Realty Check: The Sanctuary Shull Built
Living room The Home Aesthetic
An Avriel Shull pedigree is usually enough of a selling point for one of the Indianapolis architect’s midcentury-modern homes. But this California contemporary design in Fishers is connected to a second local legend, too: Ambre Blends essence oils and body products.
The founder, Ambre Crockett, and husband Adam are the current owners of the home near 106th Street and Allisonville Road. Shull designed it in 1974 for the owners of Blakley’s Flooring. In 2012, the Crocketts moved the fragrance company into the home for a year after their son was born, and personally, the payoff was huge—they were there to witness his first steps. The couple turned their 2,000-square-foot lower level into the Ambre lab. It’s where the all-natural products were made as “are you wearing Ambre?” became an unofficial Indianapolis slogan.
The Crocketts modernized the home with style and livability, while remaining faithful to the original design elements—including a bamboo grove in the sunny entryway. Stainless-steel subway tile and granite countertops freshened up the kitchen. Custom flooring and wall coverings meshed with the existing wood and stone. A bedroom and full bathroom were added, bringing the total to four bedrooms and three full and two half baths in nearly 6,000 square feet of bright and airy living space. It remains to be seen if the Ambre scent lingers. “It did in our last home, which was one reason the buyer put in an offer,” Crockett says.
Shull named the house The Sanctuary for its three-acre wooded setting, now bordered by a trio of parks. Abundant windows and skylights were a deliberate design choice to ensure the view is not lost from any room. “When you walk inside, you get an immediate view of the back wall, through sliding glass doors, and out to the woods,” Crockett says. “It truly feels like a getaway in the middle of the city.” Yet sitting conveniently close to Castleton in the heart of Hamilton County, the house is actually right under the nose.
WANT TO BUY IT?
Address:
117 White Horse Ln., Fishers
List price:
$700,000
Agent:
Joe Shoemaker, Encore Sotheby’s International Realty, 317-660-4444
