Home Builder Vintage Homes brings home Silver BALA award!

Single Family Custom Home Built by Vintage Homes Wins Best in American Living Award

Vintage Homes in Shreveport, Louisiana has won a Silver award for the single family custom home 2000-3000 square foot category in the 2022 Best in American Living™ Awards (BALA) by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The Award was announced at the ceremony held during the 2023 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas, Nevada in February.

A local family in Shreveport, Louisiana was looking for a place to downsize from their 3-story home, but wanted to keep an inviting and spacious home to entertain and host their children and grandchildren. They chose a new construction home site in Provenance Community, a Traditional Neighborhood Development in Shreveport, Louisiana. The lot faces Magnolia Park, an interior green space on Sweetleaf Avenue with about twelve homes. This idyllic spot is located within walking and golf-cart riding distance to multiple parks, nature trails, pool, clubhouse, Windrush Lake, restaurants, a financial planner, medical care, veterinary hospital, bank, and post office. A local coffee shop, donut shop, ice cream shop, and cookie shop will also open soon. The community regularly hosts movie nights, book clubs, nature walks, farmers markets, and culinary events.

The homeowners designed a Low Country Coastal style home that allows them to age-in-place without sacrificing charm and convenience by using smart built-ins and hidden storage solutions. Twelve-foot ceilings, a metal roof, shiplap in nearly every room, and light neutral colors cement the coastal look. Tall windows boasting window seats and broad doors let in natural light and park views. An essential element to any Low Country style home is a wide and welcoming front porch. This space adds to the interior with swing seating and dining area overlooking the park providing ample opportunity to greet neighbors taking a stroll.

The home also needed to carry them through the rest of their lives, whatever may come. Future handicap accessibility was top of mind when choosing fixtures and designing the floor plan. Widened hallways and doorways, an easy-to-navigate layout, oversized showers and pull-out drawers allow for easy access and accessibility. All the main living areas exist on the first-floor including 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, laundry room, an open kitchen and dining room, great room, and court porch totaling 2,235 square feet.

A huge focal point during the home build was the construction of the court porch. Every last inch of the space was used to create a multi-functioning space. After a lot of planning and coordinating, the porch serves as a grilling porch, a sun room, an entertainment overflow area, a fireplace room, and lounge. Special attention was placed on the air conditioning, ventilation, and window function to allow these rooms to marry into one space. It is truly a one-of-a-kind space!

The second floor is a spray foam insulated attic that runs the full length of the house where you can move about comfortably. This extra storage space was essential to helping them downsize. The walk-in space is accessed through the 3-garage by a wide staircase.  The efficiency and energy from the spray foam insulation are incredible. In the hottest month of the year, the energy bill came out to $177.00.

The 8-month construction project began in April of 2022 and concluded before Thanksgiving 2022. Through smart planning, clever storage, and coastal décor, the homeowners made downsizing from a larger home look easy!

Now in its 39^th year, BALA recognizes outstanding achievement by builders and design professionals in all sectors of the residential housing industry including single-family production, custom, multifamily, affordable, remodeling, community and interiors. BALA is built on the principle that all great homes start with great design, no matter cost or size.

Buying a home is often the most significant purchase people will make in their lifetime, and BALA winners spotlight what building industry professionals need to know to set their project apart and hit the right mark with today’s highly educated and discerning home buyers.

Additional Information about the BALA program can be found at bestinamericanliving.com. The 2022 Winners Portfolio, featuring design trends and project photographs, are available online.