In June each year, the Utah Valley Home Builders Association (UVHBA) holds an event called the ‘Utah Valley Parade of Homes’ where builders enter brand new homes to be showcased to the public.
To explain simply, this year around 30 builders entered 41 homes into the Parade. The homes can be for a client or as a spec build, but they must be finished on the date the parade starts and the house is not allowed to be lived in prior to the parade.
The parade runs for two weeks and when you purchase a ticket it gives you entry to all the homes. The homes are spread around the Utah Lake and it’s approximately 1 hour drive from the farthest south to the farthest north home.
Trent from our team visited the parade and over 3 days viewed as many of the homes as possible – albeit not as many as you would think as they are all very large, very detailed homes!
What style are they?
The overall style of most of the homes would be ‘Modern Farmhouse’ however there was a mix of traditional, colonial, and English influences. There was also super modern homes mixed in, and often the outside of the home was a different style to the inside, giving a bit of a surprise when you walk through the home.
What stood out?
- Huge entertaining areas in all the homes
- Indoor toys – golf simulators, basketball courts, pool tables, theatres, were the norm
- Interior design was next level – we could tell that the whole interiors of the home were thoughtfully designed and must say that the interior designers must have spent months choosing all the final details!
- Landscaping was next level – including pools, slides, jumping platforms, pickleball courts, sandpits, in-ground tramps, you name it!
- A very common layout is to walk into the front entry and have the study on the left or the right, and then directly ahead is the great room, which is living, dining and kitchen, and always a large fireplace
Other items that caught our eye
- Safety from falling is clearly not considered an issue – handrails were sometimes not present and often had horizontal bars or wires which children would easily climb
- Pool fencing was certainly optional
- We noticed a unique finish to the painting and found out that they roughly skim the entire wall with plaster (interior) and leave it with imperfections and then paint it – it almost gives it a plaster like finish.
- We asked why so much effort was put into the basements and outdoors, and got told ‘when we entertain, it’s downstairs and out-back’
Free Ebook Download:
'52 Tips For Designing & Building Your Home'
What are their building costs like?
This was a discussion had with several of their builders, and was always a bit of a mind bender to convert from USD per square foot to NZD per square meter. But in short, the build price was around $4000/m2 in NZD for some of the lower spec homes, and up to $6500 for the larger, more complex homes.
How big were the homes?
Very big. Some of the smaller homes we went to were around 400m2, and then some of the larger well over 1000m2, because many had basketball courts, golf simulators, huge basements and entertaining areas in addition to the main house living.
Travelling the globe for inspiration
Here at Arcline we are always wanting to be at the forefront of design in New Zealand and realise that it’s easy to get isolated in our architecture here down-under. Travelling the globe to gather ideas, new techniques and ways of designing homes and buildings is some of the best research we can do to improve our services.
To get an idea of the homes included in the Parade, scroll down a few we have selected from the images we took during our visits. Enjoy these uniquely designed homes which we wouldn’t frequently see in New Zealand!
