Date Day: Touring the Monaco

 

A couple of days after Christmas, Ryan and I had the opportunity to go on an unexpected date! We had planned to be at a family Christmas, but the hosts were sick, so it was postponed. We had already made arrangements for Lexi to be cared for that day while we were away, so we switched up our plans and headed out on a date/grocery restock day!

                Our date was actually inspired by the activity department at Swiss Village. Earlier in December, they took a busload of residents to tour a fancy model home northwest of Fort Wayne and came home raving about how beautiful it was, especially decorated for Christmas! Ryan and I love touring show homes and model homes, so this sounded like a grand adventure to us. And since the home contains almost 10,000 square feet of living space, we knew it would take a little while to wander through it all.

                I’m not going to show you ALL the pictures we took, because you wouldn’t have time to do anything else today, but I’ll share with you some of my favorite corners of the 10,000 square feet.

                Before I do that, though, let me just wow you with some of the features of the house, which, by the way, is named The Monaco. Doesn’t it just sound so regal? Designed by Granite Ridge Builders, the house included five bedrooms, seven and a half bathrooms, a five-car garage, golf simulator, vault (think bank-style), four laundry rooms, a workout room, three kitchens, an elevator, a swim spa, a pickleball court, and 2000 square feet of outdoor living space and some accompanying outdoor kitchens!

                Are you ready to join me for a tour of a handful of spaces?

                While the house is beautiful and impressive from the outside, if I drove by without context, I would never guess it’s as huge inside as it is! It lives in a still-developing neighborhood among other stunning homes.

                The house had multiple living rooms, but this one on the main floor won me over with its impressive natural light and ambient lighting in cabinets. I’m such a sucker for soft lights in cabinets. So cozy.

                Ryan was a big fan of the living room in the basement, which contained three huge televisions, allowing him to watch multiple games simultaneously. Who needs a sports restaurant when you have your own multi-TV living room?

                Even though I loved the main floor living room, I told Ryan if we lived in this house, I would honestly never leave this little alcove-living-room off to the side of the primary bedroom. TV? Fireplace? Cozy chair? Big windows? Why do I need to even step out into the main part of the house? Bring me a bathrobe and cup of coffee. I’ll see you later.

                The primary bathroom contained a soaker tub, which captured my attention, and a huge double-shower-head walk in shower, which captured Ryan’s attention. Know what we both loved? The coffee bar in the bathroom.

                The walk-in closet was bigger than our current bedroom and was beyond fancy. I had to send a picture to my laundry-loving sisters so they could see the built-in washer and dryer and steamer cabinet in the corner. No more ironing! Just hang your clothes in the cabinet and watch the wrinkles disappear! (I don’t think it works on people…)

                The main kitchen was lovely, but my favorite part was this screen on the oven that can cast a recipe if you’re cooking and don’t want to mess with a laptop, tablet, or book in the kitchen.

                The butler’s kitchen (bigger than our only kitchen) contained a built-in coffee maker that would make any kind of coffee you want, from a latte to an Americano. The maker alone costs $6,800, so I don’t think we’ll get two for our house, but we sure did enjoy sampling a cup from its fanciness as we toured the rest of the house.

                Ryan loved all the garage space and took a moment to pose with the Rolls Royce parked in there. I took a moment to capture the pet spa. Lexi would love it.

                This was one of my favorite bathrooms, in part because the paint color is the same as we have in our house. I felt a little more elegant knowing we share a paint color. (Naval, by Sherwin Williams, in case you want to join the elegance party.)

                Typically I don’t jump headlong into home accents that feel trendy, but I do love this slat wall I’ve seen often lately, and I loved it on a staircase landing in this house. I’ve been pondering this in our own house. We’ll see…

                This was (hands down) Ryan’s favorite part of the house. I’ll just share the video, because it’s classic Ryan. We’ll see if he wants to add this to our house.

                The outdoor spaces were so impressive. There were two covered porches – one off the main floor and one off the walkout basement. They contained all kinds of grills and griddles and pizza ovens, heaters, fans, fireplaces, TVs, and even a bed sized swing. So beautiful.

                Remember how I mentioned the vault earlier? Here it is. It leads into a saferoom – a beauty of a spot to my storm-fearing soul.

                I found the sauna. 😊

                Ryan found the golf simulator. He had fun with that too. But I think he would spend a lot more time in the workout room than the golf room.

                It was such a fun house to explore, and the hosts staffing it that day were incredible. They shared a lot of information without being overbearing. And I appreciated the coffee offering from one of them!

                If you’re in the area and want to check it out, we highly recommend visiting. They told us they would continue to keep it open for the foreseeable future, though I’m not sure when all the Christmas pretties will come down - and maybe they already have.

                I remain profoundly grateful for the gift of our little cottage on the lake. This house, though stunning in every way, was far too much for this simple girl. But I sure had fun touring it and being inspired by its décor!