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MANSFIELD -- A hilltop view, an inviting porch and plenty of natural lighting are just a few of the special features of the Southern style Colonial home at 39 Potash Road in the Van Koert Farms development.

The home is a combination of house plans designed by renowned Southern architect William Poole, one of which was called `` Southern Farm House.''

As natives of North Carolina, Jim and Diane Millikan chose the plans to make as comfortable as possible the home they built 13 years ago.

`` We couldn't be in the South, so we brought it with us,'' said Diane, director of public relations at Simmons College in Boston.

Porch is main feature The main Southern feature of the home, according to Diane, is the porch, which she says is the most well-used area of most Southern homes.

As such, Diane said one of the modifications she and Jim, a professor of political science at Stonehill College, made to the plans was to make the porch wider than the average for New England.

Diane says she and Jim often enjoy watching sunsets from the porch, sitting in their matching hunter green Carolina rockers and listening to the distant church bells while enjoying the view of the wooded neighborhood and its diverse homes.

Once inside, the overall Southern feature of the home is one of hospitality throughout an open layout of spacious rooms, featuring ample and oversized windows.

The rooms are decorated and furnished to create a warm welcoming atmosphere, which Diane says is greatly enhanced by the natural lighting that fills each room as the sun makes its way around the home.

The warm feeling is evident immediately upon entering the foyer, where a light and delicate floral pattern of wallpaper adds just the right touch against an oak floor.

The staircase is located in the family room, rather than at the entrance of the house, allowing for a cozy square foyer, with a view of surrounding rooms done in soft pastel shades.

As with all the first-floor rooms, the foyer offers a 9-foot ceiling, bordered with linen-white crown molding.

Through a wide entry at the right, the formal living room -- or the parlor, as the Millikans more casually refer to it -- extends the welcome.

The walls are done in a warm shade of peach, against an oak floor and complementary shades of cream, beige and soft green found in the Oriental rug, upholstery and framed prints. Adding to the light and airy atmosphere that permeates the home as well, two tall white-paned windows, topped with off-white lace valances, offer views of the front porch.

An open entry from the parlor leads to the family room, but can be closed off when the occasion warrants, with an attractive French pocket door -- another modification the Millikans added to the home plans.

The family room measures 20 by 15 feet, and appears even larger, with its French doors overlooking the back yard and its open view of the spacious kitchen.

Upon entering the family room, the stairway, with its light oak treads, linen white balusters and darker wood banister, is immediately on the left, a feature which Diane says is one of their favorites.

`` Having the stairway tucked away on the back wall of the family room makes a nice visual statement in the room, and is a more convenient pathway for family members than its placement in the entryway,'' Diane said.

For an extra touch of warmth, Diane says they chose carpeting for this room, rather than the oak floors found in every other first-floor room, with the exception of the half bath and mudroom.

The carpeting, which also adorns the center of the oak stair treads, is a soft beige, set against linen white walls.

The main feature of the room is its entire left wall, where an arched brick fireplace is ensconced in a linen white mantel and flanked by linen white built-in bookcases.

Above the mantel, a large framed print is set between brass wall sconces, and above the bookcases green foliage plants bask in the sun in front of transom windows.

Adding a splash of color to the room, the sofa and love seat are upholstered in navy blue and complemented by a large wall quilt made in the mountains of North Carolina and a wicker rocking chair, which Diane rocked their two now-grown sons when they were babies. The Millikans have painted the chair navy blue and reupholstered its seat cushion in a navy blue and red pattern.

The kitchen, also very spacious at 22 by 12 feet, offers white raised panel cabinets, topped with navy blue countertops, against the oak floor.

The cabinets offer ample storage space, including pantries and glass-door cupboards, are also equipped with polished brass knobs, undercounter lighting and white appliances -- making this a favorite room for Jim, who is a gourmet cook.

In the area of the kitchen that is completely open to the family room, the cabinets include an angled peninsula, where tall navy blue counter chairs with woven rush seats, offer an additional space for guests to gather.

Just to the right of the peninsula, and also in full view from the family room, a breakfast nook is set beneath a vaulted ceiling within three walls of windows.

The windows offer a view of the tree-lined back yard, as well as the deck, off the family room. For an extra touch of style, Diane had wood cornices built above each window, which are painted white and equipped with hooks from which she hangs more green foliage plants.

The kitchen also opens, through cafe doors to a mudroom, and through another opening, which offers a French pocket door to the dining room.

The dining room is done in soft green walls, with shades of pastel in upholstery and accessories and offers a view through the foyer and parlor, emphasizing the blended decor in all three rooms.

The second floor offers four bedrooms, two baths and a laundry room, which the Millikans chose instead of a third bath on this floor.

The master bedroom measures 17 by 15 feet, and like the other bedrooms, is carpeted in a soft beige, against linen white walls.

The master bath offers a Jacuzzi, set in Italian tile, with a separate shower to its left, a separate water closet area to its right and a double oak vanity.

The property is listed for $659,900 with John Maragnano at Gerry Abbott Realtors at 508-339-6336, and can be viewed by visiting www.realtor.com.