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Dream Home - The Great Escape
What better way to spend time than golfing and relaxing with your closest friends in a beautiful home that overlooks scenic mountains and picturesque sunsets?
"When our friends approached us about building a home next to theirs, of course, we couldn’t say no,” says Gene. “Not only did we want to have a home next to our friends, but we thought that the country club was a good idea. The club has a nice restaurant, and it’s the most prestigious golf course in the area.” The couple’s 4,100-square-foot home, which overlooks the Hassayampa Golf Course, has three bedrooms, all with full baths, gas fireplaces, and patios that overlook the club house, fairways, and the city of Prescott. The home’s great room, high-end kitchen, and spacious dining room offer plenty of space to entertain, something that the couple does often when they’re in town. There are numerous elegant touches throughout the home, as well, including wood flooring; walk-in closets in each bedroom; rich, muted colors in each room; exposed beams; majestic chandeliers; high ceilings; and wrought-iron sconces. A beautiful entry alludes to the comfort contained within the home. The core of the house—the great room—offers a cozy fireplace and access to a large patio to gather friends and family, while the kitchen welcomes you with its bright colors and open space and easy access to all of the appliances. Prescott is the perfect place to build such a home. Located in the mountains of north central Arizona and approximately 96 miles northwest of Phoenix, the city borders the Prescott National Forest to the south and west. The city’s average elevation is 5,400 feet. It has an ideal four-season climate, with mountain breezes that keep summer time temperatures low (rarely exceeding 85 degrees F) and winter days mild (usually no cooler than 25 degrees F). The city has many homes and businesses on the National Register of Historic Places. Its nickname is “Everybody’s Hometown,” and it has been officially designated as “Arizona’s Christmas City” by the State of Arizona. For those who don’t enjoy golfing, there’s other fun recreation possibilities, including backpacking, biking, hiking, hunting, fishing, and horseback riding, to name a few.
A Change of Plans Although the home building process is nothing new to Dick and Gene—they had previously built a home in Scottsdale, AZ and completely renovated a home in Oak Brook, IL—the couple approached another friend, builder Steve Strasser of Cathedral Development Company, LLC in Scottsdale, to take a look at the plans before construction began.Those plans called for a similar layout as the couple’s friends’ home next door—with one exception. As their friends are originally from Norway, their home has a grass roof. “The grass roof is original and very charming, but it was not something that I wanted,” Gene says. “Instead, I wanted more of a European country home.” “It was a fun house to build,” Mr. Strasser adds. “But it was also a challenge because the lot is not only steep, but there was an enormous amount of boulders, some of which were used for the landscaping and shoring for the foundation. There’s a 20-foot drop from the back patio to the ground, for example, and the front of the house is cut into a mountain about 14 feet. The entire lot from north to south drops 10 feet.” The entire building process took about 18 months, including the design and construction. Prepping the site took about three months. “Even the framing process took three months, which is very long for a house this size,” Mr. Strasser says. Another change to the plans included making the master bedroom larger than Dick and Gene anticipated. “The plans called for a very large patio outside of the master bedroom, but Dick and Gene didn’t feel that it needed to be that large, so we pulled that space into the master bedroom instead,” Mr. Strasser says. “Gene’s main goal was for the home to ‘blend in’ with the mountain, and I think that we accomplished that,” he adds.
