WORTH THE WAIT
A WOMAN'S QUEST FOR FRAMING INSPIRATION
By Stacy Strayer / Photos by Carter Photographics

GREAT ROOM: Upon entering the Storer home, the large windows of the living room pull you directly into a grand view of the Continental Divide.

Dolores Storer may have been blown in by the “Windy City” nearly 50 years ago, but she feels as native as the day is long. “Mother Nature has given me three things that I really love ­–mountains, sky and ocean – and living here in Colorado I get two out of three, so not bad!”

She found some land with the big mountain views she was seeking – a mountain golf course lot that also overlooked the plush greens of three holes on the course – and since that purchase nearly five years ago, it became an annual tradition for her to scout out Grand County’s Parade of Homes for ideas and prospective builders.

On the other side of town, Mike Klebba, President and Owner of Klebba Custom Builders, Inc., known for his ergonomically designed, high-end homes, signed up for his first Parade of Homes in 2009. He submitted a stunner within the Lakota neighborhood near Winter Park Resort that ended up winning three awards: Overall Judges’ Choice, Best Builder/Construction and Best Interior Design.

ALMOST A DUPLICATE: The planning process was easier than Dolores Storer expected because she loved most aspects of Mike Klebba’s house, even down to its hickory-wood flooring with the saw marks in it.

So when she happened upon Klebba’s Parade of Homes’ entry that September, something stopped her in her tracks – and the rest is history.

“Maybe it was the splendid timber accents, or the graceful arches that called to me,” she recollects. During her second visit, she took note of the rock work on the fireplace and the view - framing design of the great room. And then she surprised herself by going back a third time that day, admiring its spacious, flowing layout and chatting with Klebba.

At that point, she had been biding time in her Winter Park townhome for nearly 11 years, waiting for a home that inspired her. After her husband passed away, and she sold their home of over three decades near Lake Granby, she thought she would find something within a few years, but nothing spoke to her – until now. “I thought about that house for months,” says Dolores. “So in January 2010, I decided to go for it and call that builder!”

DINING ROOM: The octagonal shape of the dining room gives it an intimate feel, and the windows allow plenty of light and scenic views.

No Ordinary Change Order
Initially, they poured over blueprints in Klebba’s home office (his residence is similar to the coveted custom that he built for the Parade of Homes), periodically visiting the other house to check out minute details, make some design changes and acquaint herself with his house.

Suddenly, surprising even herself, she pulled a 180. “I told him, ‘I don’t want that house, I want yours’ – so I got his. This is basically his house, plus or minus.”

The planning process was easier than she expected because she loved most aspects of his house, even down to its hickory-wood flooring with the saw marks in it. “It was fun to just rise from the table regarding a question about the size of a closet, walk over, and say, ‘Oh, that’s ample,’ or spend a few minutes in the master suite, admiring their see-through fireplace before deciding to add it to my own.”

Though many aspects would remain, her home’s orientation differed, and would include extraordinary Spruce Pine log post-and-beam accents, a widening of the kitchen and dining area, repositioning both living area fireplaces and devising a more open downstairs.

“We actually redesigned the plans using a 3D modeling program, which allowed me to draw it up and spin it around to show her the changes,” explains Klebba, who has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a Master’s degree in Construction Management. “It is my belief that infusing creativity into a functional layout is paramount.”

FRAMING THE VIEW: Mike Klebba and a site surveyor used stakes to achieve the best orientation for the house to frame James and Parry Peaks.

X-Factors
One absolute was that she wanted the views of the peaks to practically bonk her in the head as she walked in the entry. He scoured the site with the surveyor, figuring out the right orientation for the house while framing James and Parry Peaks exactly. “She said heads would roll if she didn’t see those views,” he says with a smile, “so I put stakes out so she could stand there and rest assured that she would see them.”

She also didn’t want a whole room devoted to laundry, so even though they roughed in the hook-ups for future re-sale, she chose to hide those with some beloved paintings of the ocean and make it her office instead. “I’ve always kept a washer/dryer in the master bath,” professes Storer.

Her downstairs living area has a section devoted to her frequent bridge games, along with a wet bar nearby. “If guests wanted water, having the bar would prevent them from having to grab water from the bathroom, but I wasn’t going to include it – I had to draw the line somewhere monetarily,” she recalls. “But Mike thought it would add to the home’s design, so he threw it in as a housewarming present!”

PASSIVE SOLAR HEAT: By combining a rock fireplace and rock wainscot granite bar with large south-facing windows, the sun’s heat will be absorbed and radiate overnight.

Rock Star
Due to this home’s passive solar design, the large Pella windows on the south side transform this sunny kitchen into a bona fide power source. “The rock wainscot under the breakfast bar, the granite countertops, and the stone on the fireplace all absorb the rays, and this heat will radiate overnight and during the colder parts of the day,” says Klebba. “Plus all the windows on the north side are small, just 2 foot by 2 foot, which adds to its efficiency.”

Even though this 4,400-square-foot home has more windows and is larger than most Energy Star® homes, it scored a 5-Stars-Plus rating. “For me, it’s about building a better environment,” he says. “Through using correct technologies, you can make your buildings more energy efficient.”

Some of these methods include installing good windows with a low U-value, utilizing closed-cell insulation in the walls, foundation, crawl space and ceilings, and incorporating in-floor radiant heat using high-efficiency boilers.

This creates an ultra-tight house, necessitating two ERV systems (energy recovery ventilators) to circulate air. “Though it’s more expensive initially to incorporate some of these systems,” says Klebba, “it pays off in the end.”

Standing in her great room of windows, no doubt Dolores agrees that everything worked out to the Nth degree. Though the process of finding the right home and builder took years, today she is hard-pressed to wander inside or out and not be hit with the grace and grandeur that for a long time, patiently held vigil in her imagination.

Why Would You Want A House Like HERS?
By incorporating many of the same elements that were used in this feature home, you can conserve money and energy. It has a HERS rating of 64, which is 36% more efficient than a house built to code, and 16% more efficient than an Energy Star® home. This Home Energy Rating (HERS) measures how energy-efficient the home is using its scoring criteria, and the lower the score, the better.

READ MORE STORIES FROM THIS ISSUE:
• Winter 2011 Articles