Page 74 - 03-May-2024

— front-entrance atrium. “I use their atrium as an example now whenever
I talk to new clients,” Soneff explains. “There are always the standard questions,
like ‘How many bedrooms do you want? Do you have a dog?’ But then I say, ‘What do you want to do more of in your life? What are your hobbies? And how can we make it easier for you to do that every single day?’ So obviously, for [Roettger], it was: Let’s make it so that he can kill plants!”
“It’s cold out, and they’re dormant,” Roettger retorts. But Soneff ’s point remains that in a custom build, “each square foot does something” — which in this home means no hallways. The closest thing to an empty walkway is the space between Roettger’s main-floor bedroom and the interior kitchen wall, which only exists on Roettger’s request because “I cook a lot and we have people over often, and I don’t like the mess being where everyone is enjoying themselves.”
Carr’s bedroom is upstairs, above the split-level landing, steps away from the cozy TV room (it heats up quick with the sliding door closed), open-air office, and without a hallway in sight. The basement has no hallways either (stairs don’t count) and is really another series of well-thought-out, separate spaces: a
projection TV room, spare bedroom, cold storage, a workout room and the craft shop, which is lit by oversized windows with plant-filled sills, and whose ownership is not currently up for debate.
“It’s mostly [Roettger’s],” Carr concedes. “I do design and build stuff for work,
so when I get home I’m like, ugh, I just wanna play video games. So it’s mostly his quilting studio for now, but we’ll see what the next hobby is.”
“Printmaking, eventually,” Roettger offers.
And that’s the beauty of working with a custom builder: making space to do what you want, whatever that ends up being. You can make a spec-for-sale home your own, once you’re in it. But customizing the bones and body of a house exactly how you want takes it from something personal to something intimate, like your own lived-in piece of art.
“I approached the house the same way I approach my tattoos,” Carr says. “I’ve learned now, from my tattoo experience, that when I find a design style I like, I don’t go to a tattoo artist and say, ‘Do this design style,’ because you’re not gonna get quite what you want. What you’ve got to do is find a tattoo artist who already does this style, and go to that artist.” ED.
74 EDify. MAY.24
earls • opa! of greece • su • cedar sweet treats • tac ons • hap’s hungry house ma • pampa brazilian ste baekjeong korean bbq h hef tony dim sum & chi
hettinad aachy’s dosa & starbucks • second cup • carl’s jr. • dairy queen • li
red lobster • tb’s pub • t • a food fair • cafe rista • • fuzion donuts • leopar
ure by grow • ch. cafete el corazon • mary browns mom’s donair • mucho bu ress’d sandwiches • rick quare 1 coffee • best dona
pizza • bucas & pastas • azoku ramen • king of ta
subs & wraps • bangkok celebrate gluten free • ch
he chopped leaf • hot wo ant • joey mayfield • lava namaste india restaurant
pho binh vietnamese res tasty tomato • zula kitch
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