Research led Roger and Dawn Stephens to Silverthorne Homes. The couple lived on the cusp of Marion County when they decided to build a home that would be customized to their young family’s needs.

The Stephenses chose the Hayden floor plan, then made changes to fit their lifestyle. They were on site every day from start to finish, Dawn Stephens said.

“They put a sheet up on the house for questions, and they do this in every house,” she said. “You write your questions, and the very next day the contractor on site will answer them. There was no phone tag. We never had to track people down.”

They moved into their Silverthorne home in April.

Stephens said they love their open-concept home, where she can see her two youngsters playing in the sunken great room as she works in the kitchen.

Like the Stephenses, those who choose Silverthorne “are able to obtain a semi-custom home at a production price,” said Steve Hatchel, vice president of sales and marketing for Silverthorne.

The client does not have to start from scratch. “We show the customers sets of plans, and they can modify them to fit their families’ needs, for a price that isn’t custom,” Hatchel said.

Curtis Rector, president of Arbor Homes and past president of the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis, owns Silverthorne Homes. The 2-year-old company, independent of Arbor Homes, has communities in Hamilton, Hendricks and Hancock counties.

The Ess-ex community, which is exclusively Silverthorne Homes, is two miles north of 146th Street on Hazel Dell Parkway, in Noblesville, just opened the first of three sections. When complete, the community will have 120 homes in three sections. Right now, 40 sites are available in the first section, which celebrated its grand opening in February.

Amenities will include a pool, playground, basketball court, lakes and walking trails, according to sales consultant Mike Morris. The annual homeowners’ fee is $440 per year.

Two models, The Stratton and The Keystone, are at the entrance. The Stratton is based at $302,900, and The Keystone at $298,900.

The two-story, four-bedroom Stratton model is finished in all possible places, with 3,542 square feet main living space, plus 1,654 finished square feet in the basement.

The wainscoting throughout the foyer is an indication of the fine wood finishes throughout the home. Wide-plank hardwood floors take the eye inward, but let’s start with the two-story entry.

The formal dining room is an actual room, rather than a space set apart by pillars. Wood panel transoms crown the doorways from the foyer and to a hallway leading to the kitchen.

On the other side of the foyer is a small parlor, perfect for greeting guests.

Both rooms feature extended crown molding.

The interesting foyer staircase features a landing with choice: Go on to the second floor or go downstairs again, into the kitchen. We’ll go upstairs later.

The stairs to the kitchen actually land in an informal dining area, which opens onto an upgraded large deck.

The kitchen doesn’t have a center island. It has a peninsula. The elongated, dual-height feature includes a seating area, cabinets and shelving below, plus a microwave built into the higher end.

The gourmet kitchen also houses a walk-in pantry, double ovens and a five-burner gas cook top, with hood designed to match the cabinetry. There are loads of cabinets in this kitchen, staggered in height and topped with crown molding — as is standard with Silverthorne.

The countertops are upgraded Cambria natural quartz.

The two-story, sunken great room features a direct-vent gas fireplace, standard in Silverthorne homes. The traditional wood mantle is topped with more paneling — a great spot for your treasured oversize painting. Elongated windows across the back wall and on either side of the fireplace bring the outside in.

Upstairs, balconies overlook the foyer and great room.

The master bedroom is bright and sunny, with a tray ceiling and an abundance of windows.

Double doors lead to the spacious master bath. A garden whirlpool resides here, with its wainscot and tile surround. There’s also a glass-front shower.

Separate his-and-hers vanities allow couples their own space. Hers features a convenient dressing table.

The large walk-in closet off the bath leads to a bonus room — an upgraded finish, above the garage. Here, it is used as an exercise room, but it also would make a cozy sitting room or small home office.

The guest bedroom opens into the common bath, which can be shared by two other bedrooms. The double vanity in the bath has a standard marble countertop.

A fourth, smaller bedroom has a private bath.

The basement level’s crowning glory is a charming home theater whose faux columns on the side walls and art alcoves mimic a 1950s movie house. Enter through a door placed between two rounded half-walls reminiscent of ticket-taker booths from the old days.

The wet bar resembles a kitchen, with an island-type setup rather than a stool bar. Adjacent space for game tables or billiards is filled with natural light from two welled windows.

There’s finished storage galore here, beneath the stairs and off the bar area.

Just inside the three-car- garage doorway on the main level are the large laundry room and a work center. A built-in desk and cabinets, separated by a half-wall, gives space to check e-mail and stow car keys and briefcase.

“With the home-management center, you don’t clutter up the house by dropping things on the kitchen countertop,” Hatchel said.

The same setup is in the 2,527-square-foot Keystone model next door. An additional 1,724 square feet make up the unfinished basement.

The smaller, two-story home has an elegant country feel, right from the foyer’s art alcove and handsome den with built-in shelving.

The open-concept floor plan features a first-floor master suite, with two bedrooms and a loft upstairs. There’s an option for a finished basement, as well.

Its gourmet kitchen is larger, with a second sink in the center island. It has the same appliances as does the Stratton, along with an informal dining area off the two-story great room, where the stone fireplace soars to the ceiling.

Both models exhibit what Hatchel says is the hallmark of Silverthorne: “We design homes around the way people live.”

source : www.thenoblesvilleledger.com