Cooking Light's FitHouse

Arbor Custom Homes, Oregon’s largest residential homebuilder, was selected to build the 2008 Cooking Light FitHouse at its Arbor at Villebois neighborhood in Wilsonville. The project opened on May 31 and will be open to the public for tours until Aug. 31.

To give you an inside view of how this national show home came together, below is a weekly log of activity that went into building the house and what products were incorporated. Featuring universal design elements and sustainable practices, the FitHouse is a real-life example of some of today’s hottest building trends.

Tickets to tour the home are just $5 and a portion of the proceeds go directly to our charitable partner, the Oregon Humane Society.

If you are interested in purchasing the FitHouse when it becomes available in September, or a home in another Arbor Custom Homes neighborhood, please contact marketing@arborhomes.com.

A Grand Opening Success!
Arbor Custom Homes and Cooking Light magazine officially opened the 2008 FitHouse on May 31. Nearly 500 visitors joined in on the street-fair atmosphere and were treated to great food, giveaways, special cooking demonstrations and of course a tour of the house.

The FitHouse will be open for tours all summer until Aug. 31. Hours are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Watch some of the highlights from the open house with this short video. And be sure to come out and see the spectacular home in person this summer. The FitHouse will be the subject of a 30-page spread in the August issue of Cooking Light, and the Arbor team is excited to show the nation the quality and unique designs of our homes.

Live Well Day May 31
The 2008 Cooking Light FitHouse officially opens on May 31 with Live Well Day. Come see the national show home and experience universal design and sustainable building in action. See below for more fun activities that will part of the day. If you can't make it to the opening, the house will be open for tours through Aug. 31.

Address of the FitHouse is:
11605 SW Normandy Lane
Wilsonville, OR 97070

Directions:
I-5 to Exit 283
Turn west on SW Wilsonville Rd.
Turn right on SW Brown Rd.
Follow the Barber Street roundabout to the left, up the hill
Follow the roundabout to the left to SW Costa Circle
Turn left on St. Tropez
House is at the end of the street where it intersects with SW Normandy Lane

Follow the lamppost banners and you won't miss it.

FitHouse is Done!
Construction on the 2008 Cooking Light FitHouse is now complete! The keys have been turned over to the magazine so it can decorate and shoot photography for the August issue, where the home will be featured in a 30-page spread that shows every element of this 3,798 square-foot house. The Arbor team, from the construction crews to the on-site superintendents, put in extra effort to hit the deadline date and can proudly say mission accomplished. As you can see from the final exterior photo, the landscaping, front walkway and last-minute touches were put into place.

From here, the magazine is making preparations for the Grand Opening on May 31. Come on out starting at 11 a.m. and join the fun. A street fair atmosphere will include a local farmers market, the Oregon Humane Society, cooking demonstrations from Cooking Light’s Executive Chef, and lots of activities for the kids. Be one of the first to get a peek at the 2008 FitHouse.

Overall, this has been a terrific project that we are extremely honored to be a part of. We’ll always be able to say that we were the builder of the 2008 Cooking Light FitHouse and we are excited for what should be a terrific summer of showing this house to the nation.

Check back soon when we post more photos and video of the home once it opens for tours. Even if you can’t make it out to Wilsonville, you’ll still be able to get a glimpse of the house. We hear Cooking Light will also be doing an online tour that we will link to when it’s posted in June.

Behind-the-Scenes Video
Get an inside look at the FitHouse in progress with this new video footage shot on April 18. Arbor Custom Homes Product Development Director Brad Hosmar is your tour guide to some of the unique universal design elements in the home. See workers put finishing touches on the roll-in shower, prep for additional painting and complete last-minute details as the crew gets the FitHouse closer to completion. Remember that the Grand Opening for the 2008 Cooking Light FitHouse is May 31. Festivities, including presentations by the magazine's executive editor and executive chef, begin at 11 a.m. To start the video click here.

Grand Opening Soon, Pets Abound
The FitHouse is less than two months from opening and progress is going fast to meet the deadline. The interior is being painted, carpet is going down, and the landscaping is next on the list. The project is coming together and looks like a national show home should look. For the Grand Opening, Cooking Light is planning “Live Well Day” on May 31. The magazine is bringing some of its editors and its Executive Chef, Billy Strynkowski, who will conduct cooking demonstrations, tours and plenty of giveaways. Here’s a flyer for the Grand Opening and we encourage all of you to come out and join in the fun and festivities. The Arbor team will be there as well to explain how the home came together and all the universal design and sustainable features of the house and neighborhood. It should be a lot of fun and the culmination of a lot of hard work.