European Country in the Kitchen The home’s uniquely-designed kitchen is capable of serving dozens of friends and family members, and is centrally located so that no one has to walk far for breakfast, a snack, or dinner.The 17-foot-wide by 11-foot deep kitchen has cabinetry with a unique story. The cabinets were handmade, and it took more than one month to apply the special finish for an old-world look. That process involved several steps: first, a red undercoating was applied, followed by a black lacquer overlayed on top of the red. Then, each cabinet was hand rubbed to give it a special texture, followed by a distressing process. Each cabinet was then sealed with a satin finish. When you look at each cabinet, you can see the amount of time and effort that took place to give it the look that Dick and Gene wanted. Another look at the kitchen and it’s obvious that Gene likes roosters. “My Mother’s maiden name was ‘Roos’, and her family always had a lot of roosters,” she explains. “I grasped her love of them and eventually, inherited some of her roosters. I love to collect them.” When it came time to pick the appliances, Gene knew exactly what she wanted. “I have some GE appliances in my other homes, and I like them,” says Gene. “I knew that I wanted to integrate a few appliances into cabinetry, because I had done that with our Scottsdale home, and I like that look.” “Space was a consideration in the appliance selection process,” she says. “For cooking, I didn’t know how much I would do, but it was important to me to have enough cooktop burners, which is why we went with the Thermador cooktop.” The Thermador all-gas range (cooktop and oven) are perfect for the amount of cooking that the couple does when they’re in town. “We don’t do that much cooking when it’s just the two of us here,” she says. “We eat out a lot. But when we do have guests, we like to cook.” The Thermador Model PRG366US is 36 inches, stainless-steel, and has six sealed round burners. It also features a thermal convection bake feature, one burner that operates at 375 BTUs for extra-low cooking, and a 14,500-BTU infrared broiler. A GE Profile stainless-steel microwave oven helps with quick meals or reheating leftovers. It is built into the cabinetry next to the cooktop and oven. The appliance has 1.8 cubic feet of capacity, auto and time defrost (controls that allow for quick, one-touch cooking and reheating) and a Turntable On/Off feature that is ideal for oversized, oblong-shaped dishes. For refrigeration, the couple chose a 48-inch GE Monogram side-by-side refrigerator and hid it behind dark cabinetry, to provide a seamless look. The refrigerator has upfront electronic controls and an integrated ice maker system, where the ice bucket is integrated into the icemaker, not the freezer door, freeing up valuable space. The entire refrigerator has several zone climate control systems for any type of food. On the other side of the kitchen is a Bosch dishwasher with a stainless-steel interior, model SHU4300. The dishwasher was chosen, says Gene, because she has Bosch products in her other homes and she likes how quiet they operate. The dishwasher also has electronic push-button controls along the top of the door that are hidden from view when the door is closed. The handle is softly rounded for a refined look and the entire dishwasher is hidden behind cabinetry, like the refrigerator. On the countertop, to assist with early morning breakfasts before golf or mid-morning brunches before an afternoon of hiking, is a white Oster wide slot toaster, a white Mr. Coffee grinder, a black Krups 10-cup double coffee maker, and a Proctor-Silex waffle maker.
Room for Guests The home’s two guest rooms are elegantly decorated with warm colors and woven cotton tapestry, wrought-iron beds, walk-in closets, and full bathrooms with claw foot tubs and shower baths. And both guest rooms offer the same generous view that every other room of the house provides.“We wanted the guest rooms to be designed so that our guests would feel very comfortable about staying here,” Gene says. “When we’re in town, we like to have friends over. We have four sons that like to visit with their spouses and children as well. The kitchenettes are perfect ways for people to get some coffee or juice or a small breakfast at their own leisure, either sitting inside or out on the patio.” Both kitchenettes in the guest rooms have plenty of space for morning coffee, afternoon snack, or a quick cocktail or glass of wine before dinner. A Marvel undercounter refrigerator with a black door in each room provides plenty of refrigeration. Model 61AR is 24 inches and provides 6.1 cubic feet of refrigerated space, door shelves, and two glass interior shelves. It also has full auto defrost and an automatic interior light.
A Great Friendship and a Remarkable Home Tucked in among large trees and boulders and a man-made stream, with a spectacular view from each room, it’s easy to completely feel at home in Dick and Gene’s European Country house. “It’s been a wonderful retreat for us,” Gene says. “The moderate climate, peaceful lifestyle, surroundings, and of course, the golf course, have made this a wonderful home for us.” More Editorials |
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