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diggWishing Well
By Chris Lee
Now jot down your wish list so you can keep it firmly in mind. You’re liable to get distracted as you peruse the 22 homes built by the Twin Cities’ premier custom homebuilders. For the seventh year, we’ve wrapped up our Luxury Home Tour with this special, commemorative issue.
Before you get started, I’ll lead you to a few of my favorites features. I love the careful detailing of “Tucked-In Tudor,” page 78—its butternut paneling and molding give this house the rich patina of maturity, even though it’s brand new. I absolutely covet the open kitchen—with handy, bi-level island and in-drawer microwave—in “Woodland Wonder,” page 102. I’m no golfer, but I wouldn’t pass up the chance to live next to the fairway outside the home featured in “The Golden Years,” page 126. From the pergola-covered entry to the 16-foot vaults of the sunroom, every inch of space is thoughtfully designed and appointed. If your idea of indulgence includes a long, hot soak in a deep tub, don’t miss “Comfortable Oasis,” page 142. The view from the pedestal tub that stands before an enormous window? The sunset over Lake Minnetonka’s Halsted Bay.
More than luxurious features, indulgent designs, and fine craftsmanship, these homes also reflect ongoing lifestyle trends. Our Minnesota penchant for bringing the outdoors in continues unabated, as porches morph from screened-in summertime affairs to all-season rooms with wood-burning fireplaces and in-floor heating. Energy efficiency gets more than a nod with geothermal systems that use the Earth’s constant temperature for heating and cooling. Home exercise rooms, sometimes fully loaded with health club-worthy equipment, speak to continued attention to fitness. Homeowners plan to “age in place,” as evidenced by elevators built-in (or roughed-in) to ease mobility when the time comes. More fun are amenities for the media savvy—the flat-screen TVs, MP3 chargers, whole-house sound, and home theaters (some even have candy counters and popcorn machines).
After touring these homes, you may need more than three wishes from the House Fairy. Enjoy.
Chris Lee, Editor
clee@mhmag.com
11 ISSUES (1 YEAR)