Part of the reason that Arbor Custom Homes wanted to build the FitHouse was the tie-in with a local charity that will receive a portion of the admission price proceeds. Every year, Cooking Light and the local FitHouse builder team up to find a worthy cause to support. In return, the organization and its volunteer base help out at the home during the open house. It’s a win-win situation for all involved. In past years, charities have received thousands of dollars from the FitHouse project.

This year, Arbor and Cooking Light are excited to partner with the Oregon Humane Society. Let’s face it, Portland is a pet-friendly community and our animal friends are big parts of our families. Pets are home occupants as well and bring health and happiness to our lives, so the OHS is a perfect organization for this project. To find out more about the Oregon Humane Society, visit www.oregonhumane.org.

Here are some recent photos of the house, including the spacious master shower and the sidewalks that link the home to the rest of the Arbor at Villebois neighborhood and are great for walking dogs and staying healthy. Check back again soon as Arbor wraps up the home and gets it ready for the May 31 grand opening.

Where is Wilsonville?
Many out-of-town Web visitors have asked where exactly Wilsonville is located. The city of Wilsonville is about 20 miles south of downtown Portland, straight down Interstate 5. A growing community roughly halfway between Portland and the state capital of Salem, Wilsonville offers a small town feel close to two of Oregon’s largest cities. If you plan to come to tour the FitHouse this summer from out of state, Travel Oregon is a helpful resource for visitors to plan their trip and experience the area.

The start of spring got off to a wet start, holding up the painting of the house’s exterior. As luck would have it, we had a few dry days in a row so the painting team was able to get a coat on the home – a nice northwest shade of forest green. Coupled with the exterior stonework, this color palette will be a nice combination.

Inside, work is underway on the flooring. Following the universal design theme, the home will feature smooth surfaces throughout that will readily accommodate wheelchairs and assisted walking devices. We’re using Armstrong’s Premier Performance hardwood floors in the entryway, kitchen, dining room, family room and den. The walnut color adds a rich look to the space and the material will stand up to wear and tear over the life of the home. In the bedrooms, a durable carpet will provide a warm floor covering but still be smooth enough to operate a wheelchair easily. The bathrooms will be tiled.

We’re a little over a month away from completion of construction, and nearly a year into the process of planning for this home. We met with Cooking Light last March to see if our two organizations were a good match for this project. It turns out we were. Our team at Arbor Custom Homes and Cooking Light’s project managers have put a lot of effort into producing this home, and to see the end in sight is very gratifying for everyone involved. This summer is shaping up to be a once-in-a-lifetime event for Arbor, as the FitHouse is the most high-profile show home project we have ever done in our 20 years of business. Is it worth it? Absolutely. We can’t wait for the opening and to show a national audience our home building capabilities.

Paint, Cabinets and Buyers
The FitHouse’s interior is catching up with the exterior and is starting to look more finished every day. The drywall is up and the walls have been painted a calming shade of neutral beige/yellow to signify a sophisticated, healthy environment. The color is being used throughout the home to give a seamless transition from space to space.

Along with the paint, the base units for the custom cabinetry have been installed in the kitchen, media room and bathrooms. Built-ins in media rooms and office spaces are becoming a top request of Arbor homebuyers, and this house is no exception. The wood detail work that sets off the cabinets is also being installed. Cabinet doors and countertops will follow shortly. Here is a first look at the master bedroom and master bath. Large windows to allow natural light and a cozy fireplace will make this a private sanctuary for the homeowner.

The kitchen island also was installed along with the cabinets and has defined the cooking area. Staying with the universal design theme of the home, the island will have a lower height than the rest of the kitchen countertops to allow for easier access for those who might need to use the surface while sitting down.

On the outside, the siding is complete and the stonework is nearly finished. From the outside, this home will be visually stunning and have a true Northwest look and feel, all the while blending nicely with the existing neighborhood.

Many of you might be wondering if the home will be for sale following the open house this summer. The answer is yes. The day we announced last fall that Arbor Custom Homes was building the Cooking Light FitHouse, we received a call from an interested buyer who was a big fan of the magazine. We have started a list of interested parties, and get calls frequently from potential buyers. After the open house, which will run May 31 to August 31, we will start the process of selling the home. If you are interested in learning more or putting your name on the list to buy the FitHouse, call 503-641-7342, ext. 7132.

Exterior Details, Kitchen Sneak Peak
We’re enjoying some early springtime weather in the Portland area, which is helping speed along the construction schedule. The fine details that will give the FitHouse its Northwest flavor are starting to take shape, such as the siding, cedar shingle shakes and handcrafted stonework that provide a rustic, yet modern feel. As you can see, the garage door also is going in.

