Over the last 16 years, we’ve built a number of Model Homes in a number of communities in a number of cities and towns around the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas. Each time we’ve begun the planning process with two things: First, a homeowner - a hypothetical someone or a couple of someone’s who live in this home. Second, some small, but profound “inspiration”. Ironically, the hypothetical homeowner is much easier to acquire than the “inspiration”!
First, let me share with you the “identity” of the hypothetical homeowners for our new model home at CAMBRIDGE PLACE in Colleyville.
Who They Are:
The hypothetical homeowners for whom we’ve designed this home are an empty-nester couple, Mike & Linda, who have lived in Colleyville for the past twenty-three years since they moved to Texas from Ohio. They met one another while in College at Penn State. They’ve lived in several U.S. cities and states as he was transferred around in his work as an executive with a large insurance company.
They have two children, a son who graduated from Texas Tech and is now completing his medical internship at Vanderbilt. Their daughter, who lives in Grapevine, received her bachelors & masters degrees in Art History at SMU. She is married and has two children of her own. Mike is nearing retirement from the insurance company for which he has worked for more than 30 years, and LInda now owns her own “Temp Service”, specializing in medical office personnel.
With their kids out of the house & retirement in sight, Mike & Linda have visions of foreign travel, as well as spending time with their kids and grandkids. They’ve made many friends during their 23 years in Colleyville, and they enjoy entertaining. They plan to do lots of that in the years ahead.
Over the years, Mike has conducted a great deal of business on the golf course. He enjoys the game, has a low handicap, and hopes to continue playing when he retires. Although Linda sometimes plays with him, she is more interested in her garden, her books, and in entertaining their friends.
Linda & Mike have loved their family home and have many happy memories of rearing their children there. However, they no longer need four or five bedrooms and three living areas. They’re tired of heating and cooling and cleaning rooms they never use anymore.
The kids used to love to play in the swimming pool and run around the spacious back yard. But no more! Mike and Linda are tired of maintaining that yard and pool, and are looking for a new home that better fits their new stage of life: A home without the rooms they no longer need, but with the spaciousness and quality and luxurious finishes that they’re accustomed to having.
The fact that the HOA will maintain their yard is quite appealing to both Mike & Linda. Mike likes the idea of having no responsibility for yard work, or pool maintenance - leaving him more time for golf! Of course, they also like the thought of being able to just “lock & leave” when they get the urge to travel. And Linda loves the idea that she’ll have just enough yard to satisfy her interest in gardening, but not so much that she’ll have to be a “slave” to it.
What They’re Looking For:
Mike and Linda want a smaller home that doesn’t FEEL small. A home with large rooms so they feel as comfortable as they do now in their current home. A sophisticated home with luxurious appointments and the latest in technological advances.
They would like to have a first floor guest suite where Linda’s elderly mother can stay when she visits, and a separate, really spacious guest room where multiple grandkids can sleep over. Mike would like to have an office where he can use his computer, manage his portfoilio, and maybe sit by the fire and read the Wall Street Journal or Golf Digest.
Linda wants a small outside area where she can plant flowers, and “putter” around. Emphasis on SMALL. She would also like to be able to sit outside - and, ideally, even entertain outside - during the mild months of the year.
Because entertaining is so much a part of their lives, both Linda & Mike want to have a spacious dining area for formal entertaining as well as an open kitchen for more casual entertaining. Although they already have a social life, Mike & Linda are hoping to find like-minded neighbors who might become good friends during the years ahead.
They’re even thinking now might be a good time to “reduce their carbon footprint”, to build & live lighter on the land, to use less resources by installing the latest in energy efficiency products. And they’re looking for a new home that will require less of them in the years ahead: Less maintenance, less electricity, less natural gas, less water & less of their personal energy. And they’re looking for a home that is handsome and appealing from the street, a home they can be proud to own.
Stay tuned for our next blog: “The Hypothetical Homeowner” Part II
