Client Spotlight: Scandi Style on the Central Coast
Carmen and her husband, Jared recently received the keys to their brand new Hotondo Home on the Central Coast in NSW and they couldn’t be happier with their stunning industrial/Scandi style home. We chatted to first time home builder Carmen about her experience building with Jon and Lyndsey Clarke on the Central Coast, and we also received some insight from Jon about how the build went.
Why Hotondo?
Carmen and Jared have a close friend who built with Hotondo Homes Central Coast last year, and couldn’t speak highly enough of the team! “She told us how easy the build process was, and how accommodating they were, which we liked,” said Carmen. She also said they really love that Central Coast use local trades throughout their builds, supporting the local economy. “They were also really accommodating when there were a couple of changes during the build. They listened to what we wanted and made the necessary adjustments, which was great!”
Client Vision
Carmen and Jared had a specific plan in mind, and when they sat down with Jon, he was able to walk them through the Hotondo design that best suited their requirements. “They ended up with a modified Lorne, with inspiration taken from the Hotham floor plan, and the Bellarine façade with a skillion roof was used,” Jon said. Carmen told us that although they had a particular floor plan they liked, sitting down with Jon to look at Hotondo floor plans helped guide the direction of their build. Carmen and Jared’s requirements included open-plan living downstairs on one level, stacker doors leading to an alfresco to create indoor/outdoor living, and all the bedrooms upstairs, creating one sleeping quarter for their young family.
When it came to choosing their colours, Carmen had a very specific vision for an industrial feel with elements of Scandi style, and visualising the colour palette with the team was really beneficial. “They really know their stuff, and were so knowledgeable across all the areas of the home. It’s another reason we loved building with Hotondo – you don’t need to lock in your colour selections until a bit later in the process, which allowed us to change a few things,” Carmen said. “A lot of other builders we knew of required all of that stuff to be locked in straight away, which doesn’t allow clients to change their mind later on.”
Navigating Challenges
Jon told us there was a lot of rain at the beginning of the build, so much so that they struggled to find a dry day to pour the slab. Carmen and her family were overseas at this time, during which there was about six weeks of steady rain. Upon their return home, however, Carmen told us the team had accomplished so much, more so than they had expected given the wet weather they’d been hearing about! Carmen’s interior design vision meant there were a few requests that weren’t standard as part of the build, so Jon had their carpenter build some custom vanities to create a cohesive theme throughout the home.
Working With The Team
“The guys were so easy to work with,” Carmen said. “They accommodated our vision as much as possible, and when something wasn’t going to work, they offered solutions that still suited our floor plan.” Jon told us that Carmen and Jared wanted Blackbutt as a feature throughout the home, and they were able to include it in the floors, custom vanity tops, and floating shelves in the butler’s pantry. Carmen originally wanted a concrete staircase, but ultimately it wasn’t cost effective, so she compromised with a pool out the back instead, saying “it’s somewhere we can create lots of memories, so I’m okay with it!” Jon was able to offer up the solution of a beautiful custom staircase balustrade feature screen, which makes a stunning statement in the home.
Congratulations Carmen and Jared! We know you’ll just love living in your new Hotondo Home as much as the Central Coast team loved building it, and we’re sure you’ll love creating memories that are better than you ever imagined! You can view more images from Carmen and Jared’s building journey over on their Instagram page. If you’re looking for a local builder for your new home, head to the Hotondo Homes website and search for a builder in your area today.
