. Picture yourself as the sixth, inviting friends over for holiday gatherings

or summer afternoons in that gracious, wraparound solarium. Opportunities like this don t come along every day.

The Chesbrough-Martin home at 2220 Robinwood Avenue is offered at $357,777. Interested? Call Judy Stone of The Danberry Company at

419-241-1717 for a private showing.

Features:

7 Bedrooms

3 Full Baths

2 Half Baths

4 Fireplaces

3 Stories

Carriage House