A GRAND SPACE FOR MAKING MUSIC
Place for the piano a key to couple’s choice of Lexie Corner plan in new Southwinds home
Factoring in the placement of couches, chairs and other common furniture is one thing, but when a grand piano is involved, finding the right space is even more key.
It’s one of the reasons Lisle and Alexandra Massey, a couple in their 20s, picked the Lexie Corner floor plan through Mattamy Homes. The young couple bought the home in Southwinds, a master-planned community on the southwest end of Airdrie, which is developed by Mattamy.
The company builds all homes in the communities it develops, which in the Calgary area, also includes Cityscape in the northeast and Carrington in the northwest.
Alexandra learned how to play piano at an early age and taught lessons through both high school and university. She’s always wanted a grand piano of her own, so the couple decided they’d buy one for their new home.
To do that, the couple kept their eye out for the right fit.
“That is one thing we considered,” says Lisle.
“It was make it or break when we were looking at certain places.”
The Lexie Corner’s 12 foot 10 inch by 17 foot six inch great room worked nicely. Mattamy has a show home of the floor plan in Cityscape, a community in northeast Calgary accessed off Metis Trail. Before deciding to buy, the couple explored the show home, giving them a good “feel for the space,” says Lisle.
Beyond a place for the piano, the Lexie Corner provides other qualities in line with what the couple was looking for.
“We wanted an attached garage that fit both our vehicles, a larger master bedroom so that it felt a lot more comfortable, with a living room and dining room that it was pretty much wide open,” Lisle says. “We got all of those things.”
Reaching 14 feet by 17 feet six inches, the master bedroom’s dimensions eclipse what’s typically seen in a move-up home.
“The master bedroom is the surprise jewel in the home because of its size,” says Warren Saunders, Mattamy’s vice-president of sales and marketing. “It’s a bonus to that plan.”
The home’s natural light was a bright spot for the couple, as well.
“Something we noticed was that there are heaps of windows, not only in the great room but in the master bedroom,” says Lisle. “Even in the other rooms, the windows were taller.”
The homes on corner lots in Mat- tamy’s communities are designed specifically for the home sites they sit on.
“What this allows us to do is properly create architecture that is integrated into the home and suits the view of the lot,” says Saunders. “So you get expansive windows ... and you get living spaces that are able to take advantage of those windows.”
Lisle and Alexandra recently moved back from a year of living in Australia. They were both raised in Airdrie — and more importantly, have family there — so when they were looking to buy a new home, the small city just north of Calgary was at the top of their list.
After a relative moved to Southwinds and was pleased with the experience, the couple decided to see if it was right for them.
Southwinds, expected to build out to 1,145 homes, led all communities in Airdrie in both population growth and new dwellings last year, according to the city’s last census.
The homes available in Southwinds include single- family homes on 40- foot-wide lots from $425,990 and single-family homes on 31-foot-wide lots from $361,990, along with village townhomes from $250,990.
On 40- foot-wide lots, these homes range from 1,862 to 2,769 square feet and on the 31-foot options they range from 1.478 to 2,155 square feet. The townhomes are 1,157 to 1,525 square feet.
There are four floor plans cur-
rently displayed as show homes, including the Garnet, Vintage, Ruby, and Kingsley Corner.
One of the reasons the Masseys chose Southwinds was its location. They both commute to Calgary for work and were fans of how easily the community allowed them to be on Highway 2 heading south, says Lisle.
They were also pleased with the green space in Southwinds and the neighbouring community of Windsong. Both Lisle and Alexandra play slo-pitch and have used the community’s open spaces to practise by throwing the ball around.
“Southwinds is really taking shape, in terms of the look and feel of the community and some of the amenities that are already in place,” says Saunders.
He also points to the appeal of Southwinds’ proximity to a large new commercial complex in nearby Cooper’s Crossing, and a school in Windsong for students from kindergarten to Grade 7 that opened this past autumn.
“It is a family destination community and has all the components in place for people to really see themselves living there,” Saunders says.