Inspiring Inside & Out

At Michael Wilhoit's home, one thing seems certain: beauty inspires the imagination. Maybe the long driveway, lined with oak trees on each side, conjures up images from Gone With the Wind. One's first view of the residence, complete with a four-tier fountain imported from Portugal, four stone columns and a pair of statues (hunter and huntress, intended to guard the entrance to the home) suggests an elegant hideaway. The grotto on the east side of the property (complete with waterfall, fog machine and a cave-like room that has heated floors, a bar and satellite television) makes you want to grab a cigar and slip, à la Hugh Hefner, into a black silk smoking jacket. Children-or those inner children-are all but guaranteed to uncover a series of storybook adventures, beginning at the point where two griffins bookend the entry to a wooded trail on the 50-acre property. That's just the beginning to this house, which, as of press time, was listed with Murney Associates for more than $3.2 million.

Still outside, almost all of the grounds are landscaped and drip-irrigated. More than 100,000 plants and trees were brought in to create the tranquil surroundings. Among the estimated 1,200 trees, there are white pines, Norway spruce trees, Oriental spruce trees and Austrian pines, along with flowering trees that were selected to ensure blooms from April through October. Approximately 100 statues were imported from Italy, and the majority of them reside outdoors. Even the fence that surrounds the property is beautiful, with a growth of gold flamed honeysuckle climbing the once-austere enclosure. Wilhoit had the honeysuckle planted because his friends used to tease him about the fence, saying it looked like the Federal Medical Center East.

Wilhoit used to own Wilhoit Properties, but sold that a few years ago. Now he owns and manages several properties (strip malls, office buildings, etc.) throughout the western United States, including Springfield, plus Florida and California. He's a runner, and he uses the mile-long jogging path around his property frequently.

The home's interior has more of an Italian influence than the exterior, which was designed to mimic the Georgian architecture Wilhoit saw during his travels through Europe. (He explains Georgian architecture as something of a combination between English and French styles.) The Italian-style décor, Wilhoit thinks, is warmer than Georgian, which is more formal.

The home has five wood-burning fireplaces, custom-painted walls and ceilings (all hand-done by Margo Skiles of Illusion Murals), and a lot more windows and doors than a traditional Georgian home has. The extra windows were an easy call to make. Not only do they overlook the home's gorgeous landscaping, but the view stretches seven miles over the James River Valley.

In the entrance is a cherry wood staircase and screen painted with an English country scene. Tucked to the side of the stairway is a claw-footed hall tree from Italy that holds a collection of canes and even a Moorish sword that Wilhoit picked up from the places he's traveled.

The hearth room, with its coffered ceiling and Italian tile floors, opens not only into the kitchen, but also onto a glass-enclosed sun porch with an antique carved oak table and chair set.

In the kitchen, alder cabinets with carved and gilded accents flow with the Italian style. Some of the details on the painted ceiling were inspired by the palazzi in Rome, Wilhoit says. Countertops are limestone, inlaid with marble. From the kitchen to dining room, Italian tile turns to cherry wood floors. The walls, both here and in the living room, were painstakingly painted by Margo Skiles, Wilhoit says, to have the variegated appearance of timeworn walls that have had so many coats of paint on them that shades from previous years have begun to peek through. The antique ball and claw footed table and chairs are made from acacia wood, which has a swirled, almost burled look to it. The painting over the buffet table is of Napoleon as a baby. And the French doors open onto another magnificent view: An alley created by a double line of trees draws all eyes to the statue of the goddess Athena at the very end.

Between the living room and dining room is a glass-fronted bookcase that dates back to the mid-1800s. Inside are several vintage books, including a collection of aged bank journals Wilhoit's grandfather owned. In the living room, Wilhoit's fondness for antiques is even more apparent. In one corner is an English partners desk with claw feet; behind that is a very delicate, Queen Anne corner cabinet that was built, Wilhoit estimates, in the 17th century. A 10 and a half-foot-tall French armoire is nearly 200 years old and still has its original hardware. An English gaming table rests between two armchairs that were antiqued to lend an old crackle appearance.

Upstairs, a small sitting area with leather chairs and an antique china cabinet with beveled glass doors overlooks the entrance. Originally, there were two separate rooms in the space that is now one large exercise room. There are cardio machines and weight machines, free weights and, at the rear of the room, Wilhoit has even installed a steam room. French doors open onto a balcony that is perfect, Wilhoit says, for rolling the stationary bike out to be in the sunshine on warm spring days.

In the master bedroom, the four poster bed, scalloped and gilded at the head and feet and crowned with tapestry bedding, is a refinished antique. The armoire, also refinished, has a similar Italian style-but it isn't a matching set. That's not Wilhoit's style; he didn't want his bedroom to look like he'd bought out a furniture store. A chaise lounge with a leaf print was bought years ago from a shop on Commercial Street. One of the carved oak chairs from the set on the sun porch has been moved into the master bedroom as well.

"The only bad thing about it is when you sit, the lady's nose hits you in the back. It looks a little flat now," Wilhoit says.

If you're looking for the lady of the house, you just might find her in one of her favorite spots. Wilhoit's pampered schnauzer loves to cuddle up on the built-in window seat in the spacious master bathroom. It's easy to see why. The floors have radiant heat, sunlight is plentiful, and when the door to the balcony is left open, you can listen the bubbling of the fountain below. A built-in Jacuzzi is surrounded by four wood columns and green marble.

At the Wilhoit residence, a room, or just a single piece of furniture has the potential to send you back to another era. A section of manicured lawn can place you in an English garden. It's all about perspective, imagination and a whole lot of beauty.