PA's Most Beautiful Home: Architechtural Digest

PITTSBURGH, PA - Pennsylvania is very large, but you wouldn’t have to drive very far across it to find the home that Architectural Digest considers the most beautiful home currently for sale in the state. Profiling the most fantastic places on the market in each of the 50 states, the magazine believes Pennsylvania's finest is near Stahlstown in Westmoreland County, little more than an hour’s drive from Downtown Pittsburgh.

It’s undeniably a nice place - as you might expect a $6.75 million, 7,000-square-foot home might be. Galaxie Farm, a 504-acre equestrian estate, is being marketed by Christie’s International Real Estate. What does Architectural Digest like about the home? Pretty much everything.

A paved drive enters the wooded acreage to arrive at a fieldstone farmhouse, bordered by sweeping stone walls and landscaped lawns with perennial gardens. The main house overlooks a two-acre pond and a stone picnic pavilion, acres of fenced pastures, a 15-stall horse barn, a guest house, and caretaker's house.

Built in 2002, the main residence has classic architectural elements such as 10-foot-high ceilings, custom millwork, cherry hardwood flooring, and handcrafted cabinetry. The residence offers ample opportunities for grand-scale entertaining in the formal reception rooms, on the many covered porches or outdoors on the stone patio or the pond-side pavilion.

A soaring two-story entrance hall, opens to the living, dining, and family rooms. The two-story family room is graced with a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, cherrywood built-ins, custom window treatments, and crowned with an ornate box-beam ceiling. Complementing the main level is a library with a coffered ceiling and cabinetry crafted entirely from mahogany, a state-of-the-art kitchen with granite countertops and custom cherry cabinetry and a luxurious master suite. A three-season porch is warmed by a fireplace and provides access to the stone patio.

Upstairs,you’ll find four bedrooms, an office, a children's study/playroom, and abundant storage. The finished lower level has a wine cellar and tasting room, a room with chinked log walls, stone fireplace, bar and media area, and a service area with a second laundry room, storage room, and safe room.

Stroll the picturesque grounds and you’ll find a two-acre pond with a stone picnic pavilion enhanced with a stone fireplace and fully equipped kitchen. There’s also a children's play area and bocce court set amongst perennial gardens and natural landscaping.

The farm’s fully renovated equine facility includes 15 stalls, two ceramic wash bays, a tack room/office, and hay loft. The farm also comes with a machine shop and a large outbuilding that houses fuel tanks and farm equipment. A paddock, fenced pastures, and five run-in sheds complete the equine picture.

The property also include a caretaker's residence housed in a fully refurbished log cabin, dog kennels and a three-car garage with a wash bay. Designed for contemporary living, Galaxie Farm comes with radiant floor heating and designer lighting, geothermal heating, central vacuum, an emergency generator, and security and fire alarm systems.

All in all, a veritable bargain for $6.75 million, wouldn’t you say?

Photos via Christie's International Real Estate.