On the Market: French Gothic Mansion in Hopewell

The builder of this fabulous Norman mansion went a little medieval on its exterior — and to a lesser degree on its interior too. But make no mistake about it: This spacious residence at 102 Grandview Ave., Hopewell, NJ 08525 is totally modern in its amenities and in its eco-sensitive features. | Bright MLS images via Compass

“Sustainable” and “sumptuous” usually do not appear in the same sentence.

But the builder of this expansive Hopewell French Gothic house for sale indeed sought to put them both in one sentence.

Maybe this description and these photos can help you decide whether they succeeded.

They definitely succeeded with the “sumptuous” part. This 11-year-old house and its 10.5-acre lot are filled with all sorts of ways to enjoy the good life and share it with your friends and relatives.

Chimerae flanking dormer over front door

The grand scale of this undertaking becomes clear the moment you walk through its Gothic front door, over which chimerae stand guard on the dormer above.

Foyer

The first thing you should notice is the quality of the work in the two-story, 20-foot-high foyer. A local artisan forged its railings and balustrades. The hallway bridge between those railings rests atop substantial columns fashioned out of Vermont Douglas fir. And given that the bridge is cantilevered, there has to be some equally strong wood in those covered beams as well.

The design of the main-floor living areas clearly delineates the various spaces while allowing for free and open circulation among them.

Family room

On the other side of those Douglas fir columns sits a soaring, two-story-high family room with a wood-burning fireplace bracketed by built-in bookcases as its focal point.

Dining room

A formal dining room with a unique chandelier lies immediately to the left of the foyer and is open to it.

Kitchen and breakfast nook

Across the family room from the fireplace, you will find the kitchen and breakfast nook. With two Sub-Zero refrigerator-freezers and a walk-in pantry, this kitchen has plenty of space to store the food you will need to feed the multitudes as the holidays approach. It also has soapstone countertops and a custom zinc bar countertop designed by Chris Plummer of Metallo Legno. Plus it has plenty of cabinets of its own and a butler’s pantry attached to it.

Sunroom

A bright sunroom with a soapstone floor sits just beyond the breakfast nook. Over on this side of the main floor you will also find a home office, a laundry room and a powder room.

Rear terrace

Sliding doors connect the sunroom to the backyard, and French doors lead to the partly covered rear terrace from the sunroom and living room.

Primary bedroom

You can also access the terrace from the French doors in the primary bedroom, which sits off to the right of the foyer beyond the family room. A seating area in the bedroom’s turret has windows offering a near-panoramic view of that 10.5-acre lot.

Primary bathroom

The primary bathroom is also quite luxurious, with a soaking tub, glass-enclosed shower and dual vanities.

The second floor of the main house contains three more bedrooms with en-suite baths, two of them with walk-in closets, and a laundry room with no equipment hooked up yet.

Guest apartment

Over the garage wing is a full guest apartment consisting of an open living room and kitchen, a balcony off the living room, a bedroom with a walk-in closet, and a full bath. You enter it via a spiral staircase from its one-car garage. The main house’s two-car garage lies on the other side of the driveway arch the guest apartment straddles.

Basement rec room

The walkout basement contains a huge rec room that can be adapted for many uses.

Workshop

It also contains a workshop, a full bath and a walk-in closet.

Rear exterior and backyard

That should take care of the “sumptuous” part. Now on to the “sustainable” part. In addition to being built from locally sourced materials to a great extent, this Hopewell French Gothic house for sale has geothermal heating and cooling and its own solar power array. While the solar panels don’t produce enough power to let you live completely off the grid here, its energy efficiency combined with the panels should reduce your power consumption significantly.

In addition to the secluded front yard and landscaped backyard, you will find landscaped gardens, a meadow, a forest and an orchard on those 10.9 acres.

Grotesque embedded in front wall

And you will also delight in some of the Gothic architectural details the builders included beyond the pointed-arch doors and windows, like this grotesque embedded in a stone wall.

This French Gothic mansion just north of the center of Hopewell, then, is a splendid man-made object. But it’s also one that seeks to use nature to good advantage as well.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 5

BATHS: 6 full, 1 half

SQUARE FEET: 5,460

SALE PRICE: $3,499,000

102 Grandview Ave., Hopewell, NJ 08525 [Yael Zakut | Compass]