For the first time in more than five years, Minto Communities has brought new single-family home models to Avalon in Orléans.
Minto takes a measured approach to its models, sprinkling them strategically across the city and rarely having the same floor plan built as a model from one site to the next. Such is the case with Avalon in Orléans, where the builder recently opened four homes based on floor plans that have never been featured in a model.
“These homes represent the latest trends in family living, especially now with everyone spending more time inside of our homes and communities than ever before,” says Brent Strachan, division president of Minto Communities Ottawa.
Planning and building the models during the pandemic, the project team “considered the ‘new normal’ in how we are adjusting the way we live, work and play at home,” he says. “We intentionally chose to showcase more finished basements, work-from-home arrangements, and calm neutral colour palettes with splashes of bright, bold colours to symbolize hope and happiness in our homes as we transition to a new post-pandemic way of life.”
For Donna Correy and Tracey Woodman of KISS Design, which has worked with Minto to design its models for more than two decades, it was important to underline that each home had an area for working and going to school from home.
“We wanted to pivot the design to reflect the times that we’re facing,” says Woodman.
Minto also wanted to showcase certain features of the designs — such as a main-floor guest suite for multigenerational living, 10- and 12-foot family room ceilings and a mid-level family room — that are best experienced in person to appreciate the spaces, Strachan says.
“It’s important for many homebuyers to be able to visualize the space,” he says, something that not everyone can do from a floor plan.
Here’s a look at the four models.
The Jefferson
The smallest of the four singles, the Jefferson is designed for a 30-foot corner lot. It can still fit a double-car garage thanks to a front door that’s shifted to the side of the home.
“We envisioned a young family buying their first single-family home, with one young child, but looking for space for more kids in their future,” says Strachan. As a corner-lot layout, it offers a ton of windows to let in lots of light.
It’s also modern and eclectic with touches of coral and lilac on a foundation of grey, says Woodman. “It’s the influencer house. It’s got some hip vibes, clean lines.” And it showcases how you can do more with less, particularly through the whitewashed wood-look laminate floor and the Caesarstone kitchen counter that looks like on-trend honed concrete.
The home, which would also appeal to a downsizer, comes with three or four bedrooms and 1,755 square feet.
MORE: Take a 3D virtual tour of the Jefferson
The Frontenac
This home is aimed at move-up buyers with teenaged kids. “The Frontenac is a really well-designed home that has it all,” Strachan says.
All four bedrooms come with walk-in closets, there’s a dedicated den on the main floor, it has a formal dining room with servery and the basement is finished with a rec room, bathroom and bedroom to bring the finished space to 3,538 square feet. Without the finished basement it is 2,707 square feet.
“The Frontenac home is just really a beautiful warm relaxed home. It’s the type of home where I think anyone could walk in and feel comfortable immediately,” says Woodman. She and Correy chose honey and caramel colours, along with rusts and pops of black, to outfit the home, which comes the closest to Correy’s personal style. It “reflects the relaxed, modern influence,” Woodman says.
MORE: Take a 3D virtual tour of the Frontenac
The Fairbank
The Fairbank is a more affordable variation of Minto’s popular Killarney model, most known for its mid-level “sunken” family room halfway between the first and second floors.
Aimed at move-up buyers with school-aged kids, “this home is full of spaces for your kids to stay with you, but they don’t feel like you’re holding them back from themselves,” says Woodman.
It’s designed with a palette of moss and blush and emphasizes clean lines. “This home really reflects sleek and modern, so someone who really wasn’t into anything fussy, wasn’t really into collecting, just a nice clean and simple home,” she says.
It comes with 2,292 square feet and three bedrooms.
MORE: Take a 3D virtual tour of the Fairbank
The Waverley
The largest of the four models and Woodman’s favourite for its beachy vibe is the Waverley. It’s a new flexible floor plan by Minto that accommodates multigenerational households.
There’s the option of four or five bedrooms on the second floor and turning the main-floor den into a guest suite with bathroom.
“(It) has quickly become one of our bestselling homes,” says Strachan.
The design is coastal, “all about the blues and the warm whites, light and bright and the distressed wood floor,” says Woodman. “I’m all about the beach.”
With the finished basement, the home has 3,337 square feet.
MORE: Take a 3D virtual tour of the Waverley
Touring the homes
Shifting COVID restrictions can make visiting the models unpredictable (at the time of writing, the models were open by appointment only). Check with builder.
The sales centre and models are open at various times. Check our Avalon development summary for more information.
