Dream home: Top of the world

From a lobby filled with mirrors, marble and mounted country landscapes, an elevator transports guests of Chris and John Hergenroeder to the 28th floor, the couple's penthouse residence in Towson's Ridgely Condominiums.

Dream home: Heaven on a hilltop

Four years ago, a neglected mansion sat high on a hill in Oella and was known throughout the neighborhood as the eyesore at the end of the Trolley Tour. But when the house went on the market, Jeanne and Sean St. Martin, who lived right down the street from the wreck, were determined to buy it, restore it and live there for life.

Dream home: House of flowers

A street lined with villa homes in the Harford County community of Bulle Rock appears unremarkable, with exteriors that at a glance appear pretty much alike. It is only upon closer look that Bulle Rock residents' personalities shine through gardens, flags and lawn adornments.

Dream home: Down-sized delight

There are many reasons why a vibrant middle-age couple would want to go from 4,600 square feet of living space to a 1,520-square-foot condominium, but for Brian and Laura Gunter there was one overriding motive.

Dream home: Dundalk house is woman's castle, too

Gerry Bailey calls the 13-room Dundalk home her castle. The casual observer might view it as an enchanting woodland home from the yellowed pages of a Victorian children's book, complete with a turret.

Dream home: Canvas of life

The walls of Pat O'Brien's Cockeysville home are canvases painted in both vivid jewel tones and subtle pastel shades, representing her family, and — like their lives — they are a constant work in progress.

Dream home: Room to relax in Reservoir Hill

From a table on their deck, Greg Grenier and his partner, John Heizer, can sit and admire the beautifully landscaped garden below them. Amid tall oak and maple trees that shield like an umbrella, the outdoor room is protected from the summer sun.

Dream home: Artist in residence

A widow now for three years, Joanne Adleberg continues to find sanctuary in the Pikesville condominium she and her husband purchased in 2004.

Dream home: Urban outfitter

When Lisa Nguyen relocated to Baltimore from Atlanta in 2006, she decided to buy a home in Federal Hill.

Dream home: Work of art in Catonsville

Stephanie and Jerry Weiss are such prolific world travelers — they even lived abroad for a time — that when it came time to consider a place to spend retirement, they were in a quandary.

Dream home: All-in-one home in Bolton Hill

The striped awnings at the storefront windows of the Van Burens' Bolton Hill residence speak to a time in the late 1800s when every four blocks or so had a commercial corner in an elegant neighborhood of Victorian townhouses.

Dream home: Rustic and retro retreat

The two-lane, off-road entrance to the Farrand home is easy to miss. A gravel drive almost a quarter-mile long traverses wooded acres up to a high clearing where a large, farmhouse-style dwelling sits like a fortress on a hill in Harford County.

Rising from the ashes

In the spring of 2007, a tremendous fire roared through the Bolton Hill property of Greg and Darma Kamenetz.
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New year, new house

For Joe and Joyce Kennedy, the new year came with a new home.
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Couple tickled pink by green life in the city

Rich and Susan Walther, who spent nearly four decades living all around the country and in Korea, decided they would spend retirement in Baltimore.
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Built to perfection

For Denny and Vicki Smith, one of the best things about building their Carroll County home was the rapport they developed with the builder.
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Beach villa vibe

For Jane and Mike Fischbeck, building a spacious new villa in the Bulle Rock development of Harford County was like a day at the beach.
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Starting off with style

Last spring, Robert and Allison Ross charted a course for their future, signing a contract on a townhouse to be built in the Ellicott City community of Shipley's Grant. One year later, the couple has sailed smoothly from getting married to moving into their first home.
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A retiring nature in Charlestown

For David and Nancy Wehr, the abundant woods and walking paths along a winding creek are highlights of the 120-acre campus of the Charlestown retirement community in Catonsville, where the couple enjoys immersing themselves in nature and admiring the view.
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Art of the angle

Steve Appler, a company director of Goodier Builders in Columbia, had misgivings when it came to the construction of his own home, the fourth he would build for himself and his wife.
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Provence style in Glenelg

Two iron lamps on chunky fieldstone posts straddle the entrance to a driveway that ambles past a sprawling front lawn and ends at the side garages attached to the equally sprawling, two-story Provencal-style home of the Twigg family.
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At home at the Inner Harbor

"Pinch me!" said Jan Ferguson, gesturing beyond her living room window where — even under gray clouds — the magnificent waterfront of Baltimore's Inner Harbor plays host to a few gulls, boats and water taxis, and where the large grid of the neon Domino Sugars sign stands sentinel.
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Georgia family finds dream home in Arundel County

Jeanette and Mike McBride are the first to admit there is quite a difference between housing prices in Georgia, where they used to live, and Maryland.
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Restoring a tradition

When Gene and Karen Bartell moved from St. Louis to Baltimore in the summer of 2008, it was a homecoming for the two who had lived and raised a family in Towson and Mount Washington.
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Creating a masterpiece

On the side lawn of his cottage, at the end of a long driveway, Harry Richardson gestures broadly to first-time visitors.
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Paradise on a hill

When visitors cross the threshold of Dana and Phyllis Pescosolido's front door, an immediately apparent interior construction presents itself in gracious fashion — there is not a square room to be seen in the home's open layout.
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A labor of love

Carroll County couple Nick and Chris Vincent have forged house from a building and general store that dates to 1810.
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Original on the inside

The Ruzickas' two-story traditional home in the Perry Hall development of Bentley's Ridge bears a striking resemblance to several others on the block.
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Cozy in the country

At the threshold of Susan Skiles' Carroll County home, a sweet aroma wafting from the kitchen almost always greets visitors. She loves to bake, and just about any tasty treat imaginable may pop from her oven at any given time.
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Picture perfect

Artist John Stevens, who often paints old, historic brick and stone structures, wanted an old house that would reflect his love of watercolors while offering retail space to display them.
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Change for the better

Occasionally, major life changes work out so well for people that they find themselves wishing their decisions had been made a lot sooner.
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Dream home

Room for all

For Jim Slayton's and Rob Hradsky, their four adopted children and the reason for their move into a 6,500-square-foot Colonial-style home in Woodstock, Md.
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Leaving the world behind

Twelve years ago, Ralph and Carolyn Clark decided to downsize.
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Country canvas

For most of us, hearth and home is a comforting place to be. When possible, many choose to work from home. For artist Keith Millison, it is the family farmhouse itself that provides inspiration.
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