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Show Agency Ce bedroom as a home office.” The second groupis part ofthe rapidly expanding vacation-home market. “I call them the full family, probably with teen-agers,” Steves said. “They may havea rather formal house, and they're looking for a weekend retreat, a second home that’s much more casual. They want big common spaces and small bedrooms. “The third group, whichis the most interestingofall, is the preretirement crowd. They're scaling down but not scaling back,” Stevessaid. “They're One reason that American homes have ballooned in size is because we are convinced that each activity needs a sepatate room. But Susonka is a proponent of niches, alcoves, window seats ond built-in desks and cabinetry that give a feeling of separation without advally being cut off from the core area. She said such feafures symbolize intimacy ond are the reasons that many people covet houses built before World War Il. building smaller homes, but with fabulous kitchens. They’ ve come to understand that they can puttheir dining room in the front of the house and make it like part of the hallway. They are inclined to be little more formal. They want mcldings. They wantlessreal estate to take care of and more time to go and havefun.” Tim Thompson knowsthis group pretty well. The Hinsdale, Ill., builder has made his reputation to a great extent by constructing houses for clients who could well afford the trophy houses but choose to put their money into one-ofa-kind — and,admittedly, expensive — detail. “T think part of the motivation for these housesis that a lot of people want to simplify their lives. We are getting empty-nesters who have had the boats and cars and three houses, and they wanttosimplify their lives. But they wantquality in everything.” Thompson'sfirm recently completed a house in Hinsdale that was designed by Culligan and Abraham Architects of ClarendonHills, fl. The house is not for empty-nesters, but for a family with three school-age children that Thompson speculates could indeed afford something larger than the 3,000 square feet they ended up with. Asit was, the family spent a far-frompaltry $200 per square foot for such things as hand-hewn windowsills, beamsand mantelpiece, plus an enormous stone chimney that dominates the exterior of the house, among many other one-of-a-kind features. Someoftheir design decisions were based on yet anotherinfluence that may also fuel a trend toward scaling down: the teardownfactor. Hinsdale was oneof the area’sfirst suburbs fo experience vociferous controversy overthe practice of demolishing smaller, older houses andreplacing them with structures that consume most oftheir lots, dwarfing their more modestly sized neighbors. Hinsdale and others have reacted bylegally restricting the so-called “footprints” of the houses in proportiontotheir lots. The house that Thompsonbuilt sits on a 66-foot-wide lot near the heart ofthe village, and althoughit replaced a much tinier home,heandits architects contend thatits scalefits with its neighbors. Proponents of not-so-big houses agree that most ofthe impetus is coming, as do mosttrends in the housing industry, from the custom segment, as opposed to tract design, ostensibly because money allows more freedom. In September Susanka addressed a design seminar for production(or tract) builders in Chicago, and she said she was nervous beforehand because she wassuggesting “thinking small”to a group that she presumed was more interested in how tobuild bigger houses on smaller lots in order to satisfy consumer demand. “T was nervous about howthis was. going to be received,” she said afterward. “But I had an amazing, positive response. The feedback wasthat I was talking about how the American public, a segmentofit, anyway, is looking for something more based on quality than quantity.” The production builders’ main concern was howtosell it, she said. ‘They seemed to be excited by the thought that you could market more built-ins, and spend the money on more expensive finishes.” Steves agrees that she has encountered a few who are interested, driven by shrinkinglot sizes. “While it may not be mainstream with the builders, there are some who are looking for ways to use space more efficiently.” Butphilosophyaside, she said simple economics might tum the tide of interest. “Ail we need is just one big energy crunch,and I think that the McMansions may quickly become obsolete.” or | Mathews Lelis Craig Lelis has been appointed the new managing broker of Coldwell Banker Premier Realty’s Sugar House office. Lelis has been a top-producing sales associate in the Sugar Houseoffice and hasbeen involvedinthe real ars. estate industry for the pastsi He has eared his GRI and C S designations. Mansell and Associates has BUILD THEIR OWN HOME Owner-Builder_ at Consultants A New Concept in HomeBuilding ata oA } The closing: Makeit a priority to oversee the jobs to make * sure that they're done properly. CL SCAR MARRIOTT HOTEL 101 W. 100N. SLEEP INN 3440So. 2200 W. S.L.C, Utah Provo, Utah BealiCoer Brrr ~) 4 Prestige SCC Gone eran Creeerey HOMES FOR SALE Coase CONDOSFOR SALE ‘S00 67 ie Et 1 i ; a Hi dt Hose (go: Mery wogrades. Lovely yors Nis] — Call us at 463-667 BARS nt Iontten Land jocetes FHSS ian oreco e908 OULADAY Wer oa, as esr re Sc 8 | Cas wroeion Syn210 2 ore comme ON Pease "sea ortFes ng dyowt 218 weensas e cotopo omega enon concn Ve for pawvomes ‘ser cach CONSTRUCTION LOANS IN UTAH" {- = “on Loans ever $100,000 is Nie J iy t somes 70 Gort = hi a7 ut ita a= ie f Call Exic or Jamie 917-0160°si%0161 atx it iB 313% We Eliminate! i ! af ih fi ih WeJust Don't Consolidate, 15 Year Fixed Mae cmaraR ore 53 1 mB0O 208 (esa ~ ated 2 ‘Bt 8 wines ym,6 ood 2Gon Sonny $a, a * Save $50,000 to $100,0000 in Interest * In-Home App available D 947-9219 : 7069 S. Highland Dr. SLC, UT 84121 f Preferred Mortgage, Inc. ag andy uana ih HH iy i:az ts hs A For The Best Rates & Closing Costs In Town GUARANTEEDI hs am Poii | BEST 2393 So. 800 W. Woods Cross, Utah Forreservationscall 801-328-3200 ortoll free 1-888-407-3200 Seatingis limited FREE SEMINAR Bs Deeg Ee 288.9800 a UUSSS HAMPTONINN my ig ie + Ask about our no mcomé/asset loans! L202 A TTaA iia i *the home. These are great recommendations because these Fpeople are already experienced at maintaining the property. 125% ” REFINANCING mefeet MORTGAGECORP. Mukai Helping people Winter ' Continued from Page F-1 estate agent who sold you the house,if he or she works in the local community. If not, call a reputable local agent and ask ion. Some agents are leery of making recfora does a ommendations. If the contractor who is _bad job,this can reflect poorly on the agent who made the ; Teferral. So don’t be surprised if an agent gives you a few Names and leaves the decision to you. ! “Another good source of recommendations is the person who } sold you the house. Before youclose the sale, ask your agent ! 4o ask the sellers if there are any tradespeopie who worked on > the property that they would continue to use if they stayed in Bottomly announced that Julie Mathews and Rob Aubrey have joined its Salt Lake City office. oe 8 | Veda Bottomly and Laurie Mukai | have joined Impression Group Real | Estateassales associates. os 8 6 Jim Lombard,sales managerof Miller and CompanyReal Estate, has been elected as a member for the Utah Association of Realtors. | i ta renegade, Susanka’s book offers abundant photographsof dining areas with tables that expandto seat 12 and can be made “ ” by use of sliding panels. Raised countertops hide the food preparation mess and sink and dishwasher are situated outof view. ° Think “double duty.” One reason that American homeshave ballooned in size is because weare convinced that eachactivity needs a separate room. But Susanka is a proponentofniches, alcoves, window seats and built-in desks andcabinetry that give a feeling of separation without actually being cut off from the core area. She said such features symbolize intimacy and are the reasons that many people covet houses built before World War II. She makesthe case for a “control center,” which not only incorporates the controls for the growing amounts of electronic technology that are being included in homes, but asa place to sort our seemingly endless streams of paper (complete with built-in receptacle for instantly ditching junk mail), plus a place for the family bulletin board, phone niche and for phone directories and ideasbooks * The “Away Room.” All of Susanka’s niches and alcoves don’t eliminate our need for a plain old escape from those areas we share our lives in, she said, explainingthat it can be either a place to evade the noise of TV,stereo, video game,etc., or it can be the place where just such noise is meantto be created. The implied promise is that the house you achieve will soothe your wallet and thusfree you to invest in more luxe, individualistic materials. On the one hand,such unique touches partly answerthe real estate question: How can a more diminutive house compete in the resale market withits trophyhouse cousins? “We find that the value of having an architect-designed house offsets the concer with not having the formalliying room,” said Susanka, whose firm, Mulfinger, Susanka, Mahady & Partners, has offices in Minneapolis and Stillwater, Minn. Then, she said, there is time. “Within the next decade this kind of house is going to be muchless atypi_ cal,”she predicted. Demographics may be on the side of + the smaller-house proponents. Steves sees three markets that may drive the demand.“The first groupis the startup family,” she said. “They may or may not have kids. They are interested in a bigger bedroom and master bath, but they would also want flow-through rooms for entertaining. They aren’t concemed about the other small rooms,but they might be tempted to think of one Ww i Sontinued from Page F-2 “Though the suggestions sound rather The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, November 1, 1998 F5 i u by the LA Pp LA ’ suerae partecweae te] seethet Cio Tew eed Pr eee |