As of late July, Phase 2 of The New American Home (TNAH) was
nearly complete. It is during this phase that the home really starts to take
shape because the framing and wiring is complete. 

This is the second TNAH for Phil Kean Design Group
(PKDG)—a one-story home being built in the Lake Nona community in Winter
Park, Florida.

One of the biggest challenges—but also a fun aspect—is
that there are many first-time products included in this house. “There’s always
a change in TNAH because there are so many unknowns, particularly with vendors
wanting to promote products,” explains Phil.

One such unique feature stems from Garaventa Lift wanting
to showcase their latest elevator, and because it required a larger pit, the
previous location would not have worked. PKDG went to work to reengineer the
floor and roof trusses, change location, redesign the stairs and cut a new
elevator pit. “It really was a lot of work,” admits Phil, “but the pay-off is a
really cool elevator.”

“Walls of glass” are a hot trend in contemporary design
today so PKDG wanted to incorporate a lot of glass into the design of this home
as well. “The WinDoor product makes the house look even more expansive than it
actually is, and opens up the rooms to the outside.” However, with this comes
other matters that need to be addressed, including privacy issues, which are
being managed in TNAH with motorized screens and drapes. 

“There are a lot of first-time products in this house,
which is always a challenge,” notes Phil. “You have to be really flexible, and
the flexibility always cuts into your timeline. But we have a great team and [the
vendors and our team] seem to be [working] well together; we are going to do
some great stuff quickly which I think will be fantastic.”

Watch
the video of Phase 2 of The
New American Home 2017.