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Award-Winning Homes Photo by Mike Swenson
Hans Hagen Homes town homes
Reggie Winner:  Million-dollar style is within reach for buyers looking for a quality home in the mid-price range with this detached townhome by Hans Hagen Homes. At $372,800, this model home in The Lakes development in Blaine features architectural details and customized touches that can be found in homes for three times the price. And just as appealing, homeowners can enjoy the benefits of an association-maintained home without having to share a wall with the neighbors. One of the home’s most stunning visual features is its two-story vaulted family room and two-story fireplace—rarities in most town homes. The smaller details, however, are just as impressive: decorative trim, ten-foot ceilings, and accent painting throughout the entire home; maple flooring on the entire main level; rain glass on some of the doors; a glass-tile backsplash in the kitchen; and crown molding in the master suite. The spacious second floor features a master suite and bath, an additional bedroom and full bathroom, a home office, a laundry room, and a loft overlooking the family room. The thoughtful design continues outdoors as well. Paver stones cover the driveway, while in the rear of the home, privacy screens surround the patio. The builder has also installed two gas lines near the patio, which are ideal for a gas grill and fireplace. Peoples Choice Winner: Reggie Winner: Reggie Winner: And the Winners Are . . . 39th Annual Reggie AwardsSM The Builders Association of the Twin Cities is proud to announce the winners of the 39th Annual Reggie AwardsSM, the fifth annual Peoples Choice Awards, and the fourth bi-annual Bennie (best neighborhood) awards. The awards were presented to winning builders and developers at a gala banquet last October at The Depot in downtown Minneapolis. Thirty Reggie AwardsSM and ten Peoples Choice Awards were presented to honor excellence in design, construction, and value for builders of new homes, plus four developers received Bennie Awards to recognize excellence in neighborhood design and construction. Additionally, three amateur photographers received cash prizes for their photographs of the Reggie AwardSM–winning homes. Reggie Awards The entries were divided into single-family and association-maintained homes, and then into price ranges, creating thirty categories. Armed with comprehensive judging forms, four industry professionals each visited the homes in their category. Judges examined the homes, rating seventeen specific aspects of each home’s design and construction quality and three additional questions that rated the home’s overall quality and value. Once all the homes were viewed, the four judges got together to discuss the scores and select the winning entry. “The Reggie AwardSM is the most highly prized honor most builders can earn,” explains Curt Swanson, 2006 president of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities and president of Swanson Homes. “It’s truly an honor to have your toughest critics, other builders, judge your home to be the best.” In 2006, a total of 151 homes were judged in five association-maintained and twenty-five single-family home categories. The thirty winners are listed at right, from lowest to highest priced. The number preceding each builder name refers to their Parade of Homes Fall ShowcaseSM entry number. Peoples Choice Award The Peoples Choice Awards begin with a short questionnaire that visitors to the home can use to rate it compared to their “ideal” home for the price. The questionnaire asked visitors to rate eight aspects of the home (exterior, curb appeal; interior, floor plan/layout; kitchen; bathrooms; bedrooms; other indoor spaces; site orientation, decks, porches; and construction quality) on a five-point scale, as well as to complete two open-ended questions (what did you like best and what should be improved?). Each of the fifty-nine participating Parade HomesSM received 500 postage-paid postcards which were made available to visitors. To participate as a judge, consumers simply completed the postcard and dropped it in the mail. The postcards were tallied, and the top-scoring home within ten price ranges received a Peoples Choice Award. The winners are listed at right. The number preceding each builder name refers to their Parade of Homes Fall ShowcaseSM entry number. The Bennie Awards Bennie Award judges are recruited from the development community. Each judge visits the neighborhoods in his or her category and completes a comprehensive judging form. Both raw scores and rankings are tabulated to determine the winner.
