An oasis of taste

When it comes to real estate, money can buy a lot of things, including acreage, views, corner lots and square feet. Having walked through a wide variety of homes in my line of work, I've seen some that are no more than a combination of those parts: four walls, location and XYZ square feet.

But one thing that money can't buy, even in high-caliber real estate, is exquisite taste, something that this 2007-built home radiates. Located in the Northern Colorado Springs Cordera neighborhood, the six-bedroom, four-bath home is listed for $550,000 by Wendy Crawford of Keller Williams Real Estate.

Perhaps jadedly, I expected such a recently built house to still retain that sterile yet crisp new-home smell and lack of personality. But past the earthy yellow stucco and stacked stone columns of the exterior, I was pleasantly surprised by the home's contemporary and tasteful - yet far-from-bland - style.

"They have very good taste," admits Crawford, pointing out the warm mocha walls throughout most of the house, the striking highlight walls of red and green, and the sellers' awe-inspiring art collection. "Very," she repeats.

The cozy formal living room features upgraded cocoa-colored carpet, while hardwood fills the formal dining room and stretches toward the main level's focal point: the great room.

Guests are confronted by a sunny wall of windows, flanked on one side by a stacked-stone fireplace and built-in niches. An informal eating area sits adjacent to a walk-out door to the backyard, and the room is capped by the stunning island kitchen.

"The kitchen has a lot of upgrades: the granite, the stainless-steel appliances, the six-burner stove. The vent is something a professional would use," says Crawford.

To draw attention to the sellers' phenomenal style once again, she points out the custom maple cabinets, which feature lighting underneath, crown molding on top and intentionally have no cabinet pulls. "They're in keeping with the contemporary design, very clean," she says.

The floor plan is open and designed for how people live, and includes a dedicated study accessed by a glass door and a main-level laundry room, which opens to the oversized, three-car, side-load garage. Both this utilitarian functionality and the exquisite design continue on the upper level.

Here, that fabulous cocoa-colored carpet, which includes a small pattern, flows up the stairs and into three secondary bedrooms perfect for children or guests. All are bright and spacious, with ample closet space, and share a full bath with a separate area for the shower-tub combination.

The contemporary colors and clean lines of the home are still evident in these more private spaces, which are punctuated by ever more artwork, revealing just how rich and fabulous even a child's room can be.

The jewel of the crown, as it should be, is the master suite, a 16-by-18-foot getaway with a vaulted ceiling, a great walk-in closet and a five-piece bath. The latter offers a soaking tub flanked by separate vanities and a walk-in shower with a bench.

"In this price range, you have to have a five-piece bath, and the split vanities are a really nice touch," Crawford notes.

The finished basement is where the home really grows in square feet, with two additional bedrooms, a full bath and a huge recreation room.

"Bring a projector, plug it in and your theater room is ready," says Crawford, who explains the room is wired and ready for a home theater system as well as a wet bar.

She loves the space the home offers (all 4,301 square feet of it), explaining, "It's bigger than most that have been selling recently or that the builder has been building. There's not a lot of six-bedroom home with offices on the market."

The last treat the home has in store lies in the great outdoors. The fenced backyard - which includes a concrete patio and manicured, if young, landscaping - could be the owners' private space, just for family or for entertaining. "They spent $26,000 in landscaping," Crawford explains.

But the public outdoor spaces are great getaways, too. "They have multiple parks throughout the neighborhood with different themes," she says - the nearest is farm-themed, with lots of barn animals. Chinook Trail Elementary School and the Cordera Clubhouse are also new additions, making the new community more active and vital.

"It's geared very much towards families (and) executives with the school in the neighborhood, the parks and the new clubhouse, which is great," she says. "Cordera is a new and up-and-coming neighborhood. If you want a new home in (School) District 20, you come here."

But Crawford also believes in the attraction of this particular home, as opposed to any of the other offerings in the area.

In order to build a similar, custom home, buyers would need to start with a blank slate, picking upgrades, choosing color schemes, planting the landscaping.

"To get something similar, you pay a lot of the extras. Here, the extras are done, like the landscaping and the upgrades. It's turn key," she says. "You can get a cheaper home with no landscaping and an unfinished basement, but then you'll have to write a check for that later."

Besides, sometimes we all need someone with an eye for design and incredible taste to pick out those extras and upgrades for us, especially if we want a finished product that feels this rich and pulled together. Like a fine glass of wine, the home's contemporary design pleases the senses, leaving them feeling pampered, relaxed and indulged. 

OPEN HOUSE
9345 Rock Pond Way
1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 5-6
Wendy Crawford
Keller Williams Real Estate

719-337-0021