Contemporary style showcases a dream come true.
Story by Carol McGarvey
Photography by tim Abramowitz
Featured in February/March 2020
A new home in Ankeny is the culmination of lots of hard work, patience, and a vision.
“It was all about someday” says the homeowner. When he and his wife moved to the United States 17 years ago from Mexico, he started his own home framing company. They lived in Des Moines first before moving to Ankeny. They have three children, now 11, 8, and 9 months. They purchased a beautiful one-acre wooded lot.
“He is a very hard-working, conscientious businessman,” says Kevin McGlothlin of Sundance Homes, the home builder. “We began with a unique design and made changes to meet the family’s needs. This more than 5,300-square-foot house is much larger than the original design and includes geothermal heating and cooling. It took quite a bit of work on the lot in preparation for the build, including hauling in more than 500 truckloads of dirt.”
Interesting plan
“The layout is interesting in that the children’s rooms are on one side of the home, and the master suite is on the other. It’s a really cool plan,” McGlothlin points out. Another appealing detail for the homeowners is that two double garages face each other at right angles to the front entry. That way, garage doors do not dominate the front elevation of the home. Plus, notes the builder, below those garages are two more garage spaces for storage or future development, such as for a theater room or playroom. The home is full of expanded storage.
The main floor includes an open-concept great-room, encompassing living room, dining room, and kitchen. Twelve-foot ceilings, oversize windows soaking in spectacular wooded views, and an inviting swimming pool make the area a good gathering space.
“It took quite a bit of work on the lot in preparation for the build, including hauling in more than 500 truckloads of dirt.”
Kevin McGlothlin, Sundance Homes
The design focuses on black and white neutrals teamed with gray and spot colors. Jessica Rae Interiors helped the couple with their new home. Rae also does home staging for Realtors and various companies. But she rarely gets to design the whole house. “Usually we have to work around some existing furniture pieces, but this time it was a clean palette of white walls and LVP (luxury vinyl plank) flooring, sometimes in gray tones.”
In the living area the focal point is the contemporary fireplace wall with a huge television mounted above it. A large sliding door opens onto a wraparound covered porch. The dining room centers on a black table with eight leather chairs. Bling comes in a crystal twinkly chandelier. A deep three-dimensional tray ceiling is a focal area of the room.
Black acrylic cabinetry
The kitchen features a quartz-topped island with a black sink. It has four stools for casual lunches and snacks. The wife loves to cook and chose black acrylic cabinets for a sleek look and commercial-style appliances, including a professional side-by-side refrigerator-freezer, wall ovens, and a pot filler. Three thin cylindrical pendants hang above the island. The gray swirls on the island counter are repeated on the backsplash. Nearby, a walk-in pantry holds staples, appliances, and barware.
Bedrooms with a Jack-’n’-Jill bath, a powder room, and a main-floor laundry room fill out that side of the home. Also on that side is an office with a sliding barn door near the front door.
The master suite also opens onto the wraparound deck. The graphic details of the room focus on black, white, gray, and yellow. An area rug in those colors unifies the room, as do yellow ceramic-base lamps. Another fireplace wall with television is in the room. Like the dining room area, the room features a dramatic and artful tray ceiling.
Master bath details
The master bath features rectangular white floor tiles. A makeup mirror and dressing table with a yellow stool repeats the colors. There’s a double vanity with a quartz counter and a huge mirror with undermount and floor-level lighting for safety and a dramatic touch. The shower area showcases ripple-edge tile and a digital shower. The master bath also contains a sculptural soaking tub. A huge dressing room/closet is nearby.
McGlothlin says the lower level feels extra big because of 12-foot ceilings. The family room contains two leather sofas, two mounted big-screen televisions, a contemporary fireplace, a pool table, and a bar/kitchenette. The room opens onto a patio with steps that go down to a shimmery in-ground swimming pool, which was the delight of the two older children and their friends when the family moved in during last summer. There are two more bedrooms downstairs and a large workout room.
“I always wanted to build our own house,” says the homeowner. Someday finally came, and he did just that, even helping to frame the house.
“They are living the American dream,” McGlothlin says. •
Resources
- Home builder Sundance Homes
- Concrete JAS Concrete
- Flooring Phillips Floors
- Garage doors Amega Garage Doors
- Materials H.L Munn Lumber, Moehl Millwork
- Electrical Webster Electric
- Plumbing McCuddin Plumbing
- Heating, cooling DSM Comfort
- Windows Pella Windows and Doors
- Kitchen Kitchen Classics
- Stone Stone Source
- Pool CMC Pools of Iowa
- Landscaping Turf Tamers of Iowa
- Interior design Jessica Rae Interiors
