On the Market: HGTV award-winning designer’s home in Ambler for $1.14M
David Stimmel, who has been designing homes for more than 20 years, took on a project in 2009 that was unlike one he had done before: a personalized home for him and his family.
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On the Market profiles homes for sale in the Philadelphia region.
David Stimmel, who has been designing homes for more than 20 years, took on a project in 2009 that was unlike one he had done before: a personalized home for him and his family.
Stimmel, a regular contributor on HGTV who has won numerous awards, found a home in Ambler with his wife, Julie-Ann, and their young daughter, that he envisioned could be their ideal home to start a family.
"The site was unbelievable," said Stimmel, who was already living nearby in the same town. "We found it and fell in love with it."
When the couple purchased the Montgomery County home, located on Lewis Lane, Stimmel said the property was dated and needed work – but that was also the draw.
"I renovate homes all over the world," he said. "I really wanted a house that didn't feel like everybody else's. We wanted this house to be unique."
Stimmel spent nine months designing the 4,300-square-foot home. But the finished product gave them more than just an enjoyable living experience: it also won several national awards.
In 2010, the kitchen won Kitchen & Bath Business magazine's "Kitchen of the Year Award," and in 2012, the master bathroom was awarded first place for bath design from Signature Kitchen & Bath. Stimmel's work as the head of Stimmel Consulting Group has won dozens of other awards and he has been featured in more than 50 publications.
Stimmel says his use of reclaimed materials and his innovative ideas are what made him stand out for receiving those two awards.
In the kitchen, recycled materials can be found on the custom concrete sink and the drawers.
"There's a woven pattern that goes across the drawers that were made from scraps of wood that we found in a wood shop," Stimmel said.
The kitchen also features custom black walnut cabinetry with ribbon cut mahogany details and antique copper panels.
Other reclaimed materials used throughout the home are the tiles in the wine cellar and hall bathroom, and a 200-year-old barn siding in the family room. Also in the wine cellar is an olive ceiling imported from Italy.
It was Stimmel's curved mahogany door panels in the master bath that earned him the award for that room. At his beach house, he took photos of the waves on the sand, and sent it to an architectural wood carver in California. The company then created door panels based on those photos.
Other features in the five bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home include a sunken living room with teak hardwood floors and a cathedral ceiling, blue glass on the staircase made from natural live edge walnut, and radiant heated floors on the first floor.
Stimmel also designed the home so that the grounds could be seen from every room in the house.
"Every time you walk into a space your focal point becomes the forest," he said.
After five years in the modern home, Stimmel says he's ready to take on another project. Plus, he and his wife, a fiber artist, now have three young kids and are looking to raise their children on a farm. They have put their home on the market for $1.14 million.
Stimmel, who has been in Ambler for nearly 30 years, said he plans to stay in the area.
"The house is really unique," Stimmel said. "It's not a house that you would ever walk into and say 'this reminds me of...'; everything is one-of-a-kind."