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NORTON-- When Joe and Sue Fernandes set out to build their first home 30 years ago, they wanted something private and a bit out of the ordinary.

In their custom-built Gambrel home, set far back on a three-acre wooded lot at 425 South Worcester St., they say that's what they have enjoyed most about the home where they have raised four children.

`` It was a great place to raise the kids,'' said Sue, an administrative assistant. `` It was very safe, and they could ride their bikes because the driveway was long enough.''

Having contracted the building of the home himself and having done much of the finish work, Joe, the town administrator for Plainville, says he enjoyed the opportunity it gave him to do a variety of different projects.

`` We wanted the house to be a little different,'' Joe said. `` We didn't want it like cookie-cutter kind of antiseptic, just plain walls. If I was going to do it, I thought I'd do it a little different.'' One of Joe's favorite features of the home, in fact, is the diamond pattern he created on one of the walls of the family room by the way he angled the tongue-and-groove pine. `` It's kind of mesmerizing,'' he says of the pattern.

With one of the young couple's goals also to save money wherever possible while building the home, Joe says he had some of the pine trees that were cut down from the property milled so that he could use them to make moldings.

As such, most of the doorways and windows in the home are framed with those pine moldings, including an arched doorway in the master bedroom, and Joe also made a pine chair rail in the dining room and pine shelves in the den.

To add to the uniqueness of the home, Joe also hired a Portuguese masoner, who custom-built a curved stone retaining wall in front of the home, three stone fireplaces, a brick fireplace and brick patios, and also created hand hewn beams, which adorn several of the home's ceilings.

The home's unique features begin at the front foyer, where dark double doors, in somewhat of a Mediterranean fashion, open to a glossy ceramic tiled floor in a marble-like pattern of brown and black.

In here, Joe has done the lower walls in a rustic dark pine, topped with a pine chair rail, with white stucco above, and Sue has created a rustic scene, with a rocking chair next to a side table, adorned with a cozy lamp and fresh flowers, beneath antique brass wall sconces.

Straight ahead, the foyer offers a view of the wooded back yard through sliding glass doors, which open to a sunken screened porch, featuring one of the brick floors created by the masoner. The porch in turn, leads to the backyard deck, which runs along the width of the house.

To the left, the foyer leads to the Fernandes' favorite room -- the sunken 23- by 19-foot family room, where they say their guests, like themselves, always like to spend time.

In addition to the tongue-and-groove pine walls Joe installed in here, the room features a rough sawn pine ceiling, rough sawn pine floor, and two walls with pine wainscoting below white stucco.

There is also a wet bar, topped with glossy pine, and a free-standing black wood stove, enhanced with a circular stone base -- another unique idea of Joe's. The family room also offers views of the wooded property, through a large bay window overlooking the front, and two sets of sliding glass doors, which lead to the backyard deck.

It's no wonder this room attracts many visitors, as its entire effect offers a mountain resort atmosphere.

To the right of the foyer, a French door leads to Sue's second favorite room -- the 20- by 13-foot kitchen, which Joe completely renovated a few years ago.

Transforming this room from its original dark pine furnishings to one of bright, modern features, Joe has installed a pickled oak ceiling, with lots of recessed lighting, a light shade of Pergo flooring and white raised panel cabinetry.

The cabinetry is enhanced with crown molding, brass knobs, undercounter lighting and brown and beige countertops, trimmed with cherry.

The cabinetry also features decorative glass doors, white built-in appliances, a double white porcelain sink, beneath a double white casement window, and a two-level rectangular island, with white beadboard sides.

Above the island Joe has added a unique inset in the ceiling, just for an extra touch of style. The inset is also made of white beadboard, includes recessed lighting, and is framed with fluted sides, adorned with corner rosettes.

A white Dutch door in the kitchen offers another entry to the backyard deck as well as a view of the pressure treated tree house Joe made for the children many years ago.

To complete the decor, Joe and Sue have added wallpaper in a textured beige, topped with a fruit border, and Susan has added country style white lace curtains, as she has in most of the rooms.

An open doorway from the kitchen leads to the dining room, where Joe has added beige Berber carpeting, with a touch of cranberry and blue, in a diamond pattern.

Below the pine chair rail he made, the walls are white, while the walls above are adorned with a beige wallpaper, with a delicate vine and floral pattern.

The ceiling features the hand hewn pine beams made by the mason as does the adjacent formal living room, where he made a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, with matching raised hearth and pine mantel.

The second floor offers three beige-carpeted bedrooms and two baths, including the master suite with its own fireplace, where Joe created the arched doorway. The doorway leads to a carpeted dressing area, which leads to the master bath.

While the Fernandes say they will miss the home they have created, they also say it's time to downsize and are planning to build a smaller home nearby.

The property is listed for $499,900 with Lori Carreiro at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Mansfield at 978-307-1576 and can be viewed during an open house from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday.

rdrtrdrsrdrw15rsp160 love your home? Is your house special -- either in design, decor or historical significance? If so, we'd like to feature it on our weekly Great Homes pages. Contact Janette Sears by phone or fax at 508-222-2442, or via e-mail at janette(at)(at)janettesears.com.