STARS LOTTERY
Fundraiser prize a beauty
Dream homes in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Kelowna are just four of the 2,500 prizes to be won in the 2021 STARS Lottery, on now until March 18.
This year, tickets are being sold online for the 38th edition of the lottery, which raises $11 million to help fund STARS air ambulance bases in Alberta. With COVID -19 impacting fundraising events, this year's lottery is critical.
“We really want to thank our supporters who continue to be there for us and our patients. It is because of them that we can bring our flying intensive care unit to people having what could be the worst day of their lives,” says STARS communication lead Tammy Yamkowy.
The Calgary dream home is a $1.194 million home built by Trico Homes in Legacy Woods, a Westcreek Developments community in the southeast. The 3,578-square-foot, two-storey home with a triple-car garage is the Cambridge floor plan.
“Our team is extremely proud to design and build the Calgary STARS Lottery Home for the fourth straight year. At Trico, we bring our best to every community we live and work in and we are honoured to help support STARS Air Ambulance and the critical life-saving work they do,” says Wanda Palmer, Trico vice-president of marketing.
The lottery home at 42 Legacy Woods Circle S.E. is closed because of pandemic, but the public can “walk through” all three floors by virtual 3D tour.
Trico show home design co-ordinator Tara Pallay says that as a lottery home, she wanted to do something that would get people's attention.
“We took COVID -19 into consideration and what that has meant for people's lifestyles,” she says.
That meant creating study spaces in the children's bedrooms and turning the main floor flex space into a home office. The office is behind glass so parents can shut out noise while still keeping an eye on activity in the house.
The bright kitchen boasts a quartz island, a butler's pantry and, because more people are adopting pets lately, the large mud room has a dog washing station.
“The idea was that a future homeowner could build a dog run off the mud room door,” she says.
The basement has a home gym, also behind a glass wall, another full bathroom, an electric fireplace with a cosy TV viewing area and wet bar/small kitchen with a wine fridge, dishwasher, sink and barheight table.
“This is a real hang out space for the whole family. We wanted to have big, comfy loungers, bean bag chairs so the family can watch a movie, with a round table for board games and puzzles,” she says.
Pallay also created a private “away” play space — a child-height cupboard under the stairs — for little ones to enjoy.
The second floor has a generous bonus room with an inviting sectional couch — another family gathering spot — plus three bedrooms and two full baths, both with handy dual sinks. The tub in the main bathroom is in its own room, an optional feature in most Trico homes, space permitting.
Pallay chose lighter colours for the wide-plank luxury vinyl flooring, the carpets and the walls but went with dramatic, on-trend black trim throughout the home and installed a combination of black and gold plumbing and lighting fixtures. Combined with softer modern elements of natural stone, velvet upholstery, grass cloth wallpaper, the Cambridge is a contemporary home that still feels warm and livable, she says.