A lot of people so love the outdoors that they flood their homes with foliage.
If you, too, feel nature`s pull but don`t like cluttering space with indoor plants or tending them, then take a lesson from the owners of the white brick Cape Cod at 109 Old Oak Drive in North Barrington.
Walk inside and it`s like entering a woman`s boudoir or an exclusive, flower-bedecked tea room.
But take a good look and you`ll see there`s nary a real plant in sight. The illusion comes from white paint and the many floral wallpapers and window dressings.
Indeed, anyone who buys this home-listed with Prudential Preferred Properties for $439,000-will be getting a tasteful and expansive gardenlike interior. The 28-year-old home is set on a one-acre wooded lot.
On the first floor is a secluded 16-by-14-foot master bedroom and attached full bathroom tucked behind a 24-by-15 family room. The windows are covered in a feminine white lace and topped by floral design valances.
This bedroom is a definite plus, especially for older people who don`t want to climb stairs, said Paul Carter, who was sitting in for selling agents Shirley Molitor and Margaret Semrad.
If you don`t favor this location for a master bedroom, it could be reserved for guests. Then climb the blue-carpeted steps to the second floor, where you can choose among one of the five rooms along a wide hallway.
Directly at the head of the stairs is a 15-by-11 beige room that could be either a small, albeit dark, bedroom or office.
On the other side of the beige room is an old-fashioned 12-by-11 guest room with slate-blue walls and a wood floor. Next door is a full bath with white wallpaper sprouting bright red floral bouquets.
Flowers also abound in wispy strands on the walls of the adjacent 13-by-11 bedroom.
The airy color motif ends abuptly in the last two bedrooms, which are joined by a full bathroom. One room-14 by 10 feet-is in heavy purple, from painted walls to plush purple carpeting, while the other 15-by-12 bedroom is awash in pink paint and carpeting.
These rooms make a marked contrast to the otherwise delicate, cheerful atmosphere that begins with the downstairs entryway, which is covered in a fresh blue-and-white print wallpaper with a floral border.
To the left is the 25-by-15 living room with off-white carpeting, light-blue walls, white trim and a white brick fireplace.
Across the hall is an attractive 14-by-12 dining room, with a bleached oak floor and pink wallpaper that looks like watered silk.
A doorway leads into the 12-by-12 kitchen and attached 12-by-8 eating area, where almost everything is white, including the kitchen cabinets, floor and counters. But the window valances pick up the flower theme.
Off the kitchen is a door that leads to the 2 1/2-car garage, a storage area and utility room.
On the other side of the kitchen is a half-bath and the 24-by-15 family room, which offers a tiny wet bar, a brown brick fireplace and white paneling that adds a lot of brightness to the otherwise dark room. Sliding doors open onto a cement patio.
The home also has a musty-smelling, 31-by-14 finished basement and a gravel driveway.
As many a visitor remarked, this is a home that goes on and on and on.
