Italian and Mediterranean influences add to the classic elegance and comfort of the Tao family’s Barboursville home
By Molly McClennen
HQ 68 | SUMMER/AUTUMN 2009
When Stan and Ann Tao moved to the Huntington area in 2001, they approached builder Bill Simpson about constructing a home for them on the lot they had purchased. On top of a hill in Barboursville’s Deer Creek development, they found a model for the home they wanted him to build. It just happened to be the home Simpson had built for himself. “We went through his house and told Bill, ‘We want you to build us this house,’ but he said it wouldn’t fit on our lot,” said Stan. So Simpson did the next best thing. He sold the original house to the Taos.
The Taos found that buying a builder’s home had many advantages. “Bill had done a lot of little extra things around the house that we liked: the columns and arches, the crown molding, the birch hardwood flooring,” Stan said. “He had brought in building materials from around the country. The house was not completely finished when we moved in, so we got to decorate a lot of it on our own. We had the advantages of building a home we liked, but had it 90-percent finished before we started.” And buying a builder’s home means their house is truly unique. Stan said, “I asked Bill for a copy of the blueprints, and he said, ‘There aren’t any. It’s all up here, in my head.’”
The house fit the criteria Stan and Ann were looking for in a home. It is located on a peaceful street where their children can play safely outside, yet it is close to town and the interstate. The floor plan is ideal for overnight guests, who have their own guest bedroom on the opposite side of the house from the children’s rooms, with a private bath and access to an outdoor balcony. The home is large enough for hosting family get-togethers, yet small enough for a child’s voice to travel from one end of the house to the other.
Stan and Ann also love the house’s Italian and Mediterranean influences and open floor plan. “The layout was exactly what we were looking for. We don’t like homes that are boxed in. We like to be able to see throughout the house. The flow of this house was very nice for us,” said Stan. The Taos’ two children, 11-year-old Andy and 8-year-old Hollyn, also appreciate the openness, but for different reasons. “They can chase each other or our dogs or their friends all around the house in a big circle,” Ann said, laughing.
If the floor plan is the canvas, those extra touches Stan and Ann appreciated when they first saw the house are the paints that transform the home into a masterpiece. Twenty-foot ceilings throughout much of the house emphasize its open and airy feel. A balcony area with a built-in bookcase overlooks the family room. “The family room is the center of the home. We liked that this house had a smaller living room and a larger family room, which was different from other houses we’d owned,” said Stan. They had the pool table from Stan’s childhood home refelted to match the room’s light gold decor, and it is now a family favorite for recreation. The focal point of the family room is a large mirror originally displayed in a Las Vegas hotel. The same hotel provided the colorful porcelain sink basin in the downstairs bathroom. “It’s definitely not your typical bathroom,” Stan said.
Nor is the first-floor master bedroom a typical bedroom. The master bath has a fireplace over the bathtub. The bedroom also has a 20-foot ceiling; an entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows with automatic drapes provides a breathtaking view to greet the room’s occupants each morning.
The dining room, with its built-in sound system, is an ideal space for entertaining. The 1920s-era dining room table belonged to Ann’s grandparents. Ann’s mother had it refinished for her with the condition that Ann would host family holiday dinners at the house, a condition which Ann happily accepted. The Taos set up an extra table of the same length next to their dining room table to double its seating capacity when they host larger groups.
Ann said that second to the family room, the kitchen is where the family spends most of their time. Stan likes to grill on the adjoining patio, and the kitchen’s marble countertops are not only visually attractive and suitable for food preparation, but they are also kid-friendly. “The kids can paint and do crafts right on top of the counters. They just wipe clean,” said Ann.
The basement provides space for Stan’s office, as well as his collection of sports memorabilia. “The layout of the basement was exactly what we were looking for. My office is away from everything if I need to come down here to do work or research,” he said. But the basement is not only for work; it houses a home theater with a dropdown screen and theater-style seating where the family and their friends can watch television or play video games. “We wanted a house where the kids would want to hang out, and where their friends would want to come hang out, even when they get older,” said Stan. “I think this house will do that.”
Andy and Hollyn have other parts of the home that were designed with them in mind. Andy, a sports fan like his father, chose to decorate his bedroom with memorabilia from his favorite sports teams, while Hollyn’s room features colorful murals on the walls, painted freehand by a local artist. Their bedrooms are connected by a Jack-and-Jill bathroom with animal-print decor, including paw prints and zebra stripes on the ceiling. Hollyn and Andy enjoy the second-floor playroom, which is also decorated with murals by the artist who painted Hollyn’s bedroom, and which prominently displays their popular new addition to it: a ping pong table.
Even though they appreciate the house’s many lovely features, what is most important to the Taos is that their house feels like a home. Ann said, “When we moved here, I wanted a house we could really live in.” Stan said he agrees. “Some houses feel like a museum where you don’t want to touch anything. Even though this house has some formal aspects to it, it’s very livable for kids and for entertaining. It doesn’t feel like you can’t use it. It has a comfortable feel to it.”
