Builders dare to DREAM
Companies pull out all stops for luxury home tour
Homebuilder Shelly McSparrin poured her and colleagues’ own dreams, for a change, into 14908 Cascade Drive.
“What was fun for us was working to bring our own vision to life,” she said of her company Integrity Fine Homes’ entry in the Street of Dreams home tour, which goes through Oct. 28 in The Falls addition, southeast of NE 150 and Post Road.
“Usually we’re working with somebody else’s vision, so this was fun,” McSparrin said, noting that she uses some elements of the design in other homes for a reason.
“I just love the way it flows,” she said, sweeping a hand toward the curved staircase and the living room beyond it. “And this design works for all kinds of families, from those with young children to empty-nesters.”
Moving into the living room, it becomes obvious why the Street of Dreams dubs this house “The Lakeside Oasis.” Immense windows frame a view of the neighborhood lake, fountain splattering in the middle and greenery all around.
“We probably have the best lot in the place,” she said.
Integrity Fine Homes, where McSparrin is
president, has one of eight luxury homes featured on the Street of Dreams, organized by Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association, from 1 to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 28.
Tickets are $20 in advance at www.street ofdreamsok.com, or at Harry’s TV, Video and Appliance, 11110 N Pennsylvania Ave. Tickets are $25 at the gate. Children 12 and under admitted free.
Twenty percent of proceeds go to the Children’s Hospital Foundation. Sponsors are Pella Windows & Doors of Oklahoma and Harry’s TV, Video and Appliance.
Lakeside living
The Falls is a new neighborhood by Caleb McCaleb and Jeff VanHoose in northeast Oklahoma City. Nestled among old-growth trees and rolling land near Arcadia Lake, The Falls addition offers a scenic backdrop for builders and the homes they create.
For McSparrin, this meant taking every advantage of the lakeside views.
“Look at this,” she said, walking into the master bedroom, which also overlooks the lake and opens out on the patio that spans the back of the house. “We put in retractable screens, so you can lower one out there on the patio to give this area (by the master bedroom) some privacy.”
The house is listed for $1,350,000 with four bedrooms, four full baths and one halfbath. It offers 4,602 square feet of space, plus another 1,000 square feet of heated and cooled patio space.
The patio magic comes through her husband, Mike McSparrin, owner of Phantom Screens of Oklahoma, who helped engineer and install retractable screens that can be raised and lowered via a smartphone app.
One screen walls off the master bedroom area. Two others are installed across the back of the patio — one seals out the elements and cuts down glare, and the other is a mesh that lets through air but keeps out insects.
Two rooms upstairs open out onto a covered deck, which utilizes the patio roof with wooden floorboards and has its own stunning lakeside view. One is a luxury theater room, deeply carpeted with a backlit screen dominating one wall.
The builder said she put that room into expert hands to ensure quality.
“They tell me that’s the best on the market,” she said, indicating the screen on the wall.
She worked hidden surprises into the design, as well. Push a panel in a downstairs office just right, and it opens up, revealing a passage into the master suite. A wine rack near the kitchen opens up, too, allowing access to understair storage.
A Vortex Vault dominates a bedroom across the way. The removable shelter is designed to replace the box springs and frame of a typical bed. It can be raised to form a full-out shelter or, when lowered into its normal position, is still big enough to act as panic room.
The vault comes with the home if the new homeowners want it. “It has a lot of uses,” McSparrin said. “But if they don’t want it, we’ll pull it out.”
Other builders featured on the Street of Dreams are Adams Kirby Homes, Gibbs & Hancock Luxury Estates, MassaRossa Luxury Homes, Matteson Custom Homes, McCaleb Homes, Ripple Creek Homes and Tim Hughes Custom Homes.