There are three furnished single-family-home models in the new Holden Park community in south suburban Matteson. And, it was almost too easy to choose my favorite.
So, I went back, as I usually do, for another look at each model. Then, as I occasionally do, I went through each one a third time, again rating them for design of the spaces, the flow of room to room, bathrooms, workability of kitchen, laundry facilities, daylight, views, cost in relation to space and amenities, plus myriad other factors that I check as a consumer would.
The Stonehaven, base-priced at $159,990 and the least expensive floor plan, still came out on top–though in a roundabout way. As is, the model is OK, not sensational. The Stonehaven rated my vote because I was visualizing it with its optional floor plan and other changes I’d want before signing a contract. Let’s eliminate the two also-ran models.
The two-story, three-bedroom Ridgemoor got crossed off first because a two-car garage dominates its facade: The 20-foot-wide garage is adjacent to the 13-foot, 8-inch-wide living room. Yes, there’s a cute little wraparound porch over the entry and foyer, but when you look at the home, you see the garage.
For those who love their cars and garages, the Ridgemoor’s wide open first-floor plan may be appealing.
From the foyer, there’s a clear path to the back of the house. The two-story living room melds into the single-story dining room which, in turn, opens to a family room that becomes part of the kitchen, with all four areas shaping an L around the beloved garage.
Upstairs, there are two smallish bedrooms sharing one bath, a good-sized laundry room, and the typical large master bedroom suite. Base-priced at $179,990, the 1,781 square-foot Ridgemoor expands to 1,962 square feet with the addition of optional fourth and fifth bedrooms. If garage doors are your thing, take this one.
The 1,958 square-foot Grandview, base-priced at $189,990 and the most expensive floor plan, is for the traditionalists. Dining and living rooms flank the foyer separated by four pillars. From the front door, the view takes in a long, boring hallway ending with the kitchen’s breakfast area.
Off that hall are a pair of stairs, leading to the basement and second floor, the guest closet, powder room and a family room on one side across from the kitchen.
I happen to like a more welcoming reception from the very front of a home rather than a compartmentalized series of rooms off a hall, though I’m not in the majority here. Assistant sales manager Terry Klein calls this model “very popular. People love the formal look.”
So, here’s the Stonehaven: Walk in the front door from the little porch with sort of odd, finial-styled pillars that taper from narrow down to wide. There’s a big foyer, with a pair of stairs leading to the second floor and to the basement off to one side plus a hall with a guest closet, powder room and entry to the kitchen (visible from the entry door).
On the opposite side of the stairs/hall and directly off the foyer are the living and dining rooms, running from the front to the back of the home. These rooms are separated by an optional fireplace/entertainment center with a huge TV niche and open space for logs.
Opposite the dining room and separated from it by a wall is the kitchen/breakfast room. Next to the kitchen is a big laundry room. As is, it’s choppy-looking.
Between the home and the side-loading, detached garage behind it is a breezeway/patio. Nice for people who like to enjoy an outside space for relaxing; not appealing to those who want protected, enclosed access to the garage. Now, let’s go to the optional plan. Stick with me.
You enter the foyer with its stairs, powder room and guest closet intact.
Look at the living area on the other side. Remember that fireplace/entertainment center separating formal living and dining areas? It’s not there anymore. Living/dining rooms have become a great room–a really great room at 13 feet, 6 inches by 27 feet, 8 inches–with the fireplace now at the back on the side wall, opposite the kitchen. I’d get rid of that huge TV niche.
Next–and still following the optional plan–eliminate the wall between what had been the formal dining room and the kitchen/breakfast room. We have a very open, seemingly spacious, great room and kitchen forming a fat L wrapping around the foyer, powder room and guest closet.
That kitchen, by the way, has become an island-centered country kitchen, because we’ve enlarged it by pushing out the laundry room onto what was the open breezeway. The rectangular laundry/utility room links the kitchen with the garage and still leaves room next to it for an open patio alongside the laundry/passthrough. Neat.
Upstairs, the master suite takes up nearly half the space, with the balanced divvied between hall, stairs, two small bedrooms and a bath.
The 1,630 square-foot Stonehaven, base-priced at $159,990, grows to 1,718 square feet and, with the kitchen/great room changes at $7,800, comes to $167,790.
This development, by the way, rates a big plus for its open space, with three-fourths of the single-family homes backing up to open greenery. Homes are built around a central conservation area. Back yards are a welcome sight, as are the tree-lined residential streets leading up to and around Holden Park.
Space doesn’t allow reviews of the rather typical town homes which are grouped together along the west and south borders of the development. They’re attractive at their price levels, especially the two split-level models and more specifically, the Prairiehill with its appealing view from the raised dining room overlooking the breakfast/family room and 18-foot-wide rear deck. This development, by the way, rates a big plus for its open space, with three-fourths of the single-family homes backing up to open greenery.
