The Skidmore Forever Home

Beautiful trees and rolling hills surround this custom home on 13 acres just north of the county line. The homeowners chose builder Tim Graham of Design Builders Inc., who located the ideal parcel and worked through several revisions to help them build their dream home.

To complicate the situation, Graham's clients were living out of state when the project began. They were looking toward retirement and building their "forever" home and often required remote viewing during the process.

Graham says that working through several revisions is common in custom building whether the client is nearby or far away. "We start with the design phase and, as you might imagine, that evolves over time."

“We would have been lost without Kristen's help.”

The goal was to create a low-maintenance infrastructure as the foundation and then build it out with unique architectural details. He points out that few people want to spend their retirement years working on home repairs or paying high utility bills.

Graham offers some examples of the hidden features that make the home functional. For example, he says there is very little real wood on the façade. Brick serves as the primary building element, and even the support columns that appear to be wood are made from a highly durable, low-maintenance fiberglass product. Above the porch is a standing-seam copper roof that Graham says could last 50 to 75 years.

He also designed the home using what he calls a double-stud exterior wall. He says these nearly 12-inch thick exterior walls help give the home an R-value (a measure of heat retention) almost three times higher than a conventional build and make for very low energy bills.

The home also has a geothermal system that uses smart technology to allow various temperature zones throughout. The ability to control micro-climates means the bedroom can be cool for sleeping even as common areas are kept at higher temperatures.

The clients also wanted a home where they could age in place. Graham included aspects of universal living such as wide passageways and easy access. In the garage, for example, the construction crew built up the foundation with a level of base rock, which allowed Graham to design a single step up from the garage into the home, rather than the three or four steps many garages require.

Beyond the functionality of the home, Graham's first goal is to find out what the client feels is aesthetically pleasing. To do so, he shares visual images gleaned from various magazines and websites. Then his job becomes making sure the elements the clients choose are fully functional and fully integrated.

Graham uses 3-D software to help clients get a better idea of a home's circulation and functionality before ground is broken. "Once they see it in 3-D, very often their plan evolves," he says. "We put everything together. They can spin it around, take the top off — even put their furniture in it if they like."

These virtual revisions were essential for the homeowners to sort through the myriad of decisions required when building a custom home. After several back-and-forth conversations, sketches and plans, today, the 4,200-square-foot home features two levels and lots of room to relax.

Visitors walk through a pair of leaded glass doors detailed with worked iron into a tall foyer with a beautifully constructed barrel ceiling. On one side of the foyer is a home office; on the other a formal dining room. The open concept kitchen and living area is the heart of the home. For privacy, the homeowners' master suite is at the opposite end.

In the main living room, bookcases line one wall, and a fireplace is the focal point of another. The fireplace has French doors on either side, which open to a beautiful park-like setting where a large covered patio offers a restful place to build a fire or enjoy the solitude of county living.

The basement holds two guest bedrooms, a full bath and a large living area. A wide hallway leads to a pair of doors. Beyond those doors, the homeowners plan to add a patio where guests can relax and enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine while listening to the water ripple in the nearby pond.

Graham's daughter, Kristen Graham, helped the homeowners choose paint colors and coordinate the home's palette.

Kristen's strategy was the same as her father's. First, she figured out what the homeowners found aesthetically pleasing, and then she worked to create a unified whole.

She says the main point of reference for her suggestions was the Alaskan White granite slab the homeowners had sourced locally from the Rock Shop.

From there, Kristen guided the clients toward a refined selection of pewters paired with crisp white molding and trim.

She enlisted help from faux painter Tim Minor to customize the powder room and worked with Creative Interiors Design Center and Winn Electric for certain architectural details.

"We would have been lost without Kristen's help," the homeowner says. "She spent more hours than I did looking at colors and picking designs to lead me in this direction."

In addition to the home, the builder also created a working barn for the homeowners.

Graham says he doesn't usually spend so much focus on a workshop, but because of its location and its purpose, the shop was an essential part of the overall design and had to complement the home.

"This had to be the best shop we've ever built," Graham says. "It's aesthetically pleasing but also extremely functional for the homeowners."

While designing the shop, Graham used the 3-D software. Everything from the cupolas to the trim pieces to the industrial shelving on the interior was placed in the virtual world before it ever took shape in the real one.

In the end, Design Builders Inc. gave the clients everything they were looking for and more. As they continue to enjoy retirement, they are happy to say they couldn't have picked a better place to age in place, and they credit their builder and his daughter with making their dream home a reality.