That's the Idea
Squint a little when you look at Southern Living's Idea House and it's easy to imagine a time when front yards were chicken-pecked sand, indoor plumbing was a novelty and summer evenings were spent on deep porches, shelling peas and telling tales.
But while the exterior of Kinsley Place in DeLand's Victoria Park is vintage Victorian farmhouse, its interior is pure 21st century.
If you want to check out grandpa's stories about the good old days, the Internet is only a click away on any television. The back porch makes flyswatters obsolete—push a button and screens roll down like garage doors.
And with six toilets, the only nod to turn-of-the-last-century plumbing is the half-moon cut-out on the wooden pool-bath door.
Every year Southern Living magazine sponsors the construction of three Idea Houses across the South to showcase the latest in architecture, decorating, appliances and lifestyle trends. The homes are featured in the magazine's August issue and are also open to the public.
While Southern Living Idea Houses are usually beyond the average buyer's budget (Kinsley Place had not been priced at press time) homebuyers on the tightest of budgets should be able to glean ideas to improve their own homes, even if it's just a paint color.
"Although this house is not inexpensive, by any means, it has a lot of things that you and I can do without spending a lot of money," says Donna Brooks of Brooks Interior Design of Maitland.
Brooks, along with her assistant Shona Einkowski, created the home's interiors for Southern Living and The St. Joe Company, developer of Victoria Park and builder of the home.
Just as the architecture is free from the ornate gingerbread details that defined many Victorian homes, its interior is more family-friendly than formal.
Architect Carson Looney of Looney Ricks Kiss Architects in Memphis, Tenn., designed the home to meet the needs of a fantasy family of three generations living under the same roof—a doctor, his wife, their son and daughter and a grandfather.
"That's one of the most unique things about the house," says Brooks. "Each of the generations has their own zone."
There's certainly plenty of room—more than 3,640 feet of air-conditioned space and an additional 1,976 square feet of porches, patios and garages. But it's how the space is used that makes the Idea House special.
The heart of the home's downstairs floor is a great room/kitchen hub. There's no formal parlor; instead, there's a front room set up as a dining room, but equally appropriate for use as a living room or study.
Also downstairs are two bedroom suites, one designed for a modern couple and the other, dubbed a "third-generation bedroom," with a sitting area, a mini-kitchen and a large bathroom. The bathroom is wheelchair accessible.
The home is full of built-ins, including open shelving in the dining room and on the upper landing. Cubbyholes, carved out of the space beneath the stairs, provide a practical storage solution. Also prominent are flexible spaces that can be used for many purposes.
The best example is a "do-all" room between the dining room and the kitchen, which can function as a butler's pantry, home office, craft room or just about any other purpose.
The room has its own sink and is also connected to a laundry area. If guests are coming, and you're in the middle of a major craft project, the space can be completely closed off from public view by closing a "barn door" pass-through to the kitchen. The sliding pass-through door doubles as a large bulletin board.
Much of the home's furniture was provided by mid-range furniture maker Broyhill, and many of the accessories came from local stores high on style but low in cost. There are accessories from Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Stein Mart, Pottery Barn and Hold Everything.
The "kid zone" is upstairs, where there are two bedrooms as well as a loft sitting room with plenty of space for games.
While the sitting room is for the kids to share, each child's bedroom has a separate bathroom. In fact, everyone in this household has his or her own toilet, plus two to share. Even the master bedroom downstairs at the rear of the home has his-and-hers toilets as well as closets.
While the home's sizeable front porch is a nod to times past, its back porch, overlooking a vanishing-edge pool, caters to a purely modern Florida lifestyle. Out back there's a loggia lit by gas lamps, a grilling porch and a pool bathroom.
More than 15 million readers will get a look at Kinsley Place in the pages of Southern Living magazine, and thousands more are expected to pay $5 each to see the home in person.
Victoria Park, located just off I-4, is 30 minutes east of downtown Orlando. The 1,859-acre community will eventually encompass 3,600 single-family and 600 multifamily homes.
Three distinctly different neighborhoods, with homes from the low $200,000s to more than $1 million, are being developed now.
Victoria Hills, where the Southern Living Idea House sits, features an award-winning public golf course that made Golf Magazine's "Top 10 You Can Play" list in March 2003.
Across the street, Victoria Commons is the community's social center with a 22-acre park around Lake Victoria as well as a fitness club with a pool, exercise room, gazebo and lighted tennis courts. Victoria Commons is also the site of a proposed village center within the community.
Victoria Gardens is a gated community for active adults. At its core is a clubhouse featuring a café, ballroom, billiards room, card room, demonstration kitchen, arts and crafts room, fitness center, business center, computer lab, resort-style pool and spa, tennis courts and community gardens.
