Modern and efficient building techniques and materials combine beautifully with old-fashioned coziness in a recent home built by Altair Homes in the East Mountains.
Comfort takes priority in the platinum-level LEED-certified home built for private clients by Altair Homes owners Mitch and Terri Yoakum. Designed for an empty-nester couple scaling down in home size and maintenance responsibilities, the 2,505-square-foot custom home was a Buyer’s Choice winner in its price category in the annual home parade sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico last fall.
It should also put to rest homebuyers’ indecision about blending contemporary building materials and cherished collectibles picked up over the years. The Yoakums worked hand-in-hand with the new owners to create spaces for antique furnishings making the move to the new house.
 |
||
|
Price: This 2,505-square-foot home is not for sale. A similar home on developed land would start at $150 per square foot depending on products, upgrades and amenities. CUSTOM FEATURES: Two fireplaces 4-kilowatt solar system tied to PNM grid Soapstone countertops Large laundry room and adjacent pantry Compact florescent lighting Energy Star appliances Porcelain tile floors Skylights and solar tubes HEATING/COOLING: Radiant in-floor with high efficiency boiler/Evaporative cooling INSULATION VALUES: Spray foam insulation in attic not converted to R value, R-29 in the walls |
|
|
While the owners were making their interior selections, the builder was finalizing the mechanics of a 4-kilowatt photovoltaic system (tied to the utility grid) to provide most of the home’s electricity. Surplus electricity is being sold back to PNM. Other rooftop-mounted solar panels preheat the home’s domestic water and boost the efficiency of an in-floor radiant heating system.
“You can define a personality as you go through this house,” said Mitch Yoakum. “There’s more than “green” going on. There’s a whole lifestyle.”
Adds Terri, “So many people think you need all-new furniture for a new house, but the owners have kept it very simple here and it works.”
The show-stopper in the large, entertaining-friendly kitchen, for example, is a gleaming white refurbished 1926 Magic Chef oven and range. The 86-year-old appliance is the centerpiece of a country-style kitchen with white-painted cabinets, a white enamel farm sink, and other antiques that serve a purpose as well as looking simply grand. There’s the 1940s Hoosier-style kitchen cabinet used for storage. Seeded glass cabinet fronts provide glimpses of kitchen collectibles ranging from old cookie jars to cookbooks.
Make no mistake, however. This is also a thoroughly modern kitchen with lovely durable soapstone counters, a porcelain tile floor and a walk-in pantry with a work counter for small appliances. An abundance of natural lighting flows in from skylights and solar tubes. A bar-style counter encourages guests to sit and visit or help out while meals are being prepared.
Distinctive right down to the interior wisteria paint color, this home has an open floor plan enhanced by 12-foot vaulted ceilings. With the eye of a designer who attended both architectural and art schools, Yoakum brings his insight to original home designs honed during 32 years of residential design/build experience. This is his first LEED-certified home, but he has built to other strict green standards for many years.
If pressed, Altair Homes calls this a “northern New Mexico”-style home. The single-level home, built on the meadow portion of a 7-acre tract in the East Mountains, brings inside the outdoor environment with patios or covered portales on three sides of the home. Another first for Altair Homes was the construction of an outdoor Argentinean cooking grill known as a parrilla.
With its open floor plan, the four-bedroom home combines kitchen, living room and dining area, while still maintaining the integrity of individual spaces through the use of half-walls. With its wide walkways and clutter-free style, the home also picks up many elements of universal design in which the concept of aging-in-place is a priority.
Old and new meld in the bathrooms, as well. An antique vanity has been altered to hold the sink, while heated bubbles gurgle up from the base of a very modern tub.
An underground cistern can hold 3,000 gallons of rainwater runoff to be used for landscaping purposes.
“We feel that with the way the economics have been changing in the building industry that this is the future of the ‘boomer’ home,” said Yoakum. “Buyers want a home that is environmentally sound and low maintenance.”
Altair Homes can be reached at 797-2111 or 459-5782. The website is www.altairhomes.com.
