New Homes
New Homes
Everything for your home this weekend
the RBC Convention Centre is going to be the main attraction in the city this weekend after the Home Expressions Home and Garden Show opened Friday.
Manitoba's premier home show runs today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
The Home Expressions show features more than 200 exhibitors filling both the second and third floors of the facility. These experts are on hand to show you the latest trends for improving your home. The exhibitors at the show are offering everything from fencing to flooring, from appliances to alarm systems, from baths to beds, from windows to walkways, from closets to cabinets, tools, pools and gardens galore.
At no other time and no other place can you do this much comparison shopping. The best suppliers and manufacturers in Manitoba are all under one roof, presenting a variety of options for your home needs. There is only one true place where the real show specials exist -- the convention centre this weekend. In addition, there are some fabulous draws for prizes throughout the show floor.
Scott McGillivray, host of HGTV series Income Property, will be presenting in the Convention Centre Theatre at 1 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $20 plus agency fee and include admission to the Home Expressions show. General admission to Home Expressions is $12 plus Ticketmaster agency fee.
Other show features include a draw for a grand prize valued at almost $12,000, donated by LCL Spas, Barkman and St. Mary's Nursery. All ticket proceeds go to Special Olympics Manitoba. Be sure to visit the booth of the Winnipeg Realtors and Manitoba Real Estate Association, our presenting sponsors. The Buy Manitoba Market is another new feature this year.
This is the perfect weekend for home planning. It's the last weekend of the always popular Spring Parade of Homes and the Home Expressions Home and Garden Show.
If you're looking for a new home and need to complement it with indoor and outdoor features or upgrading your current home, this weekend will have all the answers to your questions.
Mike Moore is president of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association.
New Homes
Getting out... and going in
Last year, the landscape surrounding show homes during the Spring 2014 Parade of Homes looked like a winter-bound scene from the movie Frozen.
Fast forward to the Spring 2015 Parade of Homes, and -- thanks to an early spring -- the scene has been markedly different, said Mike Moore, president of The Manitoba Home Builders Association.
"Last year, it was minus 45 Celsius with the wind chill on opening day," he said. "This year, it was five degrees. The outstanding weather has brought people out this year, which has made for a great Parade."
Huntington Homes' Rob Swan echoed Moore's sentiments.
"Last year, the people who actually had the courage to brave the snow and sub-zero temperatures were grumbling about the weather. This year the good weather has people smiling and talking about golf and tennis. Most important, they're motivated to buy. I guess you could say the good weather, along with low interest rates, has brought everyone out of hibernation."
Hilton Homes' Spencer Curtis said it's literally been night and day comparing last year's Spring Parade to the 2015 edition.
"It's been fantastic -- there's been a big bump in traffic (compared to 2014). Weekends have been really busy, and even weekday traffic has been good."
Artista Homes' sales representative, Jennifer Gulay of Royal LePage Alliance, agreed.
"I think the biggest improvement over last year is the fact that we've been quite busy during the week," she said. "Weekends have been really busy, which is great. At the same time, people have been coming out during the week in good numbers, and in a good mood. It's so much easier to be enthusiastic when the weather's good."
Curtis added that the warm weather has allowed prospective buyers to discover that builders - as per usual - have been doing their best to design homes that will accommodate a wide range of needs and tastes.
"I think there are 130-plus entries this year," he said. "There are all sorts of price ranges, and a wide range of completely different offerings from single family homes, to duplexes, to condominiums. All the different builders have done a great job of designing innovative, well-built and affordable homes. There's a great breadth of offerings; that's great news for buyers."
RE/MAX Performance Realty's Rob Hutchison, sales representative for A & S Homes, concurred.
"There's everything from affordable 1,200 sq. ft bungalows to huge, luxuriously-appointed million dollar designs," he said. "Besides the good weather -- traffic has been very steady -- I think the key to the good turn-out is the fact that builders have really responded to the public's feedback. If you're looking for a new home, there's sure to be a design out there that meets all your wishes and desires."
Moore, said builders -- there are 34 of them entered in this year's Spring Parade -- are always thinking about how they can design the best possible homes for consumers.
"As an association, we take great pride in saying that Manitoba new homes are the best-built homes in the country," he said. "Our builders want to ensure you're matched with the home that's perfect for your life situation, and family, for years to come. We believe that this year's selection of new homes offers a selection of designs and locations that, more than ever, meets a wide range of needs."
Swan said developers also deserve credit for the Spring Parade's success.
