Homes of the Year 2019

Our annual Homes of the Year contest is a tradition we look forward to every year. This contest allows local talent to show off and celebrate their best, most recent work. Without fail, we’re always amazed as entries pour in, each one filled with pictures of dream homes that beckon us to stare awhile. To select winners, we recruited judges from the Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association. They narrowed it down to five winners, which wasn’t an easy feat. As you look through the homes, take note of the unique materials, cozy gathering spaces and resort-like retreats. Meet the builders, architects and designers who pushed the boundaries to create functional, stunning homes, and allow yourself to get caught in a daydream of commissioning your own custom home in southwest Missouri.

Modern Timber Frame Resort

Back when this abode was just a dream, the homeowners wanted it to reflect both their styles. The inspiration was Montana’s Douglas fir timber homes and Caribbean resorts, and JJ Hetherington, Rex Winslow and Denise Wright delivered.

The result was modern amenities, meandering living spaces and texture around every corner, and each professional involved brought the goal to life.

“We merged different styles together into one cohesive design the homeowners would both enjoy,” Wright says. For starters, Wright’s design choices tied the two themes together. The two styles are exemplified in the kitchen. Its luminous backsplash has a subtle shell-like appearance, and the Cygnus brushed granite countertops feature a unique pattern that mimics wood.

When creating the home’s layout, Winslow and Hetherington blended rooms almost seamlessly into one another. For example, the conjoining kitchen and casual family room create the perfect space for quality time.

“They had a vision for their home; I simply interpreted that vision,” Hetherington says. “It’s people like Rex and Denise that make the vision a reality. So when the family moves into the home, it’s part of them, and it’s who they are. It’s their story.”

Morningway

Even gazing at a bird’s-eye view of this home tucked away in The Hill subdivision doesn’t give you a hint of what all it has to offer.

For example, you’d need to look at the blueprints to see that underneath the home’s attached garage lies a private studio apartment with its own kitchen, perfect for guests or extended family. Or, that despite this home’s modest size, it packs in a living room, a bedroom suite, a master suite, an additional guest bedroom, two full bathrooms, a powder bath, a kitchen, a dining area and an office, all in addition to the private living quarters.

The owners wanted many separate spaces with unique functions, but they also wanted to keep the area of the home close to 4,000 square feet. “The challenge was to meet those requirements while still having the rooms feel open and spacious,” says Joan Hand, the architect for this project. “The solution was to combine functions wherever possible and design the rooms with high ceilings and large, tall windows.”

Inside, you can find small details that make this house functional and comfortable. It has amenities throughout, like a bathroom mirror that doubles as a TV, perfect for catching up on the news while preparing for the day. 

“We stress weekly meetings with our clients on all jobs,” says builder Gary Herman. “We are constantly updating the small details to completely customize their home.”

Ozark Modern at Hidden Tree

As owners of a residential construction company, Brett Godfrey and his wife, Sherry, never let themselves get too settled in a home. In fact, since they began their business in 1986, they have lived in about eight different homes, and they’ve built and sold each one.

That’s soon to be the same story for this home, and for this reason, assembling the right team was crucial. Godfrey worked alongside interior designer Erica Hendrix and home designer Jason Thompson to create this timeless home with today’s homebuyers in mind.

“The type of setting that it’s in dictated the Ozark modern theme of the house,” Godfrey says. “When I bought the piece of property, we found a lot of old stuff, like wagon parts from the farmers who previously had it. That’s kind of what precipitated using materials that represented indigenous types of materials.”

Godfrey and Hendrix made specific choices to create an easy-to-live-in home that would age well. The quartz countertops and walnut cabinets in the kitchen are smooth and easy to wipe down and won’t show signs of wear anytime soon. The master bathroom features a floating sink that a mop can glide right under.

“We designed this home for a hypothetical younger family,” Hendrix says. “I thought, ‘What do families in this area look for?’ They look for something fresh, new and modern with ease of living.”

Modern Glam Farmhouse

For homeowners Craig and Carlissa Gilliam, farms hold special memories. Craig spent his childhood summers playing fast-pitch softball, quail hunting and hauling hay on his grandfather’s dairy and Angus farm. The old white farmhouse on the property was the destination of many holiday gatherings and the location of one of Craig and Carlissa’s first dates.

So when they started working with Dale Peer and Jason Bekebrede on their new home, they knew they wanted it to be a modern farmhouse with vintage elements, and they wanted to be very involved in the building process.

“Communication is key,” Bekebrede says. “We talked a lot during the project about what older items they had and they wanted in the home so we could make sure to have wiring for the lights and such… We obviously tried to stay true to the vision the owners had on the design elements and suggest ones in addition to complement the style and design they were trying to achieve.”

Many materials in the home are either locally sourced or natural. Bekebrede’s favorite element in the home is the real wood ceilings. “I've done a lot in my career but these ones turned out especially nice,” he says. “The colors are subtle but still allow you to see the graining and knots in the wood.”

When determining the layout of the home, homeowners Craig and Carlissa Gilliam believed protecting the land’s beauty could pay off in the long run. “We wanted the farmhouse to have the energy efficiency of the woods to protect from the summer heat and the winter winds,” Carlissa says.

Bekebrede placed the home as close to the remaining trees as safely as possible to give each room a view of the secluded wooded lot. “It makes the house feel as if it was there already for many years the day we completed,” Bekebrede says. 
Craig and Carlissa’s land sits just a few acres away from their grandchildren, making it the ideal spot to retire, so Peer designed wider doorways and kept the home on a single level, and Bekebrede aimed to keep the home as close to the ground as possible to minimize the number of steps. He also included other age-friendly details, like a zero-entry shower.