Homes are at the heart of every Homearama

At the Homearama site one recent Monday morning, contractors crawled around the Preston Homes house.

They were finishing up construction ahead of the annual Tidewater Builders Association event’s Oct. 17 kickoff.

“With this home, our theme is all about family,” builder Tara Preston said, standing outside the residence on Willow Glenn Circle.

The house was designed to cater to the family, she said, with features like flowing, open living spaces, a kitchen nook, and one of the five bedrooms converted into a playroom.

On the exterior, stone accents give the home a warm, inviting personality.

“It just seems this is an area with a lot of families with young children,” Preston said. “That’s why I chose that theme.”

Right next door, Les Ore’s creation incorporates the latest in technology. Ore is in his eighth year at Homearama. He has built at Suffolk’s Riverfront as well as Founders Pointe in Isle of Wight for previous events.

Everything in the 3,000 square-foot home runs through an iPad, Ore said: heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, all the lighting, the blinds in the media room — even the locks on the front door.

On the rear of the house, a 14-by-24 foot retractable awning can also be hooked up to operate through the “Smart House” system.

“It’s also wind-sensored, so if the wind comes up to a certain strength, the awning will automatically retract,” Ore said. “What I wanted to do was to show people how technology can interface with everything used in a house.

“Also, at the same time, on the pricing of a house, I wanted to show people how I can reproduce this house at the same price somewhere else. A lot of time people think Homearama houses can’t go somewhere else.”

But Ore’s home isn’t purely about technological innovations. The kitchen has the latest Viking appliances. Floors are engineered hardwood three-eighths of an inch thick. Ceilings in the master bedroom are 10 feet high, and the sink in the adjoining bathroom is carved out of rock.

Ore had about a week left on the house when he spoke with Suffolk Living. He was confident the job would be done in time.

“I want to be sitting in the A/C relaxing,” he said.

Ryan Rose, a first-time Homearama builder, said his objective was to combine affordability and elegance.

“You walk into these gorgeous, huge, expensive houses, and most people can’t afford them,” he said. “I wanted something they could afford.”

Homearama has been a “great experience,” Rose said. “I have definitely heard horror stories. But the developers have been very accommodating. TBA staff (members) have been very helpful. It hasn’t really been any more stressful.”

Back at the Preston Homes house, Tara Preston listed some of the backyard features: fire pit, grilling area and “a nice, large covered porch.”

It’s all part of the family-centric design, she said.

What does Homearama offer the builder? Preston, a first-time builder in Suffolk, says it exposes her homes to a large audience – a broad cross-section of the community.

“It’s a great area and it’s been a great city to work with,” she said. “They are all on board and very helpful.”

With one week left, Ore explained that the schedule he’d drawn up was keeping construction running on time.

He uses the same sub-contractors he always does, he said, and they know what to expect and what Ore expects.

“I want my house 100-percent perfect,” he says. “We work very hard for it, and I want it to be perfect.”

Ore said he arrived at the technology theme after an association staff member emailed him a list of themes.

“When I saw that, I knew people are into technology,” he says. “We decided to take up that challenge, basically, because we thought it would bring people here.”