Creating Masterpieces in the Mountains
November 26th, 2007
When you consider purchasing a beautiful vacation home in the mountains, your first thoughts might be of locations out west, in scenic places like Colorado or Montana. Yet it is not necessary to travel so far. There are many grand vacation spots closer to home.
One great place to look is in Stratton, Vermont. This is a vibrant, year-round resort area that has long been one of the premier ski destinations in the east. In the last five years, there has been a tremendous amount of high-end condominium development taking place right at the mountain. Of course, not everyone enjoys the noise and congestion of living in the thick of things, in condos that are on top of each other. In fact, some people are not willing to put up with this at all. And that is what one prominent homebuilder in the Stratton area is counting on.
Vermont Premier Home Builders, Inc. specializes in creating magnificent estates in beautiful, natural settings. Partners Mike Douglas and Ken Sheppard pride themselves on offering new homes with unsurpassed quality craftsmanship and state-of-the-art energy efficiency and technology. They do this in private settings that provide serenity and spectacular views.
Two such projects that Vermont Premier Home Builders, Inc. are currently involved in are located on the back side of Stratton Mountain, towards the Mt. Snow Ski area. Just a short 15-minute drive from the Stratton Sun Bowl, you find yourself on Stratton Arlington Road. About a mile west of the Stratton Town Hall is a private paved road on the left. Here you realize that there are very few homes around you, and that you are surrounded by some beautiful forest lands. In fact, the Appalachian/Long Trail crosses the Stratton Arlington Road only a few miles further up the road. Also located just up the way are Grout Pond and the VAST network of snowmobile trails.
As you journey up the private road and a fairly steep ridge line, you have no idea what to expect. Soon though, an impressive three-level home appears above you. It sits on 14 wooded acres that are bordered on one side by Vermont Conservation land and on the other by thousands of acres of National Forest lands. As you reach the top of the road, you circle around to the front of the home, which is built with multi-colored Vermont stone. To the right of the three-car attached garage is a rich mahogany-floored entranceway. Coming inside through the mud room and front foyer, you are immediately captivated by the large open great room, beautiful stone fireplace, stunning oak hardwood floors, soaring cathedral ceilings and walls of windows that allow you to take in the remarkable vistas. As you look to the left, you see the undeveloped side of Stratton Mountain; and as you gaze to the right, you see the long-distance views of faraway mountains and valleys. You are, indeed, part of nature here.
Now that you know the setting is ideal, let’s take a closer look at the rest of the home. On the main level, besides the front foyer, half bath and great room, you will find an inviting kitchen with cherry custom cabinets and elegant granite counter tops, a separate breakfast nook, a comfortable dining room, and a guest bedroom suite with its own private bathroom. A large wraparound deck spans the entire back of the home.
Heading upstairs off the front foyer is a finely crafted oak stairwell. On the second level, there is a large master bedroom suite with cathedral ceiling, a remote-controlled gas fireplace and a private porch. Inside the master bathroom, there is a two-person whirlpool tub and a separate multi-body spray shower. Two additional bedrooms, another full bath and a den overlooking the great room round out the second level.
Off the foyer on the main level, there is another stairwell that goes to the lower level. Here you will find a large walkout playroom, with a wet bar and a 40″ Sony LCD TV above the stone fireplace. Off to one side is another bedroom and full bath, and off to the other side is an inviting pine-walled, mahogany-floored spa room with a six-person hot tub. Finishing off the downstairs is a well-designed utility room and a large laundry room.
What really stands out is how finely finished this home is. There are solid oak wood doors and intricate oak trim throughout. Solid brass handles adorn all the doors. There is luxurious Karastan carpeting in all the bedrooms, Italian ceramic tile and marble in the bathrooms, and exquisite lighting fixtures throughout.
In addition, this is a “smart” home. There is an automated central control system that offers either on-site or remote access to monitor and control lighting, temperature settings, security and audio /video. There is structured wiring in the walls that allows every room to have video, stereo, telephone and computer hook-up. There is an installed 12-zone, six-source distributed audio and video system, which includes speakers and controls in 12 rooms, and a full array of electronic equipment. There is even a three-receiver, high-definition satellite dish system.
Douglas and Sheppard tried to provide the future homeowner with almost every feature and amenity one can think of. There is radiant floor heat in all rooms, central A/C, a hepa filter air purifier system with UV light, a whole-house central vacuum system, a home security system with indoor and outdoor video cameras, an eight-station telephone system that can be used as an intercom, and a whole-house back-up generator.
Most importantly, this home was built with quality in mind every step of the way. From the R46 and R52 ceiling insulation to the R19 soundproof insulation between the floors, no shortcuts were taken. In fact, this energy-efficient home was awarded the highest five-star energy rating by an independently certified agency. This assures that the home exceeds all national building code specifications and standards established by the EPA Energy Star program and the Vermont residential energy code for quality and construction.
Actually, the only thing missing from this remarkable home is a new owner to enjoy it.
Halfway up the private paved road, there is a left turn that brings you to Vermont Premier Home Builders, Inc.’s other building project. At the top of the ridge is an 8,800-square-foot home that is currently under construction. Sitting on 18 acres with a small pond, this stunning home offers amazing long-distance views, including those of Somerset Reservoir and the trails of Mt. Snow’s North Face.
With five bedroom suites, six-and-a-half baths, 25’ high cathedral ceilings, four stone fireplaces, a sun room, billiards room, hot tub room, sauna room, home theater room and wine cellar, this home will be one of the most exceptional in all of southern Vermont when it is completed next year. Brought on board to coordinate the entire design process of this masterpiece is Barbara Becker of Nesting Interiors in Fairfield, Connecticut. She states, “This is an exciting opportunity to be involved with Working on a home with such presence and in such an amazing setting allows my creative imagination to thrive.”
In a future issue, we will revisit this home and update you on the progress as it nears completion.
So, as you can see, you really don’t need to go out west to find the vacation home of your dreams. It can be found right here in Stratton, Vermont!
For more information, contact Mike Douglas at 802-896-9706 or Ken Sheppard at 203-265-6274 of Vermont Premier Home Builders, Inc., or visit www.vermontpremierhome.com.
