Modern and contemporary or traditional and classic – these are fairly common terms often used to describe the style of a house.
Meredyth Leech, Design Manager with J&G Homes, recently put the finishing touches on a new show home for Brandon’s Fall 2014 Parade of Homes and she with Jared Jacobson, Owner J & G Homes, worked hard to find a balance between the two.
“The one thing to keep in mind is that not everyone likes modern, not everyone likes traditional, so I tried to blend the two as much as possible to appeal to everyone,” Meredyth said.
Jared worked closely with Meredyth on the style of the home “this is one of our signature homes, which when we build that lineup of the home, I will tend to put a bit of my finishing touches into it.” Jared said.
Number Nine Southview Drive in Brookwood, one of Brandon’s newest developments, is where you’ll find J&G’s new show home. Along with the style of the home, Meredyth also considered the customer who would eventually purchase it.
“I designed this house for a family that loves to entertain and spend time inside and outside. It’s definitely a fun house with a large patio, a fully landscaped backyard, a bar and home theatre room,” Meredyth said.
This, of course, is just one of a number of projects that J&G Homes currently has in the works. Since 1956, they have been in the business of building and generations later this family-owned business is still going strong.
Jared Jacobson, the third generation of Jacobsons at the helm, has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since 2004. He believes J&G’s solid reputation in Brandon is based, in part, because of their history.
“We’re well known for being around for three generations and for our quality construction,” Jared said. “We’re a local business that has always given back to the community.”
J & G Homes staff 270 employees, approximately 55 subcontractors, 550 trades people and with the nine other Jacobson-owned companies, running a corporation of this magnitude takes a lot of forward thinking and planning. Jared looks to his family and staff for support.
“It’s important to be involved in the business and to not be an absent owner. I try to be involved as much as I can and to continue the legacy of my dad and grandpa,” Jared said. “I have a great team and surround myself with good people. I rely on them a lot and if you use your team wisely, the organization will always be successful.”
It’s quite obvious after walking through the new home on Southview Drive that it did indeed take a team of great people to make it the stunning showcase that it is. There are many features of this fabulous abode that gives it not only finesse on the inside, but fantastic curb appeal as well.
“Because it’s a show home we like to showcase as much as possible, so we did use mixed materials on the outside instead of just stucco and brick. The metal wood siding and wood grain doors really brought it together. I feel like we’ve created a home with a modern, more West Coast vibe,” Meredyth said.
The home features a fully landscaped yard with a Barkman patio and fireplace. The driveway has a new style of pavers, as does the patio. These thick, weathered, wood-looking pavers are also a new Barkman product that was used to complement all the materials used on the outside of the house.
The home, itself, is 2012 square feet on the main level. It has an open-concept design, plus five bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a large covered deck off the kitchen, a modern fireplace, a basement bar and a home theatre room. The creative and unique features inside and outside the house will definitely appeal to a wide range of buyers.
“My favourite part of the house is probably the pine hardwood flooring. We rarely use hardwood these days, so it was nice to be able to,” Meredyth said.
Along with the hardwood floors, there are quartz countertops throughout with a lovely waterfall effect in the kitchen and a comfy fireplace that beautifully sets off the living room area.
“The quartz throughout the house is really nice as well. Quartz countertops are really popular as they are along the same lines as granite and marble, except there are more colours to choose from; it’s a bit more durable and there’s less maintenance,” Meredyth said. “The fireplace is a more modern style than our standard fireplace – it is more linear, more contemporary. We used a faux, concrete panel which is a new product that is light, easy to cut and good to work with.”
Other features of the show home include a gorgeous ensuite bathroom with a freestanding bathtub and a beautifully tiled shower, a spacious entrance, main-floor laundry, a Jack and Jill bathroom and an attached two-car garage. As you walk through this beautiful home, you will notice great furnishings and decor from Kullberg’s.
According to J&G’s tracking system, it takes a minimum of 52,000 components to build an average home. With all the various components and the added pressure of building a show home, Meredyth admits it’s definitely a bit trickier than working on a project for a homeowner.
“We don’t normally do a finished basement or a bar as a standard it is optional to the homeowners to do at time of construction or in the future. It’s a much bigger plan and of course there’s the timelines and the pressure to get everything completed on time. At the same time, however, it’s also one of the best jobs to take on because we’re able to try new and innovative products and there’s a bit more room to play. So, I think it all balances out.”
When building with J&G Homes you’ll find a large variety of plans to choose from within the Lifestyles, Legacy and Signature series and all their homes can be customized to the homeowner. Jared says they try to provide customers with attractive plans that match the lifestyle and price range of each customer. They strive to find innovative plans people can afford to build new homes and they strive to provide great customer service.
“We’re basically a full-service, one-stop shop for people who want to build a new home. We have a whole new process in place for working with customers that includes all the people that you need – we have designers, realtors, an engineer, drafts people, a planner, two customer service representatives and people to work with in the finance department. By having the whole supply chain, we can offer the best pricing and best value for the cost (of building a home),” Jared said.
