By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
An architectural style that reached its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s is making a comeback as more and more people crave the practicality of one-story living.
Liberty Park Joint Venture LLP will showcase its modern take on the classic American ranch with its Logan design at 4751 Liberty Park Lane during the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders 2014 Parade of Homes this month.
But this is not your grandmother’s ranch house, said Josh Sexton, senior builder.
“It’s really a new product in the Birmingham area that is inspired by those classic ranch-style houses of the ’50s and ’60s,” Sexton said. “But this isn’t the boxy interior that we remember from our grandparents’ ranchers. We’ve updated it to fit how people live today.”
Sexton said homebuyers are thinking in more practical terms when it comes to new home construction.
“People really want to get away from that McMansion feel, and they are thinking about the long term,” he said. “It’s less about a starter home and more about a home that you can live in for a long time.”
And while one-level living is obviously appealing to senior citizens and others with mobility issues, Sexton said he’s found that more young families are attracted to the convenience of the ranch-style floor plan.
“A lot of people who are interested in these homes are young parents who want their children on the same level as them and don’t want to have to run up and down the stairs to keep up with them,” he said.
What Sexton has noticed in the new home construction market is a trend that first started in 2011, according to U.S. Census Bureau information.
In 1973, one-story homes made up 67 percent of new home construction, but that had dropped to 43 percent by 2006. In 2011, that number rose to 46 percent.
But just because more people are increasingly interested in doing all their living on one floor doesn’t mean they don’t want modern amenities, Sexton said.
“They want a simpler, more casual living environment, but they still want all the classic elegance,” he said.
The four-sided brick home features architectural roof shingles, a three-car garage, cedar mailbox and two floodlights.
The 3,000-square-foot house appeals to a family’s desire for open spaces to gather, play and relax and at the same time offers ample room for both formal and casual entertaining, Sexton said.
The home has a nine-foot vaulted ceiling in the living room, which is flooded with natural light from large windows and has a direct vent fireplace. The living area connects to the open kitchen, which Sexton calls a cookery.
“We call it a cookery just to be a little different and to get people to ask why we call it a cookery,” Sexton said.
The cookery features a large center island with a sink, double ovens and stainless steel appliances, including a convection microwave.
There’s plenty of storage space in the kitchen’s maple cabinets. The room’s luxury touches include granite countertops, Delta plumbing fixtures and a subway tile backsplash, all standard in the Logan design, Sexton said.
Oak flooring ties the foyer, kitchen, dining room, powder room, living room and hallways together with a classic and timeless look.
On the other side of the living room/kitchen area, French doors lead to a large 12-foot by 12-foot wooden deck.
“We can either do the wooden deck or a patio, depending on what the homeowners want,” Sexton said.
The home lots include four sides of sod with irrigation, two outside water faucets and double-hung energy efficient windows.
The windows aren’t the only energy efficient features in the Logan, Sexton said.
The home features programmable thermostats and an indoor air cleaning system, all of which come standard, he said.
Sexton said an energy efficient package available in the home design includes tankless water heaters and solar roof panels.
“With a minimum cost upfront, homeowners will easily get their money back with the energy efficient upgrades,” he said.
The standard Logan plan has four bedrooms and three and half bathrooms. The master bedroom suite is called the owner’s suite and features his and hers walk-in closets with wire shelving and an expansive master bathroom with double vanities, an iron spa tub, a large tiled shower and 54-inch mirrors. The shower has frameless glass doors and a built-in bench. The granite countertops in the bathroom tie into the materials used in the rest of the house.
Just off the owner’s suite is a large laundry room with a sink and plenty of cabinets.
“We try to make sure the laundry rooms are always close to the owner’s suites because that makes sense for how most people live,” Sexton said.
Sexton said the Logan’s design plans also strategically place another clean-up area that more and more families want in their new homes.
“There’s a mudroom/drop zone right next to the garage and the laundry room,” Sexton said. “It’s the perfect place to drop muddy sports uniforms, shoes, all that stuff that usually just gets dumped by the back door.”
Two roomy bedrooms are ideal for kids’ rooms or to use as a bedroom and home office, Sexton said.
The fourth bedroom is in the front of the house and is a little larger than the kids’ bedrooms, he said.
“This is an area that would be perfect for an in-law suite or guest room,” Sexton said. “It is kind of separated from the rest of the house and has a private bathroom with a shower.”
Those who choose the Logan design can also opt for a basement, Sexton said.
“But instead of a basement we call it a terrace,” he said. “Right off the living area, we have what we call the atrium with these huge windows that bring in a lot of natural light. The staircase in the atrium leads to the terrace downstairs.”
And what Parade of Home visitors will see when they go down to the terrace will be all about the possibilities of the Logan design, Sexton said.
“We wanted to give people an idea of the range of ways they could use this space downstairs, so we created the Imagination Room,” he said.
The Imagination Room features vignettes showing how homeowners could use the space to up the home’s square footage to about 6,000 square feet, Sexton said.
Ideas pitched in the Imagination Room range from a home theater to a home spa, complete with a sauna.
Parade of Homes visitors to the Logan won’t have to use their imaginations to consider how at least part of the optional basement area could be used.
The home at 4751 Liberty Park Lane is already outfitted with a downstairs kitchen and a large living area that could be used as a media room or kids’ playroom.
The basement area is not the only way designers can alter the Logan design to fit customers’ needs, Sexton said.
“It can be reconfigured to feature up to six bedrooms,” he said.
Sexton said he thinks those visiting the Logan on the Parade of Homes will be impressed not only with the home’s design but also with its location.
“Liberty Park has so many wonderful things going for it–great schools, playgrounds and walking trails,” he said. “Plus there’s easy access to almost anywhere. You’re 17 minutes from the airport.”
Sexton has been in the residential construction business for about 13 years.
An Atlanta native and graduate of Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Ga., Sexton started out in the business as an estimator and then worked as a building project manager for 11 years before moving to Alabama.
He lives with his wife, Casey, and their children, 5-year-old Hannah and 21-month-old Jacob, in Birmingham.
Sexton said his favorite part of his job is helping people find just the right home.
“I like that every day is different and that you get to meet different people all the time,” he said. “But the most enjoyable part is helping to make it easy and enjoyable for people to get the home they want. It’s not just a house we’re designing and building, it’s a home.”
For more on the Logan and other homes of Liberty Park Joint Venture LLP, visit libertypark.com or call the sales office at 945-6401.
