606 W Mermaid Ln Philadelphia, PA 19118

This turn-key well-maintained, beautifully daylit, modern Cape-style custom home built in 2005, gives you all of the modern amenities of a home that is only 15 years old, minimizing the typical maintenance and upgrades required of older Chestnut Hill homes. Few homes in Chestnut Hill blend nature and home so well into the feel of an estate for this price. This gem takes in beautiful long vistas of a large meadow and is immersed in a landscape architect-designed setting that integrates former estate trees with new specimen trees and varied seasonal plantings, allowing for 360-degree privacy. The meadow was part of the former Kresheim Estate and is protected through a conservation easement in partnership with the Chestnut Hill Conservancy. The home contains a perfect ground level master suite along with 3 additional bedrooms (4 total) and a skylit ground floor office. The master bedroom boasts beautiful garden views and an architect designed bathroom with roman-style tub/shower, and walk-in closet. There are close to 10-foot high ceilings throughout the ground floor. The home offers a great room living space with walkout sliding glass doors, gas fireplace, and is flooded with daylight and garden views. Just off the great room is an elegant kitchen with ample storage space, natural daylighting, a beautiful custom poplar island table that could seat 10 people, and a walk-out grilling and sitting patio. The kitchen is great for entertaining and has 2 separate doors for opening and closing as desired. In addition to the architect-designed complements to the original house, there are newly updated wood floors, newly painted interior and exterior, 2- zone heating and air conditioning units, and a ground floor laundry - this house is turn-key. The 900 SF basement is finished and has a thoughtful layout with custom sliding wood doors for a large storage area, a half bath, a bedroom with exterior lightwell, a wine cellar, and living room with semi-equipped kitchen for the Big Game! The stairs to the upper second floor have dramatic two-story tall windows for vistas and views of the meadow and provide access to 2 private bedrooms, 2 large closets, and a full bath. The back of the house contains a 900 SF outdoor living room blue slate terrace that merges garden, lawn, and meadow into a beautiful setting for morning coffee, evening cocktails and large family dinners or soirees. There is a well-maintained split rail fence enclosing the yard along with a built-in pet door for easy comings and goings. Finally, for an active healthy lifestyle and extension of nature and home, the property sits just 2,500 feet from the Valley Green gateway into Wissahickon Valley Park trail system to the west and even less to Park trails to the east. The surrounding Chestnut Hill community provides a lovely mix of homes and gardens, Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy is only 700 yards away and the Philadelphia Cricket Club (est. 1854) next door to it, St. Martin station train to Center City is mile, and the Hill or Avenue is a short walk to shops and dining. You also have quick drives to Center City, I-76 (Schuylkill Expressway), PA Turnpike, and Rts. 309 and 476.