DURING THE FALL PARADE OF HOMES, the few top-tier, luxury homes on the tour customarily merit extra-special attention to help you imagine living there in perfect, comfy bliss.
Along with lavish touches such as exotic wood finishes, roomy and welcoming chef’s kitchens and vacation-like backyard havens, the metro’s finest homebuilders collaborate with preeminent interior decorators to style the for-sale new homes as fully furnished fantasies.
Fortunately for Perry and Natalie Taylor, a move-in ready masterpiece – thanks to the Parade – was exactly what they needed.
The Taylors were longtime Utah residents when Perry’s work shifted to central Oklahoma. The senior vice president of the oilfield services company Pilot Logistics Services, Natalie and their four children – Drew, Hannah, Lydia and Sophia – suddenly needed to wrap up school in the fall, enroll in new schools here and find a place to call home.
In fall 2012, the Parade of Homes had just finished up when the Taylors’ real estate agent walked them into a beautifully furnished and decorated Parade home that might fill the bill for a larger family.
“It wasn’t even on our list of houses to look at, but we fell in love with it and put an offer together that day,” Natalie said.
Built by Allenton Custom Homes, the 8,488-square-foot showpiece brimmed with something for every part of their lives. The second-floor game room featured two faux castle turrets flanking an elevated stage for the children’s creative flights of imagination. Breathing room was not even close to an issue in the generous, high-ceilinged, two-island kitchen – ideal for big family meal productions.
The great room now serves the family’s needs as active Mormon Church members for scripture studies and group functions. For large-scale entertaining, the backyard faces an unobstructed lake view and features a fully equipped, commercial-grade outdoor kitchen and a curvilinear pool with its own float-friendly “lazy river.”
On top of having their lifestyle needs addressed, Perry and Natalie delighted in the colors, materials and décor sense of Kaye Edwards. The lead designer at Allenton Interiors in Bethany is a veteran Parade of Homes decorator and winner of multiple design awards.
The home all seemed so … Taylor-made.
Natalie says, “I love that it’s a home that you can entertain people. The kids congregate here rather than them going off to wherever. We know where they are, which is wonderful.
“We love to entertain. We have people over a lot. And I think it’s a great place to raise a family.”
