Take the Tour!----- 1. Project Overview 2. Builder 3. Neighborhood 4. Friends 5. Head Decorator----- ROOMS 6. Sherilyn's Room 7. Bonus Room 8. Teenage Bedroom Suite 9. Guest Suite 10. Master Suite 11. Dining Room 12. Home Theatre 13. Kitchen (Cabinets) 14. Kitchen (Appliances) 15. Kitchen (Countertop) 16. Family Room----- FEATURES 17. Details 18. Water System 19. Tile 20. Elevator 21. Staircase 22. Building Materials 23. Roof 24. Concrete Masonry 25. Concrete Countertops 26. Landscape & Hardscape 27. Pool

SPONSOR

NHI DREAM HOME | ELEVATOR



BY LEE ANN OBRINGER/PHOTOS BY RAY STRAWBRIDGE
WINTER 2005 ISSUE

Veiled by the faux finish walls of the NHI Dream Home’s enormous dining room is a centrally located elevator to whisk family and guests to all three floors of this magnificent home.

With the extravagant feel of an elevator in a fine hotel—only on a smaller scale—the custom interior walls of the elevator exactly match the faux finish walls of the dining room, ensuring it remains tastefully unobtrusive even when the elevator door is open. Its arched entrance and raised panel walls mirror the archways and detail found throughout the home. The tiled floor of the elevator even matches the tile of the dining room.

The elevator was provided by R.E.A.L. Elevator Solutions of Raleigh, which also provides other vertical transporting devices such as dumbwaiters and chairlifts. The builder and interior designers collaborated with the R.E.A.L. Elevator Solutions staff to totally customize the NHI Dream Home elevator, adding yet another element of luxury to the home. R.E.A.L. Elevator Solutions representative Jennifer Faulkner said, “We work with general contractors and designers to provide elevators that fit the needs of the residents as well as complement the design and architectural elements of the homes. This elevator, for example, was provided with a maple accordion door and other accents to blend with the other details used in the dining room.”

Rather than using a counterweight system, the NHI Dream Home elevator uses hydraulics. The hydraulic mechanism gives it a quick and smooth ride that is exceptionally quiet. In fact, this elevator is as quiet as a refrigerator. In an emergency situation, such as a power outage, this hydraulically operated elevator is also safer, as it is equipped with battery backup for lowering the car from the upper levels of the home.

Opening into a hallway between two of the three, second-floor bedrooms, the elevator offers quiet convenience to all areas. On the ground floor, the elevator is hidden at the end of a hallway near the recreation area’s sitting room and the guest suite entrance, giving guests the feeling that they are staying in a luxury hotel—and that’s before they’ve even seen the expansive guest suite with French doors opening to the pool area!

Residential elevators obviously make getting around your home easier and more convenient, particularly if you are often carrying things to various levels—even more so if your home encompasses 8,442 square feet on three levels.

But, did you know that, in addition to the convenience and an increased resale value for a home, an elevator can make it possible for older residents to stay in their homes longer? According to R.E.A.L. Elevator Solutions, older residents can stay in their homes up to 10 years longer than they would without some type of assistance moving between floors.

Why not build a home you can stay in for the long haul? A home elevator like this one can help you do just that! ▪

LEE ANN OBRINGER IS A WRITER AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT IN CHAPEL HILL..

Next>> Staircase


© 2005 Lone Wolf Publishing. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed.