Building a house for someone is always a special and unique experience. In a very short time, you get to know exactly what is most important to a person and where their priorities lie. Then, you get the opportunity to turn their dreams into a reality. After closing on a new home, we love to check back in with our buyers to hear about their experience, learn more about their process, and see what amazing things they have done with their home.
We were lucky enough to get to talk to Ashleigh & Lyle Wallace this month about their experience building a Chestertown in Central Park. Then they were kind enough to show us all the phenomenal work they have put into their home since closing. Read below for our interview and some spectacular pictures of their home.
Why were you looking for a new home?
After 20 years in Highlands Ranch, our son went off to college at CSU. The commute for Lyle from Highlands Ranch to downtown for 20 years got progressively worse as more and more people moved to Denver. As our son prepared to head off to college in 2019, we began to look in earnest for a home in Denver to shorten the commute.
What was it that drew you to Central Park?
We decided on Central Park by default. Our home search really became about where we could get into a new Parkwood Home. We searched around many neighborhoods in Denver, including Country Club, Hilltop, Crestmoor, etc. While we loved the neighborhoods, we never found a home that spoke to us. We fell in love with Parkwood Homes as a builder, and that dictated where we would wind up.
How did you find out about Parkwood Homes?
In our initial search for a home closer to downtown, we stumbled upon a home that was for sale in “Nantucket Close,” a small enclave development by Parkwood Homes in Central Park. Being from the East Coast, when we saw the cul de sac development of 5 or 6 homes, we fell in love with the style. We did more research into Parkwood Homes and were able to see models in both Sterling Ranch and Central Park. Once we were able to get inside the model, we were sold.
What made you choose Parkwood as your homebuilder?
Nostalgia for their East Coast style and the small touches. Seeing multiple model homes with porches and decks, crown molding, wainscotting, coffered ceilings, and other touches really sold us. Plus, Parkwood Homes included so many things as standard features that would have been upgrades with other builders. For example, when people visit our house, they compliment the frame around the doors, windows, and mirrors and are surprised when we tell them that is a standard feature.
What drew you to our Chestertown plan?
We looked at several different models, including the Asheville and the Chestertown. The layout and size of the Chestertown is what really drew us to that model. The Chestertown has so many front elevations to choose from; and the ability to put a front a porch on the second floor made it an easy choice.
Is this your first time building a new home? What was different about this process?
No. This is the second new home we have purchased. With our first home, purchased in 2004, there was less ability to customize. The ability to work with designers at Parkwood Homes to change the layout, add decks and porches, and really focus on the things that were important to us, made it almost as though we fully designed our dream house.
What was the build process like for you? What were your favorite parts?
Meeting with Parkwood’s architect was my favorite part because he listened to what was important to us. When we decided to include a second-floor porch, we had to move the master bedroom from the back of the house to the front of the house. This meant our master bathroom and master closet were moved around as well, and re-sized. Initially, our bathroom was drawn with no bathtub, but when the architect learned that Ashleigh likes to take baths, he re-drew our master bathroom plan to include a bathtub.
How would you describe your style? Was it important to find a home that fit your style, or did you find the right home and then used that as a launchpad for everything else?
The Chestertown model and Parkwood Homes building style really meshed with our own style and desires. As we mentioned, Parkwood Homes really spoke to us based on their east coast style of building. We imagined our home in Denver as if it could be on the eastern shore of Maryland or in Charleston, South Carolina. The style suited us and then we were able to pretty much customize everything we wanted in the interior of the house.
Our neighborhood has so many great builders with interesting styles that are more modern or have a “farmhouse” style; I would say ours is classic East Coast.
What are your favorite things about your new home?
That is different for each of us. For Lyle, it has to be the three-pane pocket sliding glass doors that allow us to open our covered deck into our living room. For Ashleigh, it is hard to choose! I love our basement that includes our theater room (another shout-out to Parkwood for re-locating our basement windows so there would not be any in the theater room) and our work out room. I loved working with Closet Factory to design our master bedroom closets and kitchen pantry. I enjoy all of our five porches!
Is there anyone at Parkwood that you’d like to give a shoutout to?
Most everyone at Parkwood is great. The team is professional, friendly, punctual, and knowledgeable; but Dede Jeffery, Danielle Craven and Scott Malott are exceptional.
Are there any fun projects you’re planning for your home in the future?
Our son just took some furniture out of one of the bedrooms to take to his rental house in Fort Collins, where he attends CSU. Ashleigh is taking this opportunity to turn the room into an office space/guest suite for herself and that process has included new wallpaper and paint. We recently ordered furniture and a fire pit for our back patio. During the Covid pandemic everyone in our neighborhood felt more comfortable entertaining outside. Our patio can accommodate a larger group, so we are excited to host our friends out there.
Is there anything else you’d like to share that you haven’t mentioned already?
As our house was being built we were invited to a few “Meet the Builder” parties or “Come see the New model” open houses. At one of those gatherings, I met a woman who told me this was her second time building and buying a Parkwood Home. I was surprised and happy to hear that at the time, but now; after living in our home for almost two years, I truly understand why. I’m not sure we could be as happy with any other builder as we are with Parkwood.