This spring’s home tour to benefit Hand in Hand Hospice has something for nearly everybody from modern homes to older homes and several different decorating styles.
There are four homes on the tour — each unique in style and personality. The tour will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at Hand in Hand Hospice; Newman Regional Health gift shop; Dayton’s Hobbies and Crafts; or any of Commerce Bank and Trust’s three locations around Emporia. Tickets also can be purchased at any one of the homes on Sunday.
Here are sneak peeks into the four homes.
Karen and Phil Kenney
1316 W. 15th Ave.
Karen and Phil Kenney are the second family to live in their home, which they bought in June 2005. The home was originally built in 1957 and was designed and built by Harold F. Spencer, a family practice doctor and his wife, Francis Patton Spencer, a laboratory technician and office nurse. The Spencers built the home, which has four bedrooms and a den and office.
“We knew we wanted it when we walked in and saw the unique entryway, big open rooms and sculptured ceilings in the dining and living rooms,” the Kenneys said in a statement.
Upon entering the Kenney home, a winding stairway is surrounded by a large mural that was painted recently by Linnette Lee from “Fresh Paint.” Phil Kenney was the designer. The mural is a large landscape and tree mural.
“It brought out the colors of the Flint Hills that the (we) enjoy,” they said in a statement.
When the Kenneys moved into the home, they did a lot of renovation work. The kitchen area and den were the first projects they took on. They wanted the kitchen to be open, so they removed a wall to open up the area. This was the only wall in the house that was removed. Pink carpeting, parquet floor and dark wood paneling were removed to lighten up the home. In the kitchen, the original metal kitchen cabinets remain as does the original stainless steel countertops.
The living and dining rooms only needed new colors and floors. Cherry wood floors were installed with white trim that is around the floors, windows and doors.
The parquet floors still remain in the guest room on the main floor and the parquet flooring from the downstairs was placed in Karen Kenney’s office upstairs. The flooring was stained a dark ebony.
Upstairs, more pink carpet was removed and replaced by cherry floors. The ceiling was replaced and recessed lighting was added.
Phil Kenney has his office upstairs in Harold Spencer’s former office. Phil Kenney kept the original paneling in the office.
All the bathrooms throughout the home are original with some minor changes and some unique features such as a scale that comes out of the wall and other details that the Spencers designed.
Shirley and Jim Eubanks
2915 West Lake Drive
The Eubanks’ home was built in 2003 and has about 5,700 square feet with five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The home’s large windows and light decor allow light to flood the home during the day, making it bright and airy.
While building their home, the Eubanks would travel to Kansas City each weekend and bring their ideas back to their builder, Rick Mitchell of Mitchell Markowitz and ask if he could build the idea in their home. The idea worked and they have the home of their dreams.
The large open kitchen features an island.
“We eat at the island when it’s just the two of us,” Shirley Eubanks said.
The master bed and bathroom is on the ground floor and comes with an added bonus every time the Eubanks want to step out and get a breath of fresh air — a small deck off the master bedroom. Oak furniture is used in the bedroom’s decor. The master bath features a jet tub, double sink, separate shower and water closet.
The fireplace in the home, the Eubanks found in a magazine. It was hand built from the picture, Jim Eubanks said.
The formal dining room is on the ground level and is usually only used around holidays.
Looking up from the ground floor, the stairs curve upward and there is a catwalk that connects one part of the upstairs to the other. The room also features vaulted ceilings, light carpeting and recessed lighting.
“We had to work to get the stairs and the catwalk how we wanted it,” Jim Eubanks explained on his way upstairs.
Upstairs, a bathroom has pocket doors that connect from one room to the next. The Eubanks found a plan they wanted to use and decided that was the way to go.
One of the Eubanks’ favorite features of the home is the sauna in the basement. The room also has exercise equipment and is used about five nights a week by the Eubanks. Also in the basement is a storm shelter which has eight-inch concrete all around the room.
Another unique feature in one of the guest rooms in the basement is a fire engine bunk bed that Jim Eubanks built for the kids.
“We couldn’t get rid of it,” Shirley Eubanks said.
Also in the basement are two more guest rooms.
“They’re nice and spacious,” Shirley Eubanks said.
There’s another deck out back, which the Eubanks are thinking of enclosing to create an outdoor room.
Elaine and Wayne Theel
3600 Windsor Circle
The home of Elaine and Wayne Theel was built in 2005 with a California Mission Style throughout the home. It took about nine months to build.
“We built this for the openness, Elaine Theel said, of the main level. “Everything is open in here.”
The floors in the home are oak and walnut. The living room sits toward the northwest and is the only room in the home that feels diagonal, Elaine Theel said.
Off the open kitchen is a hearth room that has a gas fireplace that is see-through from both sides. Wayne Theel likes the fireplace, especially since it’s gas.
“We got a gas-operated fireplace so I don’t have to go chop firewood,” he said.
Elaine Theel likes it too.
“We can have fire at the flip of a switch,” she said.
The home was done by Gerald Blankley Construction, of Emporia. The appliances in the kitchen are stainless steel. The sink is all one piece of corian, which is a material that can be molded to fit the sink. The kitchen features stainless steel appliances, wood cabinets and hardwood flooring.
The Theel home also is energy efficient with triple pane windows. Because the blinds are mounted on the inside of the glass they stay clean.
Outside, the back deck is designed with saving time in mind too. The deck is made of composite recycled materials.
“Maintenance-free is what we were going for on the deck,” Wayne Theel said.
The master bedroom has a master bath with a separate shower and jet tub. The shower has an added feature — lights.
“You don’t feel like you’re in a dark place,” Elaine Theel said.
A study on the ground floor is made of cherry wood with a chocolate glaze to give it a rich, dark appearance.
In the basement, there are two bedrooms and the windows are the same as those upstairs. There also is a see-through fireplace and a bar area with a refrigerator, microwave and a pool table.
Jerry and Nancy Thomas
7 Bodock Road, Thorndale
The home of Jerry and Nancy Thomas was built in 1976 and has about 5,800 square feet. The Thomas’ are the original owners. They designed the home and literally built it themselves with the help of a contractor who did the work they were unable to do themselves. It took about 10 years to complete the home, but what they have created will last them a lifetime. The home has four bedrooms, three full and two half baths.
“We built the house ourselves with our family and friends,” Jerry Thomas said. The Thomases did have someone pour the foundation. “We kind of read up. We did all the electrical, plumbing and sheetrock. We did all of our own shingling too.”
On the ground floor, the Thomases have transformed the original garage into a large media room with plenty of seating and a large projection television. Off to one side is a sunken hot tub and a sauna.
An enclosed breezeway connects the home with the backyard, which includes a large pool, tennis and basketball courts. There is also a large tree house that is about 25 to 30 years old.
The blinds throughout the home are automatic and are controlled by a remote control. Nancy Thomas demonstrated how they worked. She’s even able to single out one blind and adjust it if it’s crooked. This is a feature the Thomases really like, they said.
On the ground floor is an open kitchen that flows with the rest of the house. The cabinets are gothic style and were built by Clarence Askew. The Thomases said they liked his work and decided to have him design the cabinets.
A former sewing room was converted into a home office. The sewing room was moved to the basement. The basement has a great room, which is open to the upstairs, a game room and a whole wall of cabinets designed by Askew.
All the guest rooms are in the basement, with the master bedroom on the ground floor. The master bath has several unique features such as a large sunken tub.