Home:     The Gothenburg, by Stepper Custom Homes
Designer:    Jolleen Clark

It takes quite a few gifted and dedicated people working as a team to provide homeowners with everything they might need or desire in a home. One of these people is Jolleen Clark, Architectural Technologist with Stepper Custom Homes.

A graduate of the Architectural and Building Technologies program at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Sciences and Technologies (SIAST), “I always liked sketching,” says Jolleen. “When I heard about the program in high-school I thought it might be interesting.” Jolleen says that this was a three-year program, as opposed to some of the two-year programs available in other provinces. She also says that instead of a few weeks of work experience, she was expected to complete a full year.

Shortly after graduating from her program, Jolleen decided that she wanted to move to Calgary. Before she even got here however, amazingly enough she found a job first. “A friend of mine said that Stepper Custom Homes was looking for another drafter,” says Jolleen. “After two telephone interviews I was then asked to come in for a face to face interview.

After that interview, Jolleen was asked to join the company, and she still hadn’t found a place to live!  Initially her job with the company involved releasing plans, then she moved up to spec-homes and standard plot plans, and now four years after she started, Jolleen is designing beautiful custom homes. One of the homes that Jolleen designed is the Gothenburg, a three-bedroom, two-storey spec home that will be built in Cochrane. “What I like about this plan is that there are lots of different options available,” says Jolleen. “One such option is the upper level Tech-area that can either be a computer and technologies space or can remain an open area at the top of the stairs.” Another one of the Gothenburg features is the fabulous fireplace. The standard fireplace is hardly that, with a two-way design that allows it to be viewed from both the great room and the eating nook. However, the optional detail offers a full-stone two-way fireplace with a walk-through area on either side of the feature that allows direct access to both rooms and ensures that the fireplace can be viewed from everywhere on the main floor. With stone on all sides of the fireplace, this is sure to be the focal point of this beautiful home.

Yet another unique feature in the Gothenburg is the shape at the rear of the home. On the main level the floor plan is angled at the rear to allow the windows to let in more light and a better view of the backyard. Coinciding with this design feature is the upper Master bedroom. “The corner sitting area in the Master has angled windows that will offer a nice view,” says Jolleen. “With this home being built in Cochrane you may be able to have a great view of the mountains right off the Master.” This 2034 square foot home offers some truly amazing design elements that homeowners will love, including the spacious veranda that spans the entire front of the home and the abundance of big, beautiful windows.   NL