Builder's showcase: Dream-home wishes

Pardee Homes is nearing completion of the Ultimate Family Home, a showcase residence being built for the 2004 International Builders Show in Las Vegas in January.

The 5,300-square-foot Spanish-style residence is located within the builder's Nevada Trails community in the southwestern valley.

"Families will marvel at the practicality, flexibility, character and charm of this home," said Joyce Mason, vice president of marketing for Pardee. "When planning this home, we invited families, including several children, to share their ultimate dream-home wishes with us and we've incorporated many of those wishes -- some realistic and others that were far out -- into the Ultimate Family Home. The end result is a home that is a great example of how families want to live."

California-based Color Design Art applied the focus group information and helped create some of the concepts that are part of the home.

"One of our favorite aspects of the Ultimate Family Home is its innovative home center, which serves as `Grand Central Station' with computer stations and plenty of space for homework, organizing and handling family activities and finances," company executive Susan Drews said. "Downstairs, a project table provides ample space for family projects -- scrapbooking, working on school assignments, family matches of Monopoly -- all in an area that is convenient yet out of the way."

Other elements include a tower loft that is a hideaway for kids to play video and board games, and an extended kitchen that provides a second dishwasher and microwave in addition to an area for kids to prepare snacks.

"Over and over, we heard families telling us they want a home that was convenient and practical while expressing the unique individuality of each family member," Drews said. "That is why there is a secret hideaway where kids can escape, a workshop with 42-inch plasma TV and stereo system, as well as a `mud room' where each child has their own space to store stuff such as roller blades. There's even a special place for the family pet."

The residence is a Zero Energy Home, meaning it is designed to produce as much electricity as it will use, according to Mason. It will do that by producing electricity from photovoltaic cells; using energy-saving appliances; and reducing energy loss with airtight ductwork, low-e windows and deep eaves.

Additional energy-saving highlights include tankless water heaters that deliver solar hot water on demand, but not until it is needed, and high-efficacy fluorescent and halogen lighting which help reduce cooling needs by significantly reducing the amount of heat generated by lighting.

The construction and design team behind the Ultimate Family Home includes Pardee Homes, Builder Magazine, Home Magazine, Bassenian & Lagoni Architects, Color Design Art, ConSol Energy Consultants and Lifescapes International.

The project also involves 35 national sponsors, including Best Buy, Kohler, Pella Windows, General Electric, Weyerhaeuser Truss Joist and Weyerhaeuser Lumber, Boral Bricks, U.S. Tile, Georgia Pacific, Sherwin-Williams, Summit Door, Timberlake Cabinets, AstroPower and La Habra Stucco.

Nevada Trails is planned to include more than 20 acres of walking paths and parks. To visit, take Interstate 215 to Rainbow Boulevard, go a mile south to Robindale Road and turn right.

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