"All the new communities in and around the city are absolutely fantastic in their design," he said. "They're so well-thought-out that buyers are now able to find a neighbourhood that's perfect for them exactly where they want to live. It's our job as builders to fill out those communities with equally fantastic designs, and I think everyone has. Everyone from builders to consumers is motivated and excited. That's great to see."
lewys@mymts.net
New Homes
Closed concept
As a home builder, it can be difficult to be daringly different with home designs.
Why? Because the homebuilding industry is driven by trends that include open-concept great rooms. Most homes on the market today, for better or for worse, are centred around wide-open great rooms.
Thankfully, there's the occasional design that dares to be different. Phil Mosher, a sales representative with Maric Homes, said 43 Borealis Bay is one such home.
"This is a really neat home," he said. "Each space is defined, yet you're not walled in, by any stretch of the imagination. It's a home with a layout that gives you the best of both worlds -- definition and excellent flow between spaces. I've been in the real estate business for over 20 years, and this is one of the best, most innovative designs I've seen."
The key to the design of 43 Borealis is Maric's design team thought outside the box.
Case in point is the home's hub, a.k.a. the great room. Whereas most great rooms might be divided up into three areas, the great room in 43 Borealis is divided neatly into five distinct areas: a computer nook off the kitchen, the island kitchen itself, an informal dining area, a living room and a library.
"There's a designated area for everything -- the study area, island kitchen and (huge) informal dining area are all distinct spaces, but open onto each other for easy access," said Mosher. "At the same time, there's lots of light. The computer nook is next to two windows and patio doors that lead to a covered deck, and the dining area has three large windows behind it."
Instead of being open to each other, the kitchen/dining area and family room are neatly separated by a gorgeous, maple-trimmed (beige) tile wall that houses a TV and three-sided fireplace; entrances on either side provide seamless access to the family room and library.
Like the kitchen, the family room's rear wall is filled with a glass, making for a bright space that's also privy to a wetland view.
"Every space is filled with light, and the attention to detail is absolutely incredible," Mosher said. "I love the movable TV niche, which allows you to rotate the TV to face either the kitchen or family room -- it's a neat feature that allows you to watch TV no matter where you are in the great room."
He added the finishing materials are also second to none.
"As is always the case with Maric designs, the woodwork is just gorgeous -- the baseboards, door trim, window sills and doors," Mosher said. "More than that, the other materials -- taupe (heated) tile floor in the kitchen (and foyer), cream quartz countertops, brown cabinets (with white cabinets above the stove for contrast) and taupe tile backsplash -- make for a rich, warm interior feel that goes through every space."
Flow from the family room into the library -- which is smartly separated from the family room by three stylish pillars and features walls lined with rich maple shelving -- and into the foyer is seamless.
For added convenience, a large mudroom/laundry room and handy powder room are placed to the left of the foyer.
"The layout is as the same quality as the home's finishing quality," said Mosher. "Everything is exactly where it should be."
Meanwhile, heading upstairs is a pleasure thanks to a beautiful maple staircase with tempered-glass inserts; light flows freely through the glass, while the stain and routered details on the railing are something to behold.
The same could be said for the upper level, which is laid out around a T-shaped landing.
"One of the first things you notice is all the light that pours in from two windows set up high over the foyer," he said. "It's a super floor plan that makes the most of the available space, with one bedroom to the left of the stairwell, a four-piece bath in the centre and another big bedroom to the right."
As it should be, the upper level's final space, the solarium, is its unquestioned centrepiece.
"It's absolutely filled with light -- there are three windows on its rear wall and two windows plus patio door on its front wall; that patio door leads to your own private deck. The bedroom is huge, with loads of space for a big bed and furniture, plus a sitting area next to the patio door."
The ensuite isn't too shabby either, said Mosher.
"With its tempered-glass, barn-door-style entrance, heated taupe tile floor, tempered-glass shower enclosure and a bubble jet soaker tub tucked away neatly to the rear of the ensuite in a tile niche with maple trim, it's a space made for relaxation," he said.
Relaxation is also the theme downstairs in the walkout basement. Like the main floor, it's bright, warm and neatly segmented. On one side is a games area, play area and media area bathed in light from three windows; on the other is an exercise room off a brief hallway that also contains a four-piece bath and a huge, fourth bedroom with walk-in closet.
"Add in the lower level, and you have a beautiful, functional home that offers over 3,500 square feet of total living space," Mosher said. "Maric really knocked it out of the park with this design, from top to bottom."
lewys@mts.net
