Home:     Lough Neagh, McKee Homes
Designer: Grace McKee-Howell

Every new home has its beginnings as an idea in a designers or architect’s head. Someone had to have ignited that little spark in order for it to evolve into a full-fledged floor plan and from there into a beautiful new home. However, have you ever wondered what compelled the architect or designer to become what they are, and do what they do? Sometimes these creative individuals start off by entering the trades in the home industry and then apply that experience towards creating their own designs. Others begin by taking some type of architectural or design course and moving into the industry once they graduate. For others, the path can be much more circuitous, however the end result is still the same; the world has yet another talented individual contributing great designs to the new home industry.

Grace McKee-Howell, designer for McKee Homes, is part of a family-run business that has been building homes for 20 years. Although you’d never know it now, she never thought she would be designing new homes. “I always said that I would never work for the family business,” says Grace. Well, it’s funny how things work out. “I studied Aeronautical Engineering for five years,” says Grace. “I was always very interested in anything to do with math and I always loved airplanes.”

After several years of study in Calgary, Grace moved to Ottawa to complete her program at Carleton University. “I really missed my family while I was in Ottawa, so I came home,” says Grace. “When I got back my father offered me a job and so, in ’93, I started working for McKee Homes.”

As a result, Grace is now senior home planner, chief estimator and co-owner of the company. The most recent of her floor plans has only just begun construction — the Lough Neagh, a three-bedroom, 2,417-square-foot home.

“The developer had some specific needs and wanted homes with flush fronts, where the front of the home is nearly flush with the front of the garage,” says Grace. “I had wanted to design a home with certain new key design features, so this was a good time to incorporate these ideas.”

Having young children of her own, Grace wanted to incorporate a toy room close to the family living space. “I designed the toy room off the lifestyle room so that toys could easily be put away,” says Grace. “Once the children grow up, however, that space can be turned into a small computer or reading room which makes this area very multi-purpose.” One of the other great features (for parents especially) which the Lough Neagh offers is locating the secondary bedrooms off the lifestyle room, with a three-piece bathroom nestled between them. With this design, the entrance to the master bedroom is very separate from the rest of the rooms, which offers much more privacy. In addition, the master includes a large walk-in closet and a luxurious ensuite complete with soaker tub, separate shower stall and his-and-her sinks in the vanity.

Everything about this home is well-designed and functional, as well as attractive. “When it comes to designing homes I tend to be very practical,” says Grace. “Our company is very family-oriented and I think my designs reflect that.”

Grace says that although she is pretty much self-taught in home design, she admits that her father helped her along the way, and had a positive impact on her design career.

“I love designing homes now,” confesses Grace. “Not only is it interesting, but it’s fun.” The Lough Neagh show home is scheduled to open sometime in November, but if you want to learn more about the home or the company you can visit McKee’s website at http://www.mckeehomes.com.  NL