By Susan Bady, Senior Editor, Design
September 1, 2007

Custom Builder

Jeff Roos admits that when he started planning his own residence, he was thinking like a typical production-home builder.

Roos, who is Southwest regional president of Lennar Corp., had envisioned something closer to Lennar's luxury production houses. But he ended up with a much higher level of customization and craftsmanship: a Tuscan farmhouse rich with natural materials and hand-hewn finishes and details.

After purchasing a half-acre lot in a subdivision in Irvine, Calif., Roos brought his ideas to Bassenian/Lagoni Architects in Newport Beach, Calif., which had designed high-end homes for Lennar. He encouraged them to incorporate some of the same concepts applied to Lennar homes, such as interior courtyards and covered loggias.

The subdivision has strict design guidelines, including height limits, a requirement of less square footage on the second floor than on the first, and architectural mandates for certain sites (Roos' lot required a Tuscan style). Architect Kevin Karami created plans and elevations for a Tuscan-inspired, 1½-story home of 5,791 square feet.

"This architecture is about simplicity," says Karami. "The building materials are indigenous to the Tuscan hillside." Controlled openings (arches, glass and see-through fireplaces) separate the spaces, but exterior materials are carried through to the inside, and vice versa, to eliminate any boundary between the indoors and outdoors. In Tuscany, he explains, the farmhouses take advantage of hilly topography. "Jeff Roos' site has some slopes, which is why we designed two courtyards on different levels," Karami says. The low-pitched roof is dominated by gable ends.