Three Things: Home Sweet Home

The ideal family home has a variety of living areas, bedrooms for everybody and that indefinable feeling of comfort and security. In Sarasota, with so many retirees and empty nesters, a house that a family can really spread out in and make their own can be hard to find. Here are three of them, all in more or less the same price range. Each has plenty of room for kids, pets, toys, grandma and even a trampoline out back. And, although each has its own take on the Sarasota lifestyle, all three would make a great place to raise a family.

For the old-fashioned family ...
1744 South Drive

This classic center hall Colonial has had only three owners in its 70-plus years, and all the charming details of a large suburban pre-war home are still intact and beautifully maintained. You’ll find a butler’s pantry, original wood floors, an apron-style kitchen sink and a side-screened porch. There are four bedrooms in the main house, plus a fifth — with bath — in the detached cottage. The home is set on a half acre in prestigious Cherokee Park, convenient to downtown and just a short walk to Southside School and nearby shopping.

Priced at $1,749,000. For more information, call Gigi Silverberg of Premier Sotheby’s at 941-993-3695.

For the blended family ...
1044 Tocobaga Lane

Recently built for a blended family with five children, this Key West-style home is located in a gated community just north of downtown. It has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths and an open-concept interior with Brazilian cherry wood floors, tray ceilings and custom cabinetry and built-ins. There is also a pool/spa with an adjacent outdoor kitchen and fireplace. The third level is a master suite complete with library, office, a small kitchen and open decks with a view of Sarasota Bay. The historic setting still contains ancient Indian mounds; the Calusa tribe considered it sacred.

Priced at $1,595,000. For more information, call Lynn Robbins of Coldwell Banker at 941-376-5077.

For the country family ...
2590 Ranch Club Blvd.

Out east your money goes a lot further, as this four-bedroom, 5,500-square-foot home demonstrates. Set on more than nine acres of land, it was built in 2002 and features elaborate custom touches in a Mediterranean Revival style. There’s a vast grand hallway, elaborate millwork and ceilings and a fireplace in the 26-foot-long master bedroom. Family areas include a pub/billiard room that opens to a resort-style pool. It’s located in the Sarasota Ranch Club, a 640-acre gated community east of Lakewood Ranch, with pastures, meandering creeks and bridle paths.

Priced at $1,295,000. For more information, call Joanna Sternberg of Michael Saunders and Co. at 941-928-7345.