Classic on the Course

6/3/2020

[Studio West Homes]

Story by Tracy Nicholson
Photography by Penny Burns, Northern Stories

With the HBA's Parade of Homes just around the corner, Studio West's Kirsten Waverek has been busy putting the finishing touches on their recently completed Oxbow home. Overlooking beautiful pond and golf course landscapes, this true custom home is a fusion of modern features with traditional and timeless design elements. To get a sneak peek before the parade kicks off, we're giving you an exclusive tour with Studio West, where you'll find inspired design around every corner.

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Redefining Boutique Building

Studio West Homes has made an admirable name for themselves as a more intimate, boutique home builder. As a streamlined, smaller team, they've perfected the art of start-to-finish, fully customized homes. Eight years ago, Kirsten Waverek and Elliot Steinbrink began working together at a local architecture firm, before finally deciding to collaborate on Studio West Homes. While Waverek manages the architectural and interior design elements, Steinbrink is their go-to for construction management. Together, they offer strictly custom designs with hands-on architecture, landscape, build, material selections, smart home automation, interior design and decor.

For this Oxbow home, the homeowners took a hand-off approach, letting Waverek work her magic to design a home that would function seamlessly for their family of five. "They came to us with a few ideas, then we took it from there. We presented a lot of idea boards and worked together for over a year on the home's build and interior design," said Waverek. "Instead of a list of must-haves, we had more of a lifestyle discussion as to how they wanted to use the space. They weren't really set on any exact plans, but they knew they needed ample space to host family dinners and wanted the second floor to open to the main floor below. They have three children, so we incorporated a family-friendly design and made sure it was a space they could grow into."

Altogether, the home features a grand entrance, stunning, main floor master suite, hidden office, an open, upper level for children's bedrooms, and a fully finished lower level designed for ultimate entertaining. The home is traditional and timeless with dramatic modern finishes, including eight-foot doors, white oak beams, taller baseboards, custom built-ins, wood paneling, white oak stairs and custom railings.

#GreatRoomGoals

At the center of the home is a stunning great room with massive black windows and 20-foot ceilings to maximize the golf course views. Creating two primary focal points, Waverek designed intersecting quarter-sawn oak ceiling beams and large Tricorn Black built-ins with bone and brass hardware. "The large ceiling beams and custom built-ins are really the showpieces of the room, so I felt the fireplace needed a clean design with more subtle features," explained Waverek. "Instead of going with a traditional mantle that would need additional decor, we created a simple, inverted bevel fireplace that wouldn't add visual clutter or distract from the rooms other details."

Twelve-foot patio doors will eventually lead to a raised patio, ground-level patio, pergola, and stone accents - all done by Studio West's new landscaping division.

Mastering the Suite

Accessed from the great room, the main floor master suite features its own entrance with a double-hinged, frosted glass door flanking the walk-in closet with personal washer and dryer. In the master bath, Studio West focused on the details, playing off of the white beadboard ceiling in the bedroom. The master bath features dual vanities, a walk-in tiled shower, soaker tub, and classic, polished chrome fixtures.

A Recipe for Success

Designing an exceptional kitchen, Waverek worked with Wendt Custom Cabinets to create subtle dimension, incorporating chrome plumbing, a quartz island in La Paloma Gray and white cabinetry with wrought-iron hardware. The kitchen also features Wolf appliances and a custom wet bar with display area and built-in icemaker.

Gather & Dine

Just off the kitchen, Studio West created a dining room that's perfect for hosting large family gatherings. While the location and window placement capture the view, details like the quarter-sawn oak beam and white beadboard ceiling add a beautiful touch of classic character.

Pantry Perfection

In close proximity to the mudroom and kitchen, Studio West designed a high-functioning, custom pantry; staying in line with the kitchen's clean design by using a tidy pocket door.

More than a Mudroom

A few steps away, Studio West designed an oversized, arched doorway that leads to the mudroom, powder room, garage entrance and hidden office. Once again, custom cabinetry highlights function with both open and closed shelving, as well as a custom, white oak-topped bench finished with black hardware. For the built-ins, Waverek chose a lighter shade of cabinetry paint called Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams.

Powder Room Pretty

In the mudroom's powder room, Waverek worked with the homeowners to choose a more traditional, eight-inch-wide beadboard, coastal pendant selection and custom concrete sink with metal base and coordinating shelf.

"This home is very detailed with all the unique hardware, built-ins, beams, and wall finishes like the beadboard, wallcoverings and wood paneling," said Waverek. "The way all of those little details came together in a cohesive way gives the home a really holistic

Home Office Hideaway

One of the few essentials the homeowner asked for was a distinct home office with separation from the main living space. The office is cleverly hidden away, adjacent to the garage entrance. Just in case they were to ever sell the home or want to connect the office to the main level, Studio West roughed in a doorway inside one of the foyer's two closets.

The design was intended for a moody feel with deep tones of Iron Ore, the same hue as the mudroom cabinetry. The color extends from the walls to the ceiling and doors, enveloping the wood-paneled office in a more masculine feel; an approach that perfectly aligns with the homeowner's love of the outdoors, hunting and fishing.

Just outside the office, the garage features an oversized three stalls with a designated back garage door accommodating two golf carts.

Second Floor Sanctuary

On the second level, overlooking the expansive ceilings of the great room, the homeowners opted for a four-bedroom and three-bath layout with laundry room. This created enough square footage for three children's rooms with walk-in closets and bathrooms, then designated the last room for a playroom/bonus space.

Adding an element of fun to the design process, Waverek helped the children choose distinct room styles with custom built-ins and elegant wall coverings for each of their baths. Instead of the more expected kitschy kid's design, the rooms take an unexpected classic and timeless approach, designed to grow with them.

Beyond Basements

As a young family, the homeowners wanted a basement that could entertain all ages, so Studio West got to work designing a family room, custom, arched bar, golf simulator/game room, workout room, game table nook, and a theater with elevated seating. Studio West also managed the install of the home's automation and surround sound. Beyond entertainment, the lower level features a spacious guest room and bath with custom, hexagon flooring, tall stone backsplash with wall-mounted faucet and cabinetry with bone hardware.

Serving up one of the homeowner's passions, Studio West designed a unique, brick bar with custom whiskey bottle lighting and barrel seating on both sides, creating a classic whiskey parlor feel. Throughout the space, Waverek helped the homeowners choose dramatic finishes like the woven wire cabinet inserts, leathered quartz, vintage faucet, brass hardware, and hammered and polished nickel sink for the wet bar.