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This 8,640-square-foot European-style home overlooking Rush Creek Golf Course in Maple Grove was built for entertaining. The homeowners are actively involved in charities and occasionally host 100 to 200 guests for a variety of functions. But the home still needed to be livable. Jack Smuckler of Smuckler Custom Builders in Edina created a five-bedroom structure that exudes both elegance and comfort. For starters, he ensured that most rooms in the house maximized golf-course vistas. The great room, which has views of approximately six different holes of Rush Creek, features a barrel-vaulted ceiling that reaches twenty-two feet at its highest point. Smuckler added a sense of warmth to the room by using soffits with indirect lighting so that regardless of whether there were two or twenty people in the room, everyone would feel at ease. A see-through fireplace separates the great room from the kitchen, which features two islands. A domed ceiling with a stylish chandelier hangs over the main foyer, yet another natural gathering space for visitors. Faux painting, a blend of hardwoods (including birch floors), and décor in earth tones ensure warm, welcoming spaces throughout the entire home. Entertaining space also extends under the garage, which houses a stage where bands can perform, as well as an adjacent dance studio. 
Located on an acreage dotted with rolling hills and tree-filled vistas, this model home in the Kingdom Estates near Elk River features a blend of classic architecture with modern amenities. The exterior offers the first hint of the home’s craftsmanship, with its cultured stone, staggered shakes from James Hardie, swooping rooflines, and a stamped-concrete front porch. A bright two-story foyer signals the perfect blend of openness and warmth found throughout the home. Each room has distinctive design elements. Featuring an antiqued enamel center island and a custom hutch with interior lighting, the kitchen diverges from the typical trends in today’s homes. Wood beams on the ceiling and rich built-in cabinetry warm up the main-floor office. Upstairs, the master bedroom and bathroom are an ideal escape, thanks to details like a recessed ceiling and radius glass-block shower wall. Three more bedrooms and an additional bathroom round out the space on the upper level. Designed for entertaining, the lower level houses a built-in entertainment center, fireplace, and elaborate cabinetry in the wet bar. Even the home’s two garages are a seamless part of the home’s design. The most impressive feature of the home, however, could be what’s hidden within: a geothermal heating and cooling system that’s environmentally friendly and saves on heating and cooling bills. Reggie Winner: 
The Credit River Territory development in Credit River Township is one of the most desirable new neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. This Early Americana–style home from A. Maas Construction shows why. Simulated stamped copper graces the ceiling over the foyer and dropped wooden soffit over the kitchen’s center island. The doors, baseboards, windows, and cabinetry throughout the home all feature alder. But the flooring is truly the showpiece of this 5,000-square-foot home. A. Maas used Australian wormy chestnut, a hardwood species that is new to the Twin Cities homebuilding market. With this dense wood species, the forest goes through a controlled burn, after which the trees regrow but still maintain some characteristics of the initial charring. These markings, combined with worm holes that look like nail marks, give the Australian wormy chestnut its distinct rustic look. The foyer, home office, solarium, family room, kitchen, and dinette all feature the species. Upstairs, a vaulted ceiling with beams and a large bank of windows create a spacious master suite. A fully finished oversized three-car garage, featuring in-floor radiant heat, epoxy-coated floors, floor drains, and full insulation, treats vehicles well year-round. On the lower level, a guest room, full bath, home theater with projection screen, game area, and wet bar round out the home. 
Featuring a combination of unique spaces and elegant finishes, this home in Credit River Township offers a true retreat for its owners. The massive main level includes a foyer, formal dining room, butler’s pantry, great room, kitchen, kitchen pantry, stone fireplace, dinette, hearth room, owners’ suite, study, powder room, and laundry room. A custom wood mosaic inlay in the foyer and around the perimeter of the dining room enhance the black walnut floor in these two spaces. Solid-surface countertops, including Cambria, richly colored granite, marble, and Corian are featured throughout the entire home, while hand-stained, hand-glazed cherry cabinetry creates a sophisticated vintage look. The lower level could be a separate living space altogether, with its floor-to-ceiling fireplace, kitchen and wetbar, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, laundry room, and exercise room. Other distinct lower-level elements include a six-foot-by-ten-foot specialty wine room with chandelier and tasting table, a screened-in porch with a spa in the back, a finished storage room, and direct access to the outdoor pool. A staircase connects the upper and lower garages, each at 1,362 square feet. The upper level can hold four cars, which is ideal for the homeowner, a car collector. The lower level has a sauna, and, of course, space for more cars. 
© 2009 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved