Bob Webb Homes’ 30-plus-year commitment to modern Parade home design – and its 55-plus-year commitment to homebuilding – takes shape in its entry in the 2014 Parade.
Company founder Bob Webb was inducted into the BIA Hall of Fame in the fall for his longstanding commitment to the local building industry. This is the 12th Parade in which the company has participated since its 1960 founding; the first was 1981’s at Little Turtle.
One of its key commitments is making each entry adaptable to new technology. It’s tough to predict new advancements, so Bob Webb leaves things open and accessible – conduit pipes set up so new wires can easily be added, for instance.
Scott Shively of Bob Webb points to the company’s contribution to the 1993 Parade at Wedgewood as a good example. A picture of it hangs in the company offices, and even though it was built 21 years ago, it still looks thoroughly in today’s style.
This year’s home is 5,652 square feet, with five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms.
One major priority was the hearth room – located, along with the great room, off the open kitchen – which is designed to be a place where the entire family can gather. Its centerpiece is a fireplace the builders joke is “big enough to walk into.”
“Now Mom and Dad can be in the kitchen and the kids can be doing their homework or a craft project on that big table in the hearth room,” says Webb.
Off the hearth room is a loggia with doors that can be left wide open, all overlooking a spacious deck – a design decision that ties the outdoor and indoor areas together. The deck affords a full view of the horse pasture to which the lot backs up, and it has steps down to a large patio, which connects to a huge, open lower-level family room.
The driveway allows access to two garages – a two-car and a separate carriage garage – each with a separate entry into the house. They’re connected via a laundry area and mud hall that can be entered from either garage or from a small side porch between them, separate from the main front porch off the foyer.
Bob Webb always prides itself on its craftsmanship, and that’s clear immediately upon entering the house, Shively says. The company’s cabinet shop built many of the specialty built-ins throughout the home.
The commitment to top-notch craftsmanship is visible all throughout the house, and the ceilings on the first floor – which range from 10 to 15 feet in height – further set the house apart.
A big brick archway in the lower level is designed to give the feel of a pub room without making it seem cut off from the rest of the house. A rec room with a bar and another sizable fireplace, a game room, a bedroom with bathroom, a covered porch and a wine cellar fill out the lower level.
Upstairs, the master bedroom is highlighted by the huge walk-in closet off the bathroom, designed for someone organized with a lot of outfits.
“We don’t need walls to separate rooms … we’ve done it with our trim detail. It’s all in the details,” says Webb, noting that trim detail is another key priority in all of the company’s houses.
