The Tanners? 7,000-square-foot home boasts five bedrooms, four fireplaces, seven baths, and a friendly, welcoming feel.
But it’s outside, on the 11-acre wooded parcel of woods and wetlands in Springfield Township, the family feels most at home.
Next week, Jim and Audrey Tanner will welcome visitors when they open their doors during the 27th annual SCAMP Home Tour, June 6-7.
‘I love to share all this,? said Audrey, noting she and Jim’high school sweethearts’grew up in Warren. ‘I never thought I’d have a home like this. Ever. Not one day goes by when I feel unappreciative. I’m incredibly grateful, and I’m honored to share it.?
The couple own and operate Tanner Building and Remodeling, Inc., a company they literally built from the ground up.
About three years ago, they decided it was time to build their own dream home. They moved into the home about three years ago.
It was a family project; a labor of love, said Audrey.
With a great deal of help from their children’Justin, now 21, Jimmy, 20, and Andrea, 16’the Tanners built the old-world style home, including the landscaping, with their own hands.
‘The kids gave up an entire summer,? Audrey said.
Inside, the home features an open staircase, high ceilings, arched entryways, crown moldings and substantially-sized rooms’many with panoramic views of Waumegah Lake and the surrounding woods and wetlands.
It’s not unusual, said Audrey, to see deer, chipmunks and numerous species of birds right outside the windows.
In the upstairs kitchen, granite countertops and cherry cabinets take center stage. A bar, tables and billiards surround a second kitchen in the lower level, which still holds the scent of fresh-cut pine from trees cut and cleared during the building process.
A party-pleasing dance floor is flanked by dozens of vintage classic-rock album covers.
‘Some people might think a display like that doesn’t belong in a house like this,? said Audrey. ‘But I like it; I don’t worry about following those kinds of rules.?
Outside, she said, the rules are pretty simple: take care of the land and appreciate the natural environment.
In fact, those who wander the property during the SCAMP tour will find a tall winding staircase leading to a tree house; they’ll find Wood duck houses in a pond, bird houses and feeders placed about, and a structure housing rabbits, pheasants, and peacocks, including an all-white male, aptly named Prince Charming.
Tour participants will also find an expanse of boardwalks, bridges and trails’all built by the family’meandering through woods and wetlands, and eventually leading home again.
Back in front of the house, a towering rope swing’always the party hotspot’hangs over a 30-foot deep, filtered pond bedecked on one side by a waterfall.
It’s a lot to take care of.
‘We don’t have a gardener or a maid,? laughs Audrey. ‘No one plows the snow. We do it all’we work hard and we play hard. We’re a family; we’re a team.?
The owners of four other unique homes will open their doors June 6 and 7: Dawn and Chris Jacobs, Sue and Steve Wylie, Chris and Julie Maier, Leigh and Bob Sowles. In addition, Kathy and Jeffrey Lynn, who’ve participated in the Home Tour two years ago, own the ‘Designer Showcase? home at 71 N. Main, which will also be open to offer a ‘before? sneak peek into a historical sixth home, which local designers will transform during the summer for an inaugural Designers? Showcase Home, open in September.
The 2009 SCAMP Home Tour kicks off on Patrons? Night at 5:30 p.m. Sat., June 6, followed by a reception at Deer Lake Banquet Center at 8 p.m. Tickets for Patrons? Night are $200 for Platinum patron, $150 for Gold patron, and $100 for Silver patron.
Advanced reservations for Sun., June 7, are $30 and include a box lunch served at the Tanner’s home.? Check-in takes place at Depot Park and begins at 11:30 a.m. and the homes are open noon-5 p.m. Tickets purchased the day of the event are $30, but will not include a boxed lunch.
This year’s event will also feature a ‘Suitcase Auction.? The bags, donated by an anonymous member of the local business community, will be available for $20, $40 and $60.
‘They’re lovely,? said Donna Clancy, executive director of fundraising for SCAMP. ‘They’re about the largest size you can carry onto an airplane, and they come with a shoulder and make-up bag.?
But, Clancy noted, purchasers will find more goodies inside the bags’items like gift certificates and merchandise from local businesses.
‘You won’t know what you’re getting ahead of time,? she said. ‘We’ve got a gift basket from Starbucks, a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure, a chainsaw, and a cordless drill.?
And that’s just the beginning. In all, 75 bags, all containing aditional gifts, are available.
‘We know no one is doing much business right now,? Clancy said. ‘We want to give away things that will help bring people into Clarkston businesses; we want to continue to support the people who support SCAMP.
A $1,000 gift certificate from Waterfall Jewelers will also be raffled. Tickets are $20, and are available now.
SCAMP is a not-for-profit summer day camp offering children and young people with special needs the opportunity for recreation, social activities and academics.
Call SCAMP for reservations, raffle tickets or more information, at 248-620-1882.