Stewartville house makes a splash with indoor swimming pool

May 7—STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — From a jokingly made comment to Googling for a beach entry indoor swimming pool, Mike and Jennifer Brown created a family escape in their Stewartville home.

As the crown jewel of the home's unique elements, the indoor swimming pool made a splash in their home through an exacting process of transporting the fiberglass mold and filling the rock and water. The pool makes the custom-built home "more unique," Jennifer said of the project that kicked off during the pandemic.

"We wanted the house to remain unique and be one of a kind. (As) a family we built a pool to be able to extend the bond we have as a family with a growing family and friends," the couple shared in an email.

With a family of six kids, the Browns enjoyed the pool as a gathering area set just off the living room and kitchen. They learned the process of manufacturing the pool in Indiana and watched in awe as the mold arrived on a flatbed semi and soared into the home's addition on a crane. The home's original owner and architect helped design a corner shower and finalize the plans. The penny tiles, fireplace, faux beams and burned wood palettes were their vision.

"When we first put the water in the pool, we had a bet with the two younger kids and so they jumped in the pool when it was ice cold," Jennifer said.

The features, such as moisture control, match public indoor pools due to the unique nature of a private indoor pool. As one of the few private indoor pools in Southeast Minnesota, Realtor Melissa Adams-Goihl said "it's a well-kept secret that we're hoping to get the word out about." People in Stewartville, including their kids' school friends, have been surprised to learn about the pool. Adams-Goihl describes the pool area as an "indoor oasis." The house is listed for $880,000.

The heart of their home isn't the pool though, it's the kitchen. Where bags of chips became a coating for chicken and garden ingredients dazzle atop the perfect pizza. "I'm a master at concoction," Jennifer says. The encouragement comes from her family, who insist she could open a restaurant. Mike says "everything" Jennifer cooks is his favorite.

"The thing that I'm really impressed with is how we can have all these different leftovers in the fridge and she'll reconstruct them and it's like a whole new dish," Mike said. "She keeps teasing about putting a camera above it. She doesn't write anything down it's all up in her head, she just does it by taste."

Jennifer said the kitchen's layout "fed off" the original homeowner's design with custom cabinets and a center island. She was an "avid cook" and canner, even having a cold storage room in the basement. The Browns gather regularly and chat with family and friends around the kitchen and bar.

The lack of a cookie-cutter home "was really important to us," Jennifer said. The five-bedroom and five-bathroom home, including a sauna and wood stove, was built in 2002 at 807 Timothy Drive SE. The space simply fit their family: "we were able to put a place for each one of the kids as soon as we walked in the house and walked through it," Jennifer described.

The home offers lots of places to sit and enjoy family time. A separate sitting area and bedrooms also offer quiet spaces. Family visitors soak in their new favorite places as projects are completed, whether at the bar or beside the swimming pool. "Every day is a memory," the Browns reflected in an email about their over 10 years in the home.

"The pool is amazing but what I love about this house too is ... all the spaces, I mean you can really spread out and whatever your hobbies are or your passions or your kids' passions," Adams-Goihl said. "I even love the little sitting area upstairs outside the kids' rooms just for hanging out and doing homework. This home really affords you the space to grow and be comfortable."

With empty canvases ready to paint and machines set for 3D printing, the basement includes two hobby areas and a "famous" Nerf gun wall. They often worked on a new project on the saw or unloaded from the car. Their next project after moving is likely a wood-fired pizza oven.

"We most definitely worked to make a house our home," Jennifer said. Mike added they were "lucky enough to be able to enjoy" the custom-built home.

On the back patio next to the neighboring farmland, Mike said "we've gotten a lot of wildlife come by and that's always been a joy to watch the deer come in." The breeze wraps around the patio and creates a peaceful experience.

The "very well-loved house," as Adams-Goihl described, has been a good adventure for their family.

"We're looking forward to letting it go to someone else and to make their new memories too," Jennifer said.