**Today on the blog we’re featuring Kimberly Hopf, Director of Architecture & Design and Lyndsay Johnson, Interior Designer to hear their perspective on the process and design details that went into The Generous Home. Let’s dive in!

Hello! I’m Kim, Director of Architecture & Design at Veridian Homes. I’m excited to share that we’ve officially completed construction on our second Generous Home!

Since our first Generous Home in 2021, we have designed and lived through a global pandemic, evolving the design world and shifting trends along the way. We’ve had a lot of fun incorporating new concepts, while still embracing tradition into the home plan chosen and selection process of our 2024 Generous Home.

 

Speaking of planning, it all began with a concept in July 2023 from David Simon, our former President at Veridian Homes. He proposed showcasing an existing floor plan that we, and our customers all loved to build our second Generous Home in the 2024 Madison Area Parade of Homes. The existing plan chosen was The Collins and his only feedback was that we consider a way to open the space and provide a sightline from the front door to the great room. From there, our Architecture & Design Team began to brainstorm and our Architect, Roger Guest, made his first sketch on August 8, 2023. The concept quickly snowballed and paved the way for additional options to be considered.

Design is never a straight line, and the concepts kept coming our way. By September we were planning for a stunning two-story entry with an entirely open stairway that led to a two-story great room (see our initial design below).

Around that time, the first exterior sketch was also created and we knew that the plan modifications weren’t going to stop there. Megan McCarthy, our New Product Development Specialist, aka Revit guru, found an old sketch that Roger did back in 2022 when we were designing the first Collins home plan. The sketch incorporated a bonus space over the garage. Since our first floor changed so significantly from the original plan, the second floor needed to be re-imaged as well and the birth of the bonus space concept from 2022 came back to life! Adding a cathedral ceiling to the bonus space and a half-bath ensured that this room would be a homerun. We then rounded out the second floor with two ensuite bedrooms and a secondary laundry room.

Like I mentioned before, designing through the pandemic taught us all that our homes not only need to function well, but they should also be one of our favorite places to exist in. The lower level of our 2024 Generous Home was designed to make staying home, “cool!” We went through many renditions of the layout, tweaking the design until we checked all the boxes and had the perfect layout. The tonal media room with motorized blackout shades and 108” TV that can easily transition from movie night to game day is a prime feature. The wet bar space and wine closet provide ample room for gathering in front of the electric fireplace and gaming area. The third ensuite bedroom is tucked to the back of the lower level to provide privacy and an exercise space is placed at the entry of the lower level where windows are not necessary, but mirrors are.

The design didn’t stop here. The first floor is where we wanted to incorporate timeless, traditional trends. Here we feature “The Arch!” in the two-story foyer that extends into the space and creates depth in the openness. The great room shows off a new tapered fireplace concept flanked by timeless barrel vaults and rich dark green cabinetry. The trends flow into the kitchen with a spacious dining area adjacent to the butler’s pantry and an additional walk-in pantry that dreams are made of! The first-floor powder room was re-located to the back service area of the home tucked between the laundry and mudroom to ensure that we had a clear sightline from front door to the great room. Mission accomplished, just a winding road to get there!

By October, the Interior Design team, comprised of myself and four designers; Laura, Bree, Lyndsay and Michaela started interior planning and brainstorm sessions. We had 16 meetings, a total of 36 hours, in three months which consisted of a lot of collaborating and compromising. Endless cabinetry designs, tile selections, and all the finishes that go into a home were covered.  Lyndsay Johnson, the lead designer on staging for all of our furnished models, will elaborate more on the project from the designer’s eye and highlight a few things along the way. Take it away LJ!

Hey, hey! As Kim said, I’m Lyndsay Johnson, Interior and Lead Staging Designer at Veridian Homes.

Establishing a design concept early in the planning process allows us to be mindful of a consistent aesthetic throughout the home. For this year’s Generous Home, we really wanted to incorporate timeless styles with a historically traditional feel, and mold them into our own version by putting a modern take on them (see—arches). As Kim stated, the updated Collins floor plan features a two-story foyer and great room, so we wanted to create a space that showcased the drama and visual interest of the home, while also making sure it felt comfortable and cozy.

Keeping the traditional hints of the home in mind, we used a warmer color palette, but without leaving the grey completely behind. We integrated three fresh cabinet color offerings to in our kitchen space, that transition throughout the rest of the spaces in the home. Shoji White—a light taupe but almost white paint; Stone—a light wash stain color with an ashy undertone and Ripe Olive—a deep, rich green tone. In other rooms we also introduced Urbane Bronze as both a cabinet and paint color—a darker taupe for our moodier room aesthetics.

As a design team we were excited to add some on-trend, yet enduring touches to the home. Most of our main level has a herringbone laid floor, but in an updated LVP style with a natural taupe color—a true wow factor! The laundry and mudroom have a checkerboard pattern tile, but instead of using traditional black and white colors, we combined a warmer grey and soft white tone to fit with the rest of the finishes. These rooms finish off nicely with both the Stone and Ripe Olive cabinets. The luxurious quartz countertops and backsplash in the kitchen are another element to bring the whole space together, as its rich color tone and beautiful pattern movement mimick a quartzite natural stone. We finished off the additional wall spaces in the kitchen with the reintroduction of the 5×5 tile—but of course with an updated take in a multi-tonal, textured look.

With seven (yes, seven!) bathrooms in this plan, we had the opportunity to make each its own, but still encapsulate the overall feel of the home. The owner’s bathroom incorporated the Shoji White cabinet color and then we featured the green in a different way by adding it to the tiled shower and walls. Each of the ensuite bathrooms in our teen rooms showcases how every space can fit the vibe of their individual style. Even our ensuite guest bathroom feeds off the rest of the lower-level space with a rich and cozy atmosphere.

Since black metal finishes continue to be a lasting trend—and I don’t imagine it will go anywhere anytime soon—we included this element in many of our light fixtures, faucets, cabinet and door hardware, as well as our open staircase with metal spindles. To continue our goal to coalesce traditional and modern elements, we also complemented the dark tones of the black with gold touches in many of the same features.

Once all these design concepts came together, it was time for us to bring our vision to life as we entered the staging phase. This is also a collaborative effort by our team with inspirations from all our unique styles and tastes. We generally start with higher level items such as sofas, chairs, beds and tables—the style of these will continue the ball rolling on the rest of the individual rooms. We then focus on smaller, but not less important items such as artwork, rugs, bedding and curtains. These elements can really help tie a room and the entire home together—especially when you find just the right piece! Then the nitty gritty work starts happening in the world of smalls—accent pieces, florals, pillows, books…the list goes on (and on!). Let’s just say there are many trips to your favorite home décor stores and many online shopping hours to find the perfect elements to make these spaces what they will eventually become.

To highlight just a few of our favorite staging moments in this home—we had so much fun with our vintage sports theme in the lower level, our retro video game bonus room, the rustic academia flex room, and of course our homage to Dolly Parton in one of our teen bedrooms.

In the end, what makes the design magic possible is the collaboration and teamwork that is essential in everything we do. Working with and off each other’s individual ideas has proven to be successful in creating an outstanding design time and time again. In addition to that it’s our ENTIRE team’s—architecture, design, construction and our trades—attention to detail and passion that creates a beautiful home and accomplishes that end goal.

With all that said, we are so excited to present to you, The Generous Home 2024! We hope you are able to see if for yourself this weekend in person at the Madison Area Parade of Homes and spot some of the fun design details we talked about!