Every day, more than ten thousand Americans turn 65 – a statistic that will hold true throughout the next decade. With this kind of growth in the empty nester demographic comes demand for smaller residential footprints that require less maintenance, waste less space, and offer easier mobility.
However, many discerning homebuyers that have lived in custom homes in the past don’t want to give up the craftsmanship and luxury features to which they’ve become accustomed. In response, Bost Custom Homes has designed and built a home in the Chatham County development of Carolina Crossings, just west of Cary, that couples first-floor living, plenty of storage, entertaining space, and luxury features and finishes with a floor plan that doesn’t quite hit 4,000 square feet. The result is an “upscale downsizer” estate that lives effortlessly, entertains graciously, and accommodates people in all stages of life. The home is aptly named The Nest.
The floor plan of The Nest was developed after numerous conversations with empty nesters, including a focus group, which revealed a common theme: many folks want to downsize while upgrading, and they want their “forever home” to be easy to live in as they age. Common floor plan requests include the elimination of formal dining rooms in exchange for larger eat-in kitchens, as well as first-floor master suites, back-kitchens known as sculleries to assist entertaining, and first-floor studies.
Our layout of The Nest reflects this feedback. We included an office with great view to the front porch and a large kitchen with a breakfast nook that opens to a vaulted family room, perfect for entertaining. Tucked behind the kitchen is a spacious pantry with power supplied appliance shelves, including space for an extra full-size refrigerator to help conceal the magic operation of a successful hors d’oeuvre party. Beyond the stone encased fireplace and rough-sawn mantle is the cased opening leading to the owner’s suite, including a gleaming spa-like bath and pebble tile curbless shower for seamless access.
On the opposite wing of the home, also on the first floor, there’s a stately guest suite including a walk-in closet and private bath with a curbless shower. This bath has an exterior door leading to a landing that is connected to the back porch and the back yard. Thus it can serve as a cabana bath and changing room for a future pool. Entering from the three-car garage, the owner’s entry has a zero-rise doorway, meaning that there are no steps between the garage and the white oak flooring of the home. This coupled with a wide doorway ensures easy accessibility for wheelchairs, should owners or guests of The Nest have a disability or injury.
Though the first floor includes everything you need for daily living, there is a second floor with an expansive twenty-eight feet by twenty feet recreational room that has been wired and outfitted with surround sound speakers for easy theater conversion and a wet bar for further entertaining. Completing the second floor are two more bedrooms with private baths and plenty of storage space within the spray foam sealed walk-in attic.
Evan Bost is Director of Marketing and Green Initiatives at Bost Custom Homes, an award-winning custom building firm serving the Triangle. With 30 years of proven expertise, Bost Homes designs and constructs truly-custom residences with superior craftsmanship, a focus on health and sustainability, architectural authenticity, and structural integrity. To begin the conversation of your forever home, call 919-460-1983 or email info@bosthomes.com. Learn more at www.BostHomes.com or www.facebook.com/bostcustomhomes.