The Uniform Experience: Sarah and John

When our photographer Gordon King revealed to us that he had recently taken photos of a stunning kitchen for Deslaurier Custom Cabinets’ submission to the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association 2018 Housing Design Awards, we were thrilled to learn that it was not only a Uniform home, but it was from the home of a loyal repeat Uniform homebuyer – belonging to the lovely, Sarah and John. The kitchen photos were so striking that we asked the photographer to go back and shoot the entire home.

“A little ditty about Sarah and John”… well, they first purchased from Uniform back in 2002 when they moved into a Uniform Stonebridge home, and that love for Uniform transferred to John’s parents who purchased from Uniform shortly after. In 2010, Sarah and John picked up and moved to Westboro (owning another house in Kanata in between), “we didn’t plan to buy and renovate more than one house in Westboro, it just happened. We moved there to make John’s commute better. We moved back to Kanata because our boys started attending Peak Academy for hockey, and I work in Kanata,” says Sarah.

When deciding on a home in Kanata, they chose Uniform’s Richardson Ridge community. After reviewing in detail all the various model designs, they decided on the 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom, Harris model on a 47’ lot. They fell in love with the lot because it backed onto the ridge, a 20-foot granite escarpment carved out of the ridge with no rear neighbours and lots of privacy. They also loved the Harris model with its open concept main floor – a more “loft”-type of vibe perfect for their lifestyle. “It was non-traditional, something different than what we had ever seen before,” says Sarah.

Unlike a typical track-home builder, Sarah and John enjoyed their build experience with Uniform – making a number of changes to their model design, they felt it was a unique experience like it would be with a real custom home builder, without the cost of a custom build. Patient and easy to work with, Jessica McGlade from the Design Centre helped create Sarah and John’s ideal home, and even allowed the couple to speak directly with the hardwood suppliers to make sure their choices were absolutely perfect. Funny enough, Andree was the Sales Representative for their first Uniform home, so they were pleased to see a familiar face and work together again.

But what’s their favourite part of their new home? Sarah says, “we love the topography of the land. Our home backs onto the ridge. It’s a unique space with rocks and trees. You won’t find anything like this in Ottawa.” The couple loves the surrounding nature trails, hills, and the different elevations of the homes in the neighbourhood. It truly is one of a kind in the city.

Fair to say, Sarah and John would certainly purchase another home from Uniform in the future but, they are happy with their current home for now. “It’s nice to know that we won’t need to do any renovations or have to fix anything for the next ten years or so. The beautiful thing about buying brand new! We love our community and, small world, we even know our neighbours – they used to live on the same street as us in our old house in Kanata.”

In previous GOHBA Housing Design Award years, Uniform has submitted photos of our model homes and have won awards for our Massey model home in Richardson Ridge as well as the Douglas model home in Stonebridge. We are proud to be submitting a nomination for Sarah and John’s Harris model in Richardson Ridge – wish us luck come October!

To see more photos, click here.