"The Southern Living Idea House at Victoria Park will showcase many of the features that make the community appealing to both growing families and active adults," says Ed Hill, President of Central Florida residential operations for The St. Joe Company. "To have Southern Living choose Victoria Park is a wonderful way for us to share ideas with a group of people who take great interest in their homes, lifestyles and surroundings."
AT A GLANCE
What
The Southern Living Idea House.
Who
Architect: Looney Ricks Kiss, Memphis, Tenn.
Developer/builder: The St. Joe Company, Jacksonville, Fla.
Interior designer: Brooks Interior Design, Maitland, Fla.
Landscape architect: Dix Lathrop & Associates, Longwood, Fla.
When
Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. until Oct. 2.
Where
Victoria Park in DeLand.
Directions
Directions: Take I-4 to Exit 116 (Orange Camp Road). Proceed approximately one mile west to Victoria Park. Follow the signs to the Southern Living Idea House.
Cost
$5 for adults. A portion in the proceeds will benefit local charities through the DeLand Rotary Club.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
The Southern Living Idea House's $5 admission cost includes a series of seminars by experts from the magazine.
Easy Entertaining Ideas
Presented by Sarah Jernigan, Southern Living interior design coordinator. Easy ideas for party planning, menus and how to use space in your home for entertaining. Saturday, July 23, 1 p.m.
Ideas for Your New Home
Presented by Tim Watson, Idea House program manager; and Derick Belden, Southern Living executive homes editor. Learn how to get ideas from touring show homes, how different rooms interact and how a little forethought can make your home more livable. Saturday, Aug. 27, 1 p.m.
Get the Look: Design Ideas
Presented by Amy Mercer, Southern Living assistant homes editor. See how designs from the Idea House can be adapted for any home and review topics ranging from preparing budgets to selecting paint colors. Saturday, Sept. 10, 1 p.m.
VOLUSIA COUNTY: THE NOT-SO-WILD WEST
A visit to Kinsley Place at Victoria Park provides more than an opportunity to see a beautiful house on the cutting edge of design. It also gives visitors a chance to make a day of it and explore west Volusia County as well.
Within 10 miles of the Southern Living Idea House, you can explore a number of new developments near I-4, admire old homes along the tree-lined streets of historic DeLand, shop for antiques, cook your own pancake breakfast or cool off in a natural spring.
The widening of the St. Johns River Bridge along I-4 has solved an annoying and longstanding traffic logjam. Now, under normal circumstances, west Volusia is a tolerable 30-minute drive from downtown Orlando. That means more people are heading east to enjoy the county's numerous natural attractions—and, in many cases, to buy new homes.
"I've been a realtor in Deltona/DeBary for eight years, and that bridge has made a huge difference," says Peggy Irby, a sales associate for Riviera Bella in DeBary. "We're getting a lot of Orange and Seminole [county] people coming across that bridge now."
Riviera Bella is a gated, 400-home community, with prices ranging from $300,000 to $2.1 million. The community sold out its first 100-home phase 18 months after opening. A second 100-home phase will debut this summer.
The pioneering DeBary Golf and Country Club, with more than 1,200 home sites, has been steadily selling about 100 homes a year for the past several years. But demand has caused an increase in prices, says Richard Moody, owner of Country Club Properties, which represents the developments' builders.
"Before the I-4 improvements, we were always an affordable alternative to the close-in golf course communities," Moody says. "But we are definitely experiencing Orlando pricing now."
The Country Club is approaching build-out, with about 250 more homes to sell. Prices start at $275,000 for an attached villa and $350,000 for a single-family home. There are also some seven-figure homes within the community.
"We've been waiting to be brought into that [Orlando market] circle. Now, all of a sudden, the circle went right past us to Victoria Park—and we're right in the middle of it," Moody says.
For buyers who cherish more patina in a house, nearby DeLand has an impressive stock of historic homes as well. An active historical society and increased interest in older neighborhoods has led to the restoration of many old homes west of downtown.
Plus, DeLand is simply one of the coolest small towns in Florida. You can take a break from home shopping and a stroll through DeLand's quaint downtown, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. The shopping district is thick with eateries and antique shops
Stetson University, which has been located in downtown DeLand for more than a century, adds an air of sophistication. The picturesque campus is the scene of numerous educational, cultural and sporting events.
For those interested in history and hungry for a more unusual lunch, head north on U.S. 17 to DeLeon Springs State Park, where you can cook your own pancakes at The Old Spanish Sugar Mill, then work off the calories by paddling a canoe through the wilderness. The restaurant is, in fact, located in a sugar mill that dates back to the Spanish occupation of Florida.
For an even more solitary get-away, head to the 1,648-acre Hontoon Island State Park, which is accessible only by boat or park-operated ferry.
If beating the heat is what you seek, grab a swimsuit and towel and head for nearby Blue Springs State Park. A dip in the bubbling blue cauldron will make you grateful for the summer sun's warmth.