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Serenity captures grandeur of bygone era
Marty Hope
Calgary Herald
April 9, 2005
The exterior of the Serenity looks like it might have been pulled from a Hollywood scrapbook circa 1930s.
With acrylic stucco, Stonetile, turrets, patterned concrete courtyard and triple driveway, and full-width second-floor balcony, it has that palatial look synonymous with Tinseltown of that era.
The interior of this $1.7-million show home in Aspen Estates by Custom Homes by Corey is another story.
Company owners Larry and Leslie Stadnick couldn't nail down a look. There is some retro, some modern touches of art deco and some contemporary. One of their suppliers suggested "practical contemporary."
But whatever the look, it's unique and impressive.
In all, the home covers 6,000 square feet with walkout development. It has six bedrooms, six baths, seven television screens, four fireplaces, heated tile floors, and 17 thermostats used to control temperatures in various areas of the home.
"I designed this so that every room would have a feature all its own," says Leslie, who designed the interior. Wherever there are mirrors, most are sculptured, and ceilings are either coffered or have shaped bulkheads and dropped areas.
Natural-stained maple is the flooring of choice, although it is blended with sculptured carpet on the second floor. Cherry is used for the custom-designed furnishings by Bracko Bros. and on all other woodwork. Countertops are in various colours of granite.
Closing the alder front door, visitors are standing in a 19-foot-high foyer with a waterfall feature on one wall. On the other side is a den/office with heavily coffered ceiling behind a pair of French doors.
Next is a powder room and beside that is the formal dining room with step-ladder shelving. back to top
There are no walls to define the kitchen. Food preparation, socializing and snacking is done around a huge semi-circular island that holds a couple of pullout, portable butcher block carts. There is seating easily for six and standing room for just as many around this cherry and glass island that also holds a dishwasher, trash compactor and wine fridge.
At the open end of the semi-circle, a wall with full-height stainless steel backsplash holds the cooktop, microwave, and double ovens and a small sliding hatchway to transfer food and refreshments to and from a butler's pantry. Cherry cabinets hang from the ceiling on stainless steel rods above twin sinks. A horseshoe-shaped bulkhead ceiling traces the shape of the island.
The great room is dominated by a gas fireplace that tapers from floor to ceiling on a window wall. A doorway leads to a future patio. A nook is adjacent to the kitchen island.
Behind the nook wall, a hallway leads to the laundry area, fully outfitted nanny suite and a private entrance.
At the top of the carpeted stairway with maple landings is a large lounge with sculptured carpet inlaid into a maple floor and wrapped with a railing of cherry, glass and aluminum. The lounge is open to the foyer below. back to top
A turreted bedroom to the right has its own bath with stall shower. Across the lounge, two other bedrooms are connected by a jack-and-jill bathroom. Like all baths in the home, this has a cherry vanity with granite top and tile floor.
At the far end of the lounge, beyond a sitting area, a pair of French doors open to the master bedroom and ensuite. The bedroom area has a sitting area, fireplace with TV niche, and doors to the front balcony.
Behind the bedroom is a semi-circular ensuite.
"This whole ensuite is his and hers," says Larry Stadnick. The custom shower has two separate shower towers with separate heat controls. There are two vanities, and two walk-in closets. The bathtub has a waterfall filler and there is a combination bidet/toilet area.
The walkout level has one bedroom, a cardroom area with fireplace, full bath tucked behind the large wet bar, a fitness room with both a mirrored wall and a water wall, and a theatre room with two levels of seating and cabinetry with a celluloid pattern etched into them. The 68-inch screen was created from special paints applied directly onto the wall.
In Short:
BUILDER: Custom Homes by Corey.
DEVELOPER: QuinnCorp Holdings.
AREA: Aspen Estates, in southwest Calgary.
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