Single-use rooms and area-consuming specialty spaces are increasingly subject to the chopping block during plan design, as we progressively value space by the amount of time we spend occupying it and the amount of heating/cooling, maintenance, cleaning, and cost the square footage adds to ownership.
At some point, formal dining rooms were chopped, along with sprawling master bedrooms, reading nooks, home theaters, libraries, and formal living rooms. We could attribute this trend to caution a decade after the housing bubble, or changes in values and tastes. Still, the important point is that smaller, highly functional homes are achievable while maintaining the amenities and stringent quality of luxury custom homes. The beauty of designing a smaller home is that all space is intentional.
For years, we have helped clients achieve their goals to rightsize gracefully, and we’re still committed to the concept. Our 2019 Parade of Homes Gold award winner, located at 809 Journeys Rest Lane in the new Destin community, manifests this change in ideals. At 3,750 square feet, it’s snugger than any home we’ve built in recent memory. Yet, its open sightlines and quality finishes inspire the same “wow” reaction typically received in an extravagant showcase home. A mix of two-story twelve-foot and ten-foot ceiling heights with expansive windows allow light to spill through the foyer and living-dining-entertaining areas. A floating open-riser staircase grants the eye access to an open kitchen and wet bar with a modern wine display, adjacent to a “moving hidden wall” wrapped in vertical shiplap that cleverly opens or closes the study to the main body of the house.
Working within a 2,300-square-foot first floor, balance is struck in providing a lavish owner’s suite while maintaining modest dimensions. There is floor-to-ceiling storage in the shared his-and-hers closet, and openness wherever possible through floating vanity cabinets, a curbless glass shower, and large modern windows. Kohler’s digital showering experience allows homeowners to program their perfect combination of temperature, lighting, music, and sprayers, and a cabinetintegrated tissue dispenser eliminates the possibility of a tissue box occupying precious counter space. Behind the kitchen is a scullery with a secondary refrigerator, a dishwasher, a galley sink, and modern cabinetry. The second floor hosts two suites, a bonus room, and a media room with an entertainer’s wet bar.
Thriving beyond the living room’s twelve-foot vanishing door is easy thanks to a covered porch with retractable screens and
vinyl to block insects, chilly air, or pollen, all at the press of a button. A rightsized thirty-three-foot by twelve-foot rectangular
pool with an integrated spa and spillway provides subject for the expansive windows.
This rightsized home is currently available in Destin—West Cary’s newest luxury community committed to the concept.
EVAN BOST is the director of marketing and Green Initiatives at BOST CUSTOM HOMES.
For more information, contact Bost Custom Homes or visit DESTINNC.COM