ENTERTAINING IN STYLE
The Hawthorne's formal dining room an elegant space to gather with family and friends
Families who entertain regularly can feel that the conventional dining nook found in some homes falls short of the mark.
Nobody wants to be crammed in a space well beyond its capacity, trying to relax and socialize while dining. Those experiences are memorable for the wrong reasons.
In the Hawthorne by Excel Homes, these experiences take a different turn, thanks to its elegant formal dining room. This model is 2,568 square feet and now presented as a show home in northwest Calgary's Livingston community.
While its sunny rear-facing nook can support many types of occasions, the central dining room is where much of the family's most important hosting will happen. Facing stairs to the second level, the dining area is staged in the show home with a table for six people.
Wallpaper used in the show home's dining room differentiates it from other parts of the main level, and elevates its visual interest.
The nook is staged with a table for four and connects to the adjacent great room and kitchen through an open-concept design. The kitchen, too, has seating for guests, in the form of three chairs at the kitchen island's eating bar.
Everyone has their spot, meaning there is no need to awkwardly squeeze a stool between two guests at the corner of a table.
There are two cooking spaces in this home. One is the aforementioned conventional kitchen, which boasts an L-shaped design, and the other is a spice kitchen.
This is an enclosed area with an oven, cabinets and a sink, largely intended to restrict the spread of food-based aromas to other ends of the main floor.
Further to the idea of entertaining, it also supplies the domestic chef with additional cooking capacity. Moreover, this is a useful space for tucking away the inevitable mess that comes with preparing a big meal while guests are over.
The primary kitchen is shown with stainless steel appliances such as a wall oven, fridge with french doors and chimney-style hoodfan.
People who work from home are set up for privacy. Just off the dining room, a flex room is closed off by double doors. It is demonstrated as an office, but can take many different forms, depending on the household's needs.
On the second level, all bedrooms have a walk-in closet and two of them have an ensuite. Both secondary bedrooms are equipped to support the needs of the children of the family for the long haul.
The largest secondary bedroom measures 13 feet 11 inches by 10 ft three inches. The bedroom next to it features windows on multiple walls helping fill the space with natural light.
There is a full bathroom near these bedrooms featuring a vanity with two sinks beneath a fullwidth mirror. This lets more than one person use this space at the same time.
The same concept is used in the master ensuite. Its other high notes include a soaker tub and shower with full-height tile along with a black framed glass door.
The master closet is rectangle-shaped and generously proportioned.
Dividing the master from the secondary bedrooms is a central bonus room featuring an eye-catching angled ceiling design.