In the 2016 Parade of Homes, Rockford Homes caught visitors’ eyes with its sizable master suite featuring a sitting area and a wealth of closet space.
This year, not one to rest on its laurels, Rockford looks to top itself with an even bigger master suite and an even longer list of highlights there, as well as throughout the rest of the house.
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom house clocks in at 4,100 square feet, and is listed at $598,000.
In its 2017 Parade home, Rockford has built an owner’s retreat with a sitting area that “could be its own apartment,” says company Director of Marketing Rae Lemley, and an enormous walk-in closet.
“In a lot of homes, this walk-in closet would be a room (of its own),” Lemley says.
The hexagon pattern of the master bath tiles is also sure to draw the interest of Parade patrons, she says. It’s one of the more noticeable aspects of the bathroom, which is also equipped with a large tub, a walk-in shower and a water closet.
Also upstairs are two children’s rooms connected by a Jack-and-Jill bath, as well as a larger bedroom that could potentially be for an older child.
The master suite is just one significant highlight of Rockford’s Parade entry, designed in a farmhouse style. The farmhouse aura is a key part of the home’s design, Lemley says, and Parade patrons will notice elements of it everywhere they look.
The two-story great room is defined in large part by the floor-to-ceiling windows that are a Rockford trademark.
“That’s something we definitely try to emphasize: bringing the outdoors in with ample windows,” says Lemley.
Highlights of the kitchen include an apron sink, a popular feature in new homes, and an attention-grabbing herringbone pattern backsplash. The countertops are engineered stone – granite with a honed finish, which gives them a rough look but keeps them smooth to the touch.
“They’re not quite as glossy as you would traditionally see with granite countertops,” says Lemley.
Clean lines and open spaces are a major priority for homeowners right now, so the kitchen opens to the breakfast area, equipped with a fireplace, and the great room. And the kitchen is all in white, which is another trend that’s picking up steam.
The house features a first-floor guest suite, and Rockford is particularly proud of the illustrative patterned flooring in the attached bathroom, as well as the three-panel interior door style. A good-sized mudroom is equipped with laundry facilities.
Other home highlights include white stair rails, natural finishings such as engineered hardwood floors in gray tones and an old barn door that opens to a built-in bookshelf.
Though Rockford has 15 model homes throughout central Ohio, nothing generates quite as much traffic as the Parade, so it was well worth it for the company to participate again this year, Lemley says. Rockford always tries to emphasize the attainability of its Parade homes – making them impressive, but not so spectacular that a visitor cannot visualize himself or herself living there – and this year’s entry is no exception, says Lemley.
Robert Yoakam Jr.
Rockford Homes’ former president, Robert Yoakam Jr., is one of three inductees into the 2017 BIA of Central Ohio Hall of Fame.
Yoakam became president of the company in 1995 and helped drive the company’s modern-day philosophy, which has continued on since his death in 2015.
Other inductees were:
- Peter Edwards, founder of home builder Edwards Companies, which has built more than 30,000 residential units since 1959.
- Vince Romanelli, co-founder of home builder Romanelli & Hughes, a frequent fixture in the Parade of Homes that was founded in 1970.
