Antler 4

This house consists of 2950 heated square feet on a 1 acre property in the Alto Golf & Country Club area. I built this house for my growing family. It consists of 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, two private courtyards, an attached double car garage, and a backyard creek. The property had many fully mature juniper trees so I designed the house around the trees. The outside appearance and style of the house is consistent with the regional Santa Fe style that is found throughout New Mexico. Decorative Spanish tiles were installed on the face of the exterior walls. Despite the apparent aged look of Santa Fe style homes from the outside, this house is combined with modern construction and amenities. A variable speed gas furnace, air conditioning, water treatment systems, and a reverse osmosis unit provide many modern comforts.

The layout of the house is designed for a big family and/or entertaining guests. The center of the house consists of an open space that incorporates the living room, kitchen, fireplace, and access to all outside courtyards as well as all bedrooms. I don't agree with using hallways in houses unless they are absolutely necessary because of the extra square footage lost. This house has very minimal hallways, but the doors leading to each bedroom are hidden in some manner so that direct view from the living room is not possible. 12' ceilings and high fixed windows throughout the living room add to the open expansive feel of the main living area and much natural light. The walls of the main living area and kitchen have a hand-troweled texture and a custom faux-painted finish.

The kitchen has stained cherry cabinets and 3 cm. granite countertops. An elevated bar sitting area is located between the kitchen and living room, allowing many people to enjoy each other while conversing over meals or drinks. A custom framed Italian design vent hood is located above the cooktop. A built-in oven/microwave unit gives easy access to the cook in this oversized kitchen. The functionality of the kitchen has been proven time and time again, serving all six of us well, providing ample room for multiple cooks!

Between the attached garage and the main area of the house, a laundry/mudroom and coat closet allow people to unload their goods upon entering the house. A separate dining area is also located directly off of the main living area. Although open to the rest of the living room, a lower height ceiling delineated with a long sweeping ceiling arch visually separates this space.

The bedrooms are smartly built so that each has an adjoining bathroom and adequate closet spaces. The sizes of the bedrooms are not too small nor are they wasteful in space. Stained and lacquered moulding and solid-core interior doors give every room in the house a quality finish. Oil-rubbed bronze hardware, handles, and faucets run consistent throughout the house. The master bedroom has elevated 9' ceilings and overlooks both courtyards as well as the rear yard where a flowing mountain creek exists. An office is located next to the master bedroom that allows us to organize personal or business affairs away from the distractions of children and such. The master bathroom has a 6' Jacuzzi tub, a water closet, a double sink vanity with concrete stained countertops, and a custom concrete stained shower as well. This seamless masonry shower replaces wall tile and grout lines and can be painted multiple colors with a variety of faux finishes. Ours has been finished in a classic marble appearance with a neutral southwestern color scheme. A hardy sealer is applied on the masonry product that makes it completely water resistant. A glass block window was also installed in the master shower to let in natural light. Lastly, the master closet has custom shelving and rods as well as a glass block window to allow natural light into the room.

As I said earlier, this home was designed for my family. We have enjoyed this house for entertaining immensely and the large living area has provided much comfort for evening family gatherings and downtime. The location is convenient and peaceful and because of the house's low maintenance finishing, we have more time for each other.