For those of you wondering about the kitchen in the FitHouse, since it is Cooking Light’s home, after all, local designer Jennifer Usselman of Intersect Design (www.intersectdesign.com) has provided a sketch of the kitchen sink elevation as seen from inside the house. See it here. Last week's interior photo (below) is the same view as this sketch, and shows off how much natural light will come through the two kitchen windows. This is a great first look at some of the elements that will go into this high-end cooking area. For those of you wanting to see the kitchen first hand, Cooking Light’s own chefs will provide demonstrations during the open house this summer, so be sure to visit and see this beautiful space in person.

As the kitchen comes together with appliances, cabinets and counters, we’ll post more photos.

Moving inside
With the outer shell progressing nicely, work inside the FitHouse is ramping up as well. This week is dedicated to putting sheetrock on the walls, which will give the rooms their shape. The walls will be textured and painted to match the interior design plan put together by local designer Jennifer Usselman for Cooking Light.

Part of the work inside includes setting up the heating and cooling systems, which in the case of the FitHouse will be state-of-the-art. In addition to a Trane forced indoor air system that will provide heating and air conditioning, we’re installing Uponor’s radiant heat floor system throughout the house. Uponor radiant floor heating is an efficient form of heating where warm water circulates through flexible, specially designed PEX tubing installed under the floor. The heat radiates evenly up through the floor, warming people and objects in the room and providing more comfort for less money.

Speaking of comfort, the views out the front windows of the FitHouse are shaping up to be pretty spectacular. Whoever buys the FitHouse after all the activities this summer will be very pleased. The large open area across the street from the home is publicly owned, and a major restoration project is underway to revitalize the land with native grasses and wildflowers. Here’s a closer look at this major project.

The windows are in
The JELD-WEN vinyl windows and patio door arrived this week and were installed in the Cooking Light FitHouse. The windows are made here in Oregon so they travelled less than 500 miles to the home, making it an environmentally friendly addition to the house.

The JELD-WEN windows feature Low-E glass that meet ENERGY STAR qualifications for energy efficiency and give the home a true custom look. Here in Oregon the energy savings our homeowner will realize will really make a difference in heating and cooling costs year-round.

Find out more information on JELD-WEN windows and doors here.

The entire Portland real estate community is starting to get excited about the FitHouse. Arbor’s sales team met with a group of real estate professionals this week and gave them all a nice gift basket, which included a Cooking Light Cookbook as well as some other cooking essentials. They loved it and are well aware that we are building this high-profile home right in their backyard.

The roof showed up just in time for snow
We installed a sign signifying the site of the Cooking Light FitHouse because we’ve seen lots of interested people coming to the Arbor at Villebois neighborhood looking for the house, so this sign should help point them in the right direction. Our agents on site are doing a great job fielding calls and getting the neighborhood prepared for the thousands of people expected to tour the FitHouse this summer.

The roof is now in place and the home is beginning to look like the rendering we’ve been looking at for months. The roof shingles are planned for the next few days. So many people were involved in the planning of the home that it’s exciting to see if finally take shape.

You’ll see some snow on the ground this week as Portland was blanketed with a light touch of winter flakes, making construction a little more cold but progress still is moving along nicely.

Up go the walls. Framing is underway.
The FitHouse started to take shape this week with the framing studs and exterior sheathing going into place. The home will be 3,800 square feet when it’s done and is a variation of our Renoir model with additional Northwest touches added to the outside and universal design features on the inside. See our other home model homes here.

Cooking Light, in addition to featuring sustainable products and features, is focusing on universal design as a major theme of the 2008 FitHouse. For those of you who might not be familiar with universal design, it’s about adding products and designs that improve the daily comfort, ease of use and safety of homes for residents as they get older. Basically, universal design makes homes easier to live in for everyone. Some of the universal design elements we’re adding include wheelchair friendly bathroom spaces wide doors and wide hallways. The floor plan is very similar to the other active adult community we are planning for the Portland area later this year. The marketplace is starting to really request these features so Arbor is exploring this design concept seriously.

Kick off on the FitHouse. Foundation is prepared
Work on the 2008 Cooking Light FitHouse officially kicked off with the pouring of the foundation and preparation of the home site. The 3,800 square foot home sits on a nice corner lot and faces an open green space to give future residents a peaceful, tranquil view out the front door.

Although the weather at the Arbor at Villebois neighborhood in Wilsonville, Ore., was a little damp this week, we got the foundation finished and are moving on to the framing portion of the project. Construction will start moving quickly now that we have the construction permit from the city of Wilsonville and all the materials ready to go on site.

The home is expected to be completed in early May so Cooking Light can photograph all areas of the house for its August issue. Link to Cooking Light’s FitHouse web page.

Read more about the official Arbor-Cooking Light FitHouse announcement.