Gathering Space

WHEN GIVEN THE THREE buyer demographics for the New Urban Challenge, Bill Kreager immediately asked to design the house for an active adult, empty-nester buyer. With the master bedroom on the main level, he considered it a greater challenge because it reduced the options for usable outdoor space. The solution was a house wrapped around an inviting courtyard dining area.

But beyond the creative challenge was a personal attachment. Kreager and his wife, Kathie, have been married for 37 years and love to entertain. Plus they have four grown daughters, one of whom is a graduate student living at home because she can't afford a place of her own while she's in school. He literally envisioned his family in every room.

“I love the idea of a formal dining room,” he says. “First, (we) entertain casually, around the kitchen, then Kathie lights the candles and says, ‘Let's go into dinner.' It's a very conversation-focused environment. You sit there for an hour and a half after dinner and then say, ‘Let's go back and sit by the fire.' It's meant to be a comfortable place where everyone feels welcome. There is no formal stair or grand entry. It's very warm and unpretentious.”

Inspiration for the house came as Kreager spent time walking through the older neighborhoods near Baldwin Park.

“We were looking to recapture the heritage and character of Old Orlando—high ceilings, lots of windows, things you don't see in a typical spec-built home,” he says.

With the dining room that fronts the mews, a relaxing family room flooded with light, a morning room with built-in seating and cabinets, and the courtyard, the house has ample space for quality time with family and friends. The kitchen, with a curved island, serves as a core of the house. From that spot, it's easy to socialize with guests in the morning room, the living area, and the courtyard. Plus, the house is packed with window seats for snuggling with a grandchild or sitting with a book.

Flexible space is a hallmark of the design. The front room is identified on the floor plan as a dining room, but it just as easily could be used as a study, office, or hobby room. The command center off the kitchen could be converted to a butler's pantry.

David Weekley Homes' Rohde says he was thrilled to have one of the houses with the master bedroom on the main level, even though it effectively eliminated the possibility of a backyard.

“It's more cozy,” he says. “It's more oriented to the side yard than a backyard, which speaks better to the empty-nester. I do think when you walk in the home it will have a completely different feel than the other homes. This is a little more quaint.”

Marc-Michaels interior designer Bass says her favorite part of the house is the breakfast area.

“You feel like you're sitting in a sun-room,” she says. “The glass doors make everything feel so open.”

Bass chose cheerful yellow walls, with charcoal and linen accents and wood floors throughout the main level to give it the look and feel of a seaside cottage. Her team gave considerable thought to the placement of the television in the family room. They felt strongly that the target buyer wouldn't want the television to be a focal point. The fireplace is flanked by open bookcases against Fypon-molded brick. With help from the electronics wizards at Best Buy, they installed a flat-panel set above the mantle, hidden behind artwork that can be raised and lowered by remote control.

While the master bedroom is small, the space looks larger with a floor-to-ceiling mirrored wall framed in white Fypon. The master bath is thoughtfully designed with a walk-in shower, seating, and a spacious vanity.

The second level has an extraordinary amount of storage space, in closets and in built-in cabinets that line the hallway between two bedrooms. One bedroom functions as a traditional guest room while the other is merchandised as a hobby room. With a built-in bench overlooking an oak tree on the mews, it's the perfect place to curl up with a book or stretch out for a nap. In addition, the second-floor landing has a spot carved out for a sunny window seat or a small desk.

Rohde says, “When you come up the stairs, it gives you a little, special ‘how neat' space.”

FLEX SPACE: Merchandised as a dining room, the front room of the Shingled Cottage could easily be configured for a home office, a study, a music room, or sun room. Fypon molding provides a level of detailing reminiscent of a stately older home. When desired, shutters on the gracious windows offer privacy from the openness of the mews.

The apartment above the garage was crafted for a graduate student; in this case, an engineering student at the University of Central Florida who enjoys biking and backpacking. But it could just as easily be used by a caretaker or a renter if the family needs additional income. The one-bedroom, one-bath unit has a contemporary feel, with a metal backsplash in the kitchen and an ultra-convenient Polara stove and an in-sink dishwasher.

Overall, Kreager says he loves the character of the house and the way it lives.

“It's open, yet the rooms are defined,” he says. “The floor plan is circular; actually, it's a figure eight if you open the French doors. It's a great house to entertain in, and it's fun to furnish.”

The project also met his standard for green building because of its location and lot size.

“The most important (thing) to me is concentrating growth,” he says. “Homes that live large but on much smaller lots are the most responsible thing a planner can do.”

Principal of a nationally prominent architectural, design, and planning firm, Bill Kreager focuses his practice on the integration of site planning and building design in urban infill, mixed-use development, and sustainable design. His work regularly receives national and industry recognition, including Community of the Year awards and design honors from the AIA and numerous major housing industry organizations and publications.

Home construction begins with a sound financial package.

The physical structure with fancy appliances, high-tech gadgets, and expensive flooring is what most people see when a house is being built. But what they don't see is arguably one of the most important elements in building a home: financing. Money is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, for this is where things truly get going. No financing, no home.

In building the New Urban Challenge homes, builder David Weekley turned to JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, and SunTrust Mortgage. “We've had relationships with them for a long time,” says Jim Alexander, CFO at Weekley in Houston. In short, says Alexander, “They provide us money as well as cash management services.”

Each institution sponsored one home. Chase, which has been doing business with Weekley for 10 years, provided interest-free financing on the project as well as large revolving lines of credit, while the others offered cash management services “that involved all the services associated with a banking account,” Alexander says.

These banks provide the building community with a host of other services, too. Whether for single-family or attached housing, Wachovia offers builders and developers such financing programs as lines of credit, land acquisition and development loans, and builders risk insurance and related products. SunTrust features an extended lock program, lot loans, as well as more than 240 products to meet a customer's needs, Chase proffers general construction loans. www.suntrustmortgage.com,; www.jpmorganchase.com,; and www.wachovia.com,

Best Buy offers solutions for the technologically challenged builder.

Builders who “wire” their houses are people thinking about the future. It's become almost a necessity because nearly all segments of new-home buyers want some type of integrated home theater, cable, phone, and data capability.

Building a house that has all these features can be daunting to the uninitiated, however. That's why consumer electronics giant Best Buy developed Builders Solutions, a program that offers builders an integrated, one-stop solution for creating the wired house.

The Minneapolis-based company placed structured wiring for consumer electronics and computing in all three New Urban Challenge homes. The technology available in each room matches the room's expected use.

Among many other features, the great room in the Villa has the company's Movie Buff lifestyle structured wiring solution with in-ceiling and in-wall speakers and individual room volume controls. The family room in the Shingled Cottage has the Music Lover structured wiring package with a home theater component system that includes a receiver, a DVD/CD multi-disc player, and in-ceiling speakers.

To accommodate the varying tastes of individual family members in the Classic residence, the house features the Entertainment Fanatic structured wiring solution, which offers multimedia outlets in nearly every room, and individual bookshelf home theater systems and computers so parents and children can work or play in different rooms simultaneously.

The Builders program reduces stress for home buyers since they avoid the difficulty of installing individual devices and eliminates the cord clutter that is usually a fact of life with post-construction components. But there is a huge benefit to the builder as well.

“It starts with the ability to use the Best Buy brand in their marketing materials,” says builder channel manager Kim Garretson. In addition, the workload is off the builder's plate since the company's salespeople tailor the package and supply all the equipment. www.networkedsolutions.com.