Southern Charm In Hallsley

Home Combines Southern Charm With Latest Conveniences
by Brandy Brubaker; Richmond Biz Sense

A local builder is giving Richmond a taste of Southern charm.

Midlothian-based Creative Home Concepts on Saturday began showing off a 4,700-square-foot home it built as part of the 2014 Southern Living Custom Builder Program.

The builder was chosen in the invitation-only program by Southern Living magazine. The home is located at 15930 Drumone Road in the Hallsley subdivision in Midlothian. It is listed for sale at $975,000 with Long & Foster realty agent Kristin Krupp, a managing partner of the Beran Group.

The program is an opportunity for the general public to explore a custom-designed Southern Living home decked out in décor suitable for the pages of a magazine and loaded with the latest modern conveniences.

“It’s all about Southern charm, whether it’s the trim or a collaboration of effects,” said Bryan Smith, who co-owns Creative Home Concepts with his sister Shannon Horan.

The five-bedroom, four-bathroom house features front and rear covered porches, a “man cave,” a playroom, four HVAC zones, Apple TV, an open area fashioned into a homework center for kids and a drop zone for coats, shoes and other items.

The kitchen has an eight-burner range, an auto-sensing faucet and a “family management center” complete with mail slats and a charging station. Built-in speakers, controllable by cell phone, are spread throughout the house.

Horan did the interior design, and the home was decorated by Diana Ragsdale.

This is Creative Home Concept’s first Southern Living showcase home, although it has held the Southern Living builder designation for five years. The firm is the only Southern Living-certified custom builder in Richmond.

The program selects “custom builders acclaimed for their detailed craftsmanship, excellence in customer service, financial stability, and use of quality building materials in their homes,” the program’s website said. More than 100 builders throughout the South have received the designation, including several in Virginia.

Public tours of the Hallsley home began Saturday and will be available daily from noon to 5 p.m. until July 6, with the exception of July 4.

Proceeds from $10-per-person ticket sales will benefit Operation FINALLY Home and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Children 12 and under are free.

Creative Home Concepts has built about a dozen other houses at Hallsley and has two others in the works, Smith said.