Reader’s Choice: Lasting Impressions By Carolyn Weber and Christina B. Farnsworth
Name: Magnifique
Location: Tulsa, Okla.
Year Built: 1988
Architect: Jack Arnold
Why it’s relevant: Authenticity and attention to detail result in timeless homes.
Builder Phil McCafferty just couldn’t pick a favorite on our list of historic homes. “I like the best of anything. They are all wonderful,” says McCafferty of Delcor Homes, Milford, Mich. But asked to pick the homes that have most influenced him, without hesitation he named Tulsa, Okla., architect Jack Arnold’s designs for Country French homes. McCafferty describes the designs he discovered six years ago as timeless.
“You know it’s hard to capture an authentic Country French feel. Roofs need to be a minimal 12/12 pitch. Such steep roofs are more hazardous to build,” he says. There are also subtle design details easy to skip or overdo. McCafferty feels Arnold has a deft hand and the right touch.
[Photo: Courtesy Jack Arnold] |
Now McCafferty is attempting to combine cents and sensibility by bringing the design styles that inspire him to more affordable traditional neighborhood design. The problem is, he says, that TNDs just pencil out more expensively. The TND competition for his homes, which will be priced at less than $225,000, are those selling from $310,000 to $400,000.
