Want to go on a house tour? Good. Me too. I always do! Gwen Simpkins is a friend {and longtime mentor; we worked together at homeportfolio.com and I learned a ton from her over the years} who I met up with for lunch recently. She also invited me to take a tour of one of her newly finished projects. Gwen is a high-end {you'll see what I mean} developer {she's an awesomely savvy businesswoman, running her own firm, Delaporte Design & Development} in the Boston area. This home was a total gut; she worked closely with her architect to redesign and add on to it. It's now about 5,000 square feet of gorgeousness. Check it out. But first, let me apologize for not taking pictures of all the rooms. I got a little sidetracked and pretty much just shot only about 1/3 of the first floor. There was too much to see!

First, this is what you see in the back, when you pull up to the garage. No curbside view—sorry! I love the pavers here. Feels like a European courtyard.

The kitchen is beyond amazing. The 2" thick marble countertops really stand out, and I love the open floating shelves along the kitchen wall. It's a modern kitchen that still manages to feel traditional and appropriate to the style of the house.

Wow. The kitchen is really big. It's all an addition. The step down from the door in the first kitchen picture is where the addition began. They went lower to give the kitchen/great room addition a higher ceiling than the rest of the original house.

Hi, gorgeous marble. I love seeing you up close. Notice that the island is painted that subtle blue gray, like the walls. Nice touch. Don't you love the sleek, slim cabinet hardware too? Oh, and love the floors; not sure what the wood is but they look like walnut. Not that too dark.

Beautiful. On to the dining room, with lots of light. And some cool art. Made me think of the post on black and white art that Lauren from Pure Style Home just did.

The family room is connected to the dining and the kitchen. It's really just one big space. Here it is viewed from the kitchen.

Now, some details. My favorite part of a home like this, where you really see the quality. Had to get a closeup of the crown molding, pretty wallpaper and door trim. All the charm of a period home but none of the chipping paint, distressed edges, and peeling wallpaper! It's fresh, crisp, and new.

Some of my favorite rooms were the bathrooms. They all were consistent in style and general palette (super soft blues, greens, taupes, and ivories) but each had its own distinct personality. The other thing I love in a Gwen house is that every single bedroom has its own bathroom. That's luxury! I adore the floors here.

And in the powder room, maybe my favorite room of all.

Gorgeous stone. I want you in my house. Asap.

By the way, if you came in the front door, this is what you would see. Oh yeah, Gwen doesn't just design and build houses, she's a damn good decorator too. Love the cool mirror in that vignette. Oh, and the woodwork on the staircase? And that subtle scalloped detailing on the outside face of the stairs? So pretty. See what I mean about the details?

Hope you enjoyed the tour. By the way, this fabulous house is on the market. Serious inquiries, let me know! And as soon as I can, I'll take you on another house tour. Gwen's projects are amazing eye-candy and total inspiration.