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Italian Replica: Best Single Family Home Priced from $850,000 to $1.5 Million

A little taste of Tuscany makes custom simple

May 1, 2009 (All day)

Category: Best Single Family Home Priced from $850,000 to $1.5 Million

Gold Winner: Toscana at Corda Bella, Denver

Toscana at Corda Bella's exterior incorporates real stone, wrought iron and other materials that reflect a true custom home.
Photo: Ron Ruscio Photography

Even the terrain fit the bill for the community the developer proposed: Ravenna, named after the Italian city that connects to the Adriatic Sea. The architectural guidelines parallel Tuscany style.

“The homes will be very Tuscan,” says architect Jerry Gloss of Knudson Gloss Architects. “It’s in a hilly area west of Denver, so it kind of has that same topography as the real Tuscany.”

Toscana at Corda Bella, a two-story home, has a main-floor master with two bedroom suites upstairs — perfect for the empty nester. The European detailing required calls for recessed windows; real stone; wood-clad, premium-color windows; and lots of iron on the exteriors and outdoor living spaces.

“Ours is one of two repeatable product lines within the community,” says Sattler Homes president Tom Sattler. “Everything else is custom-built. Our objective has been to target a buyer who wants a simplified custom home-building experience.

Interior custom details include wood-beam ceiling treatments, multiple fireplaces and built-in options.
Photo: Ron Ruscio Photography

“We created five floor plans from three chassis,” Sattler continues. “Three chassis are two stories; two of them can be ranches for a total of five. Then we created a multitude of options. A consumer can pre-select their finishes, pick one of the plans and be in and out in a handful of days with a custom home.”

Home: Toscana at Corda Bella

Location: Denver

Builder: Sattler Homes, Greenwood Village, Colo.

Architect: Knudson Gloss Architects, Boulder, Colo.

Landscape architect: All Season’s Landscaping, Parker, Colo.

Interior merchandising: Hillary Reed Interiors, Littleton, Colo.

Target market: Empty-nester, second-home and move-down buyers

Square footage: 4,117

Price: $1.47 million

Hard construction costs per square feet (not including land): $200-225

Number of units in community: 243