Marsh Pointe Preserve. Photos: Charles Cudd Co.
Attendees of the February and March Parade of Homes might have a lingering impression left by a local Plymouth home builder. Think 10-foot ceilings, tall transom windows and unique floor plans. If this rings a bell, you’re thinking of the work of Charles Cudd Co.
If you didn’t manage to attend the Parade of Homes this year, here’s your chance for a small reprise. We sat down with vice president Jason (Jaa) Kruell to discuss the two Charles Cudd Co. parade homes—the model homes for Marsh Pointe Preserve in Medina and The Highlands on Dunkirk in Plymouth—as well as the trends he’s been seeing for homebuyers in these communities.
The model home at The Highlands on Dunkirk features an open concept kitchen.
Laying A Foundation
If a house is only as strong as its foundation, it could be argued that a community is only as strong as its houses. At least, Kruell might think so.
“I know this is going to sound a little cheesy, but when you drive into one of our communities, I want it to feel like it’s a Hallmark card,” Kruell says. “I want it to feel like, you know, ‘I could picture myself living here, and I know that I’m different than my neighbor.’”
When Charles Cudd Co. approaches building a streetscape, the design-build team doesn’t want it to feel like a cookie cutter community. “As we approach a new community, we want to make sure that there’s enough variety and enough interest in each home that they don’t feel like they’re all the same,” Kruell says.
During the planning process, Charles Cudd Co. also considers the amenities the neighborhood would appreciate. For the predominantly empty nesters of Marsh Pointe Preserve and The Highlands on Dunkirk, this takes the form of lawn maintenance by a homeowners association. “Empty nest buyers aren’t looking to mow their own lawns or shovel their own walks and driveways,” Kruell says.
What the People Want
While the two model homes showcase many of Charles Cudd Co.’s strong suits, homeowners aren’t shy about turning their own houses into customized homes.
Home offices are still popular with homeowners.
Lanai Living
Kruell says that in both communities, he’s had homeowners interested in outdoor living. “People really want to have that extension of their home,” he says. Whether it takes the form of attached porches, covered decks or fireplaces (set away from the home by city law, Kruell notes), clients find ways to enhance the versatility of their backyards.
“I have one buyer in Marsh Pointe Preserve, [and] they converted their sunroom to a sunroom and deck and covered the whole thing. It’s really inviting out, so I call that lanai-like,” Kruell says, pointing out the way that the lanai style of veranda, which originated in Hawaii, tends to drive people outside with scenic views.
The model home at Marsh Pointe Preserve uses transom windows to full effect, adding extra oomph with a mirrored wall that duplicates the outdoors.
Cold Plunging
Steam showers and saunas continue to turn bathrooms into havens of at-home wellness, but there’s also a new trend increasing in popularity: cold plunge tubs. “That’s been a new one for me,” Kruell says. “It’s set up as almost a small, separate tub, and you basically insulate it to be cold.”
Cold plunge tubs mirror (but streamline) traditional sauna techniques, which prescribe a dip in a chilly lake between steamy bouts in the heat. They also reflect a growing interest in cryotherapy, which ascribes many benefits to sustained sessions in cold water, including mental resilience and physical recovery.
In-home sauna with a built-in heater.
Hard Working
Home gyms and exercise spaces continue to be in demand. But unlike the sometimes hasty DIY remodels of their COVID-19 predecessors, Kruell says these rooms keep the client’s needs front of mind. “It does vary by the client and what their needs or what their expectations are,” Kruell says. This can be as simple as selecting a moisture-wicking bamboo flooring for cardio enthusiasts or rubber floors for weight lifting buffs.
Sometimes, it can also get as complicated as predetermining in-floor outlets tailored to the dimensions of multiple machines. “I’ve got one client out in Victoria, [and] we set up that space very intricately for them, knowing kind of exactly what equipment they had and how it would work best for both of them,” Kruell says.
Custom-designed home gym (bottom right).
Trends come and go, but tailored home amenities become part of everyday life. Kruell says the Charles Cudd Co. difference is, “the seamless collaboration of everything in the house, from the architecture to the design. The synergy of the design build process, that’s what sets us apart.”
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