Parade of Homes

Wheatley and his wife rachel gordon's new home is anything but standard. This time out, they chose additional upgrades from their previous house, including high-end finishes and appliances in their open, well-appointed kitchen. While it features contemporary dark-brown cabinetry and a dark two-tiered island, the room is light and airy, with sky-high ceilings and two windows flanking the upper portion of the vertical cooking vent. The house isn't significantly bigger, but with the benefit of hindsight, they decided they needed more space in the laundry room this time out. and they adjusted the entry and stairway to create better flow and to give the entire front of the cabover house the look of a complete two-storey home. Wheatley, an engineer, recommends visiting several show homes to get a good sense of what's available. Before buying his first home, he walked through something like 20 to 30 show homes. "It doesn't cost anything to customize things like which way you want a door to open," he says. "Enjoy the process and ask a lot of questions." he and gordon moved a short distance from their previous home in Bridg- water forest to Bridgwater lakes, where Wheatley's brothers also live. Matthew says he enjoys all the walking paths and the community feel of the pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood in Waverley West, which has plenty of greenspace and a range of housing styles. Evald frederiksen, sales associate for Ventura homes, says the right loca- tion makes all the difference. "Where the home will be located is critical. It's always a bit of a chal- lenge to marry a home with a lot and everyone's needs are different," he says. "But you get to choose your lot without being rushed and competing with other people for the property." Once the site is selected, buyers have many more de- cisions to make — anything from choosing a bungalow or two-storey home to pick- ing out exte- rior colours and kitchen coun- tertops. Making a final selection from a vast range of options can be c h a l l e n g i n g , but Ventura helps to make the process as stress-free as possible. "We help people make decisions at application time, and we don't give them too much to decide at one time because it becomes overwhelming," frederiksen says. Ventura has a team of profession- als who walk clients through all the products and colours to help them make the best choices for their life- style and budget. << Matthew Wheatley and rachel gordon enjoy their well-appointed kitchen. 100-2855 Pembina Hwy., Wpg | www.eurofurniturestudio.com | 204.774.8311 exclusive European design uro urniture tudio Where quality, beauty and style are affordable. 3558682 1 2/10/15 4:41:00 PM 'It's always a bit of a challenge to marry a home with a lot and everyone's needs are different' Cont'd on page 16 Parade of Homes Spring 2015 15

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