What $500K Will Buy You in Chadds Ford

14 Hunters Ln., Chadds Ford, Pa. 19317 | TREND image via BHHS Fox & Roach

Center-hall Colonials are a dime a dozen on the Main Line, but down by where the Brandywine flows into Delaware, they’re relatively rare birds. Chadds Ford, the wooded, semi-rural community surrounding the Brandywine on the Chester-Delaware county line, is noteworthy for its relatively high number of contemporary-style homes.

You can find several traditional homes, most of them new or recent construction, for sale in the neighborhood of $500,000 in Chadds Ford’s zip code as well, but for this feature, we decided to showcase three of those slightly older contemporary homes. They’re all very attractive, and all in great shape, with two of them boasting several recent updates.

14 Hunters Lane (above) | 3 beds, 3 full, 1 half baths, 4,000 square feet (approx.), $499,000

This custom-designed home is an outstanding example of the sort of contemporary home that distinguishes Chadds Ford from other communities. There’s a hint of Japanese influence in its design, from the solid wood front door to the wood accents throughout the home, and the current owner’s furniture plays off this. The home boasts a light and airy two-story-high living room, an equally bright eat-in kitchen and formal dining room, a master suite with a sunken tub in the bathroom and a private deck, and a huge main deck surrounded by lush woods.

14 Hunters Ln., Chadds Ford, Pa. 19317 [Mike McCann | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]

1911 Hillendale Rd., Chadds Ford, Pa. 19317 | TREND image via Weichert Realtors

1911 Hillendale Rd. | 4 beds, 3 baths, 2,686 square feet, $519,000

This 1970s rancher is also situated on a lovely wooded lot that you can take in from a spacious rear deck. Both the living room, with its soaring vaulted ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows, and the master suite open onto this deck. This home has had its guts updated recently: new roof, new gutters and downspouts, new master and guest baths, new tile floors, new climate control system, new driveway, retaining wall, walkway and gardens. Set back 1,000 feet from the street, this home has the feel of a vacation retreat in the woods.

1911 Hillendale Rd., Chadds Ford, Pa. 19317 [JoAnn Hall | Weichert Realtors]

392 Spring Mill Rd., Chadds Ford, Pa. 19317 | TREND image via BHHS Fox & Roach

392 Spring Mill Rd. | 5 beds, 3 full, 1 half baths, 4,304 square feet, $508,000

Like the Hillendale Road home, this home features a great room with a striking stone fireplace; large sliding doors connect it to the screened porch and rear deck that — you guessed it — look out upon dense woods. (Maybe it’s all that forestry that inspires people to build contemporary wood homes out this way.) A two-story-high foyer greets you and your guests, and the recently redone kitchen boasts quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and plenty of storage space. You get to choose which of two master suites to call your own; you could also impress your visiting family and friends by offering them the other as guest lodging. This home also has a whole-house backup generator so you’ll never be in the dark.

392 Spring Mill Rd., Chadds Ford, Pa. 19317 [Shelley May Mincer | BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors]