After building houses for customers, Lewis and Cherie Keith knew the kind of house they preferred. For the active, outdoorsy couple, the house had to accommodate an informal lifestyle.

		Homeowners: Lewis and Cherie Keith Location: South Franklin Size: 3,400 square feet Unusual feature: Indoor pool Style: Rustic

He enjoys movies and swimming; she likes to ride horses. So the house had to include an indoor pool so Mr. Keith could swim year round, a media room for theater-quality movie viewing and plenty of acreage for the horses to roam and for her to ride.

Today, the brick ranch in South Franklin sits on 20 acres and has all those amenities and comfort, too.

"After all these years of building other people's homes, we finally got to build our own," Mrs. Keith said.

Walk in the front door and it's hard not to notice the wide plank Eastern white pine floors made with old-fashioned hand-cut nails. It reminds one of a country farm home. The planks, throughout the house, measure 9 to 20 inches wide.

"With the rustic look, you can have the floors get all beat up and still look good," she said. "We saw them at the convention [of the National Association of Home Builders] and really liked the look. We like the rustic look, and we're real casual kind of people anyway, and we didn't want much carpeting because of what we do," she said.

The home's open floor plan showcases a great room that combines living, dining and kitchen space, all decorated in earth tones. Cherry cabinets are stained a cocoa glaze. The Keiths chose Corian counter tops, a wheat color for the center island and a rich dark brown for the rest of the cabinets.

"You get all the pretty grain of the cherry, but with a brownish color," Mrs. Keith said.

From the dining area, the Keiths have a view of the outdoors and their horses through floor-to-ceiling windows. To the right is a glass door opening to a rear deck. A sound system with speakers imbedded in the ceiling allows the couple to listen to music in the house and outdoors.

Concerned about afternoon sun, Mr. Keith had the house built with a six-foot eave to provide shade on the deck during the hottest part of the day.

In the rear of the kitchen is a powder room with a rustic pedestal sink supported by a wrought iron base. Adjacent to it is the laundry room with plenty of closet space.

In the living area of the great room is an extra large fireplace. Called a Rumford fireplace, its asset is efficient heating. The fireplace is named after Count Rumford, who, in the 1700s, invented the tall but shallow firebox designed to reflect more heat, said Mr. Keith, a custom builder who started building houses as Keith Homes in 1994.

The fireplace can be made any size, but the Keiths preferred a large one in a country style. An uncomplicated, informal wood mantel hangs above the opening of the fireplace, and affixed to the fireplace wall is a Civil War-era muzzle-loading gun, a gift from the Keith's son, Matt. Tall narrow windows flank the fireplace and let in lots of natural light.

A large, leather sofa and chairs are sized to match the fireplace, tall ceilings and the room itself. An area rug between the sofa and two chairs is in keeping with the Keiths' less-is-better idea about carpeting.

On the same floor, in a hallway off the entrance, is a guest bedroom done in sage and soft gold. The extra high bed and cozy decor remind one of a bed and breakfast.

The master bedroom and bath are down the hall. Glass doors open onto the deck.

All closet doors are large and resemble panel doors, again giving the house a rustic feel.

Throughout the house is a universal design, which means accessible housing intended for multigenerational living. For example, if the homeowner needs a wheelchair as he ages, hallways are 4 feet wide and doorways are bigger to accommodate that need. Doors are 8 feet tall.

A stairway from the great room leads downstairs to an endless pool, one in which the swimmer swims in place against the current. The pool measures 8 feet by 16 feet and is 5 feet deep. One wall features a deep-sea mural with a skin diver surrounded by fish, and faux palm trees stand poolside.

The pool room is climate controlled and, on a recent afternoon, a register showed a humidity of 43 percent because there are separate heating ventilation and air conditioning systems and a whole-house dehumidifier.

Slate floors are underfoot, adding to the rustic atmosphere. On the opposite of the glass-enclosed pool room is a bar and cabinets, and nearby is a full bath.

The highlight of the home, however, might be the media room, where the Keiths can watch a 100-inch projection screen from the comfort of red home theater movie seats. The seats were chosen as much for their comfort as for their looks.

"We really tried to put in all the things that we really wanted," Mrs. Keith said.

Wall-to-wall carpeting reflecting a movie theme shows boxes of popcorn, rolls of film and the word "premiere." For visitors on a recent afternoon, Mr. Keith turned on a sample clip of movies, demonstrating the picture, color and sound quality of the system, one he believes to be every bit as good as, if not better than, a movie theater.

With the media room, pool and acreage, the house is so comfortable the Keiths hate to leave.

"That's our problem. We come home and we don't want to go anywhere," Mrs. Keith said.