Smallest of the showcase homes on the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach 2024 Remodeled Home Tour, Dorothy Moore’s Sola wowed visitors with its abundance of storage solutions and imaginative use of living space both inside and out. At 1,530 square-feet (not including the casita), the main residence is comparable in size to a SaddleBrooke villa, yet its outbuildings and additions lend the property a more spacious feel. The overall neutral design palette and unified front and back patios contribute to the overall sense of space.
After downsizing from one of SaddleBrooke’s largest homes, a roughly 3,200 square-foot two-story Durango, to her current home in 2018, Moore set out to design a smarter home tailored to her needs as a busy realtor with a desire for a more easy-living lifestyle and reduced upkeep. Built in 2011, the later-day Sola floor plan already included many of the modern elements that Dorothy desired with its split design offering two distinct wings to the property, and bay windows enlarging both bedroom spaces.
Dorothy collaborated with two of the area’s most prolific builders over a three-year period beginning in 2020 who completed most of the interior remodels of the main residence; and another builder, who built the storage room, casita, new patio cover, and, ultimately, the extension of the home’s garage.
Among the first tasks were the removal of two overgrown, messy trees in the front yard (which Dorothy’s neighbors appreciated) and the planting of three saguaros. Backyard walls were elevated, stuccoed and topped with iron view fencing, and the front patio was enclosed with the installation of a handsome handcrafted iron gate by Lions Cage Wrought Iron. The elimination of the coat closet and the installation of two windows opened and brightened the previously cramped, dark foyer.
To personalize her new home, the SaddleBrooke Remodeling crew updated and customized the kitchen, baths, laundry room, primary closet, lighting, fixtures and window coverings. In the kitchen, contemporary cabinetry was refaced with rounded edge solid wood panels and crown molding in a contemporary expresso finish. The rich cabinetry is set off with new bright, white quartz counters with a Blanco white granite composite sink at the island and a wave glass subway backsplash tile on the surround, which Dorothy painstakingly laid out and labeled to ensure the installer got the undulating layout just right. New undermounted and above-mounted LED Smart Color Changing lighting, as well as a frosted glass-front pantry door, add to the ambiance.
A fortunate find for the homeowner was tile to match the home’s existing tile and replace the former carpet in the great room. Motorized window shades, LED lighting, contemporary fixtures and surround sound were installed throughout the home. The all-new owner’s bath was modified for a larger doorless walk-in shower with all new plumbing featuring a rain head shower, a new deeper vanity that seamlessly attaches to the shower wall and a closet outfitted with organizers. In the main residence’s second bathroom, the cabinets were refaced and the bathtub was removed to make way for a beautiful floor-to-ceiling tiled doorless shower.
The addition of a storage room off the home’s laundry room, accessible via a French door, not only provides ample storage space for all the Moore Team’s real estate signage, but also transforms the former dead end laundry room into a light and bright space, conveniently adjacent to a utility sink. Moore had builders also expand the great room’s east-facing wall by two-feet, which was cleverly adapted to create a tile-clad feature wall with inset, illuminated shelving flanking a modern linear gas fireplace, and a TV above. The great room’s former clerestory window was repurposed in the new storage room, which has a garage door and can be easily converted to golf cart garage, an artist’s studio or a gym in the future.
The team of builders also built Dorothy’s lovely new 360 square-foot casita (guest house). Separated from the bedroom by double doors, the ensuite bathroom is spacious, and includes a tankless water heater, a doorless walk-in shower and a large walk-in closet. With all the creature comforts and windows that showcase the property’s mountain view, guests may well be tempted to linger! Seamlessly integrating the primary residence and the casita, the patio roof was expanded far beyond the original space to a 30-foot by 16-foot extension with a gorgeous tongue and groove ceiling with recessed lighting and ceiling fans.
Further amplifying garage storage, Moore had builders extend the home’s main two-car garage by twelve feet, increasing the total length to 31.5-feet. The exterior stucco’s expertly brushed finish and the interior’s flecked epoxy-coated garage floor conceal any signs of the buildout. The unifying span of Pima Blend pavers extending from the primary driveway to the front walkway, storage room/golf cart garage, backyard pathways and patio gives the impression that these additions were always part of the property.
With guests comfortably ensconced in the casita, Dorothy uses the main residence’s second bedroom as her office. Positioned at the front of the home, with south-facing light and a view to the street, it’s an ideal place to greet visiting clients, with the guest bath and kitchen nearby.
After three years of home improvement projects, Dorothy Moore has achieved a perfect fit in her super-customized Sola, and to paraphrase an oft-used Moore team listing motto, it truly is, “just the place to call home.”
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