The porch was what attracted me to the Parker XL model at Tanna, the new neighborhood at Mill Creek in Geneva, but after touring the model home I was even more impressed with the amount of closet space.
Closets are one of those hard-to-describe areas of new homes. I have an editor who has asked me to please find something more descriptive, more compelling than the words small, large or big to describe such spaces.
She is right, of course. But what constitutes adequate, handsome or stingy storage is highly personal and thus destined to be somewhat imprecise.
Builders don’t make it easy to get a handle on these important behind-the-scenes rooms. Dimensions are rarely, if ever, listed for clothes closets, linen closets, pantries and other storage areas on the floor plans in the buyer information provided for new homes. Salespeople often do not know–or do not care to know–perhaps preferring not to dispel an eager buyer’s illusions.
I have seen whole rooms in million-dollar houses dedicated to the hanging and storage of not-in-use clothing. It is always alluring if sometimes ostentatious and over-the-top. But the 6-by-13-foot master closet in the Parker model–I know those numbers thanks to sales manager Cynthia Johnson, who checked the blueprints for me–is generous for a 2,705-square-foot home with a base price (depending upon lot size and elevation) of $334,000.
And there were real walk-in closets for all three secondary bedrooms as well.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
The Parker XL–a name reminiscent of a new model car–is one of 10 floor plans, including a recently-added ranch style, available at Tanna, the 16th neighborhood to be built at Mill Creek.
Mill Creek is a master-planned golf community and one of the largest residential projects to date in Kane County. It has two public golf courses, 127 acres of wetlands, 195 acres of parks and miles of nature and bike trails as well as 2,000 houses and townhouses.
The development has won praise for enlightened water recycling, with a base water treatment plant that captures and purifies it to irrigate lawns and golf courses.
The Tanna neighborhood will be on a 214-acre parcel adjacent to the existing Tanna Farms Golf Club, a nine-hole public course that developer Shodeen Homes is expanding to an 18-hole layout.
Some of the sites for the planned 300 homes to be constructed over than next two to three years will back up to those links. And buyers have a choice, for a price, of 60- or 70-foot-wide lots.
More model homes will added later this year, but for now the Parker and the 2,863-square-foot Hampton XL can be toured.
Although prices start in the low $300,000s, shoppers should be forewarned that both models have many upgrades–the Parker as shown would be about $450,000 and the Hampton would be around $435,000, Johnson said.
Of the two, the Parker has the most curb appeal with its charming front porch. This is a real porch, wide enough for furnishings or a swing. On the model, the porch wraps around the front of the house and includes a side porch, a feature which won’t be available to buyers, Johnson said.
At 2,705 square feet of living space, the Parker is not small, but it also benefits from an efficient floor plan that wastes little space on hallways.
The front door opens to a two-story central foyer with the stairway to the second floor. To the left of the front door is the living room or den, roughly 10 by 15 feet. It was shown as a study, a sensible decision since there is plenty of space for family living and entertaining elsewhere. Opposite the study across the foyer is the dining room, 10 by 12 feet, with a second door to the kitchen.
The foyer leads to the family room/casual dining area and kitchen across the back of the house. The steps to the basement are tucked under the stairs to the second floor. There is a coat closet off the foyer before entering the family area at the back.
The living area is sizable. The family room, 16 by 21 1/2 feet, opens to the nearly 10-by-19-foot breakfast/dining area, which is open to the kitchen, 8 1/2 feet by about 16 feet. Please note the small closet for a pantry off the kitchen.
Beyond the kitchen is a powder room and a laundry room, 7 by 10 1/2 feet, with storage closet, opposite the door to the garage, and a coat closet.
There are four bedrooms on the second floor. The master suite includes a 21-by-12 1/2-foot bedroom, a corner master bath and the closet mentioned earlier. Divided into two bays, there is plenty of space for his clothing as well as hers.
Outside the door to the master suite is the hall bath, large enough for two sinks, a tub and toilet and a linen closet.
The secondary bedrooms–10 by 14 feet, 12 by 12 1/2 feet and 11 1/2 by 12 feet–can accommodate a single, maybe double or queen-size bed, depending upon how much needs to be squeezed into the space. They are suitable, though not palatial, for growing youngsters. Each is enhanced by a having a full walk-in closet for the stuff that modern kids acquire.
Though the Hampton XL model is larger and has an impressive master suite, the three-car garage (an upgrade) jutting toward the street makes the front facade less charming than the Parker next door.
There is a two-story foyer inside the front door with the stairs to the second floor. In this plan, to the left of the foyer is the living room, which is open at the back to the formal dining room. To the right of the dining room is the kitchen and the casual dining and family room across the back of the house.
To the right of the foyer is a small hall with a powder room, the door to the mudroom and a den or guest bedroom, about 11 by 10 feet, next to the family room.
To be fair, there are closets here but not as many or as conveniently placed. The kitchen has a larger panty but the only coat closet on this floor was in the mudroom, far from the front entrance where the homeowner might greet guests.
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The master bedroom suite takes the entire back of the second floor. It includes a 19 1/2-by-15-foot bedroom, a sitting room, 10 1/2 by 10 1/2 feet, a large corner bath and two walk-in closets for the master and mistress of the house.
A small loft, big enough for a desk or computer center, is outside the master suite door and overlooks the foyer. The are three more bedrooms, about 11 by 12 feet each, a small hall bath and the laundry room.
Cramming so much onto the second floor means something had to give and–you guessed it–it was closet space. One bedroom gets a walk-in and the other two are standard-issue closets with sliding doors. Then again, there is always the basement.
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Tanna of Mill Creek, Geneva
Base price range: $307,185 to $363,595
FACTS AND FIGURES
Ranch and two-story houses: Three and four bedrooms, 2 to 3 1/2 baths; two-car garages.
Interior space: 2,035 to 2,863 square feet.
Developer: Shodeen Homes
Web site: www.shodeenhomes.com
AMENITIES
Nine-foot first floor ceiling; basement included; ceramic tile in foyer, powder room and bath. Vinyl flooring in kitchen, laminate countertops, Maytag kitchen appliances. Cultured marble vanity in baths; landscape package with full sod.
Community: Mill Creek, on 1,400 acres, is one of the largest residential developments in unincorporated Kane County.
GETTING THERE
Address: 0N955 Bartelt Road
Phone: 630-232-8181
Take Interstate Highway 88 west to Orchard Road. Exit north and continue to Randall Road. Turn left and contine to Keslinger Road. Turn left and drive two miles to Bartelt Road. Turn left on Bartelt to the sales center.
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