(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is our inaugural “Murfreesboro on the Market” feature, which is a fun spinoff of our regular VIP at Home feature that runs each month. As a way to incorporate some of our area’s best homes on the market, we plan to run this feature in place of our regular home feature a couple times a year. Stay tuned next month for our normal inclusion of VIP at Home!)
BY SADIE FOWLER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLEAR LENS REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY
The Aho family in Murfreesboro, Tennessee exemplifies a beautiful story about a family who relocated to our area, fell in love with it and truly embraced the community, making it their own and discovering some of their passions along the way. Now, there’s no place like home for Jimmy, Nikkole, Lucy, Piper and Oliver Aho — and Murfreesboro is indeed home.
The Ahos moved to Middle Tennessee from the north about eight years ago as a result of a career move. Much has happened in that time frame as the family grew and flourished; such as Nikkole discovering her passion for projects, specifically home projects. In fact, Nikkole is looking for another one and as a result, their beautiful home in the Enclave neighborhood is on the market, but likely not for long.
The home features all the pluses, all the extras, all the perks. After stumbling upon the small, gated community in a convenient part of town, the Ahos immediately fell in love with the Enclave and put an offer in right away. Soon enough, they’d purchased a lot and began working with an architect to design the perfect home for a large family such as their own.
“When we first met with the builder I had a 50-page Power Point of what I wanted in a home,” laughed Nikkole as she reminisced. “I really wanted to make sure we got all the details right and that the home was functional and stylish. The project took about a year to complete.”
Prior to the Enclave discovery, the Ahos moved to Murfreesboro in 2011 as a result of work. Coincidentally, they were also tired of the cold winters in the northeast. Nikkole’s new job was in Tullahoma and her husband’s was in Franklin, so Murfreesboro seemed like a perfect middle ground for the family to plant some roots.
“We are lucky enough to have all of our children currently attending McFadden,” Nikkole said. “Our day-today lives are crazy busy right now. We have something going on just about every night of the week and usually both days on the weekends. We are active in the community with various charities and our kids are involved in a ton of activities from soccer and baseball to cheerleading and horseback riding.”
When Murfreesboro was the chosen location for planting roots eight years ago, the Ahos bought a beautiful short sale home in a great neighborhood that they ended up flipping within a few years. It is when that took place the Ahos made the discovery in the Enclave and their dream project began.
While no detail was forgotten in the planning and building of this dream home that’s now listed for sale, Nikkole said she realized throughout the process that she has a passion for home projects — from start to finish — and she wants to do it all over again.
In reflecting about the journey of 1855 Sanctuary Place, from start to its finish in 2016, Nikkole says her primary goal early on was to design the perfect home for a busy family.
“Style is a blend of beauty and functionality,” she said. “For example, this home has rustic reclaimed wood and shiplap paired with sparkling chandeliers. Also, we really wanted the square footage to work hard.”
Nikkole works from home and Jimmy does as well when he’s not traveling, so the home has two dedicated offices. The kids use the craft room regularly for homework and craft projects. They also love the bunk room, which they sleep in almost every night.
Moving outdoors, the backyard is amazing at 1855 Sanctuary Place and it’s become the neighborhood hangout as a result of the amazing space and pool that sit on the two-and-a-half acre private lot.
“We were very intentional when building the home,” Nikkole said. “I really wanted everything to be beautiful but also functional for a family. I was meticulous about all the details and very involved in the process, maybe a bit too involved.”
The master wing of the home features his and her closets and a large and beautiful bathroom, which is solace after a really long day. The craft room is also a hit, as is the large laundry room, one of the most used rooms in the house.
They spared no expense in terms of storage and built ins — there is plenty of space to keep all of the sloppy or distracting things and kid stuff out of sight.
Other highlights of the home that serve as favorites of Nikkole’s include the pool of course, the butler’s pantry that features a second refrigerator and serves as the perfect place to keep all the pesky kitchen appliances out of sight, especially while entertaining, the bunk room, and quite simply, all the little extra details that shine through.
“The spiral staircase with the custom millwork is one of my favorite parts of the home,” Nikkole said. “The details matter so much in a home, and my advice to anyone building a home would be to pay attention to those details. Many things are much easier to do during the process rather than later.”
Another example of a well-thought out detail is the home’s audio system; the house is completely wired for music in each room and outdoors.
“We made sure wires wouldn’t be seen in the offices and all soaps and shampoos would be out of site and not take away from the beauty of the large shower,” she said.
In addition to the details and the home’s functionality and style, another key factor in finding or building one’s perfect home is location. For the Ahos, the Enclave has been second to none.
“The Enclave is a very private and gated community with about 15 executive homesites,” she said. “It’s so convenient to everything. It’s great that we’ve never needed to worry about letting the kids play in the neighborhood.”
Whether we’re talking space, functionality, convenience or attention to detail, the home at 1855 Sanctuary has become just that, a sanctuary that will be the perfect oasis for its next lucky owners.
The Ahos were meticulous in making sure the home had it all and throughout the process a lot of custom features were included as well, such as the barnwood, shiplap, custom ceilings and unique lighting.
“I love the wallpaper,” Nikkole said. “It took my husband a bit to get on board with it, but it really transforms the space.”
In speaking to why they want to leave the home, Nikkole simply explains she discovered her hidden passion as a result of her experience building 1855 Sanctuary.
“We are selling because I want another project,” she said. “I fell in love with the home building process; it is a great outlet for me and I’m ready for another one!”
For sure, it will be in Murfreesboro.
“We feel extremely blessed with all that we have and we are looking forward to our next project and a long future here,” she said.
MORE INFO
Rachel Holder of Southern Homes Real Estate LLC is the listing agent for 1855 Sanctuary Place. The 6685 Sqft. Home sits on two-and-a-half acres in the Enclave community, features six bedrooms and is listed at $1,495,000.