There is a particular home in Willoughby Hills that is full of surprises. When you expect angles, you find a curve. When you think glass should be clear, you see colors. When you think a ceiling is just something to sit atop the walls, your eye meanders up to a gleaming expanse of cedar overhead. When you think you know what a staircase looks like, you find a sweeping three-level artistic statement that happens to also serve as the conduit from one floor to another. The only people who find nothing surprising in this home are Jenn and Justin. The owners of this captivating statement of architecture and design officially known as Mountain Modern style, Jenn and Justin researched, planned and patiently waited for this exact home to materialize the way it existed in their imaginations for years.
Jenn and Justin chose Otero Signature Homes as their builder. Justin said, “We did a lot of research. We went to Parade of Homes. We looked at styles. We knew we wanted to build a Mountain Modern style and this was not prevalent in Northeast Ohio and we had to find a builder who could replicate that here. Otero nailed it and did a great job.”
Jenn added, “We looked through house magazines and online and we had our own portfolio of pictures. We compared each other’s and jointly picked out the styles we liked. We interviewed (Ted Otero’s) clients who had built with him. He had a great imagination and found creative ways to do things. He thinks outside the box.”
Justin explained, “We waited patiently and stayed in an apartment throughout our 20s to save until we could do it this way.” Justin advises others not to rush or compromise. During the building of this home, Justin said, he and Jenn often “slowed down to make sure to get the details right.”
Jenn and Justin bought the land in the summer of 2013 and spent a year thinking about design. Construction began in December of 2014 and the couple moved in October of 2015.
The home is environmentally friendly, beginning with the lot itself, which is located on a cul de sac on an infill lot that minimizes environmental impact. The landscaping features native plants to limit water and energy use and Otero used engineered trusses and sustainable lumber to construct the 3,815 square-foot home. Tight construction and enhanced insulation mean the high-efficiency zoned heating and cooling systems perform at their best. The home also features low-e, argon-filled windows, Energy Star appliances, and LED lighting.
This is also a smart home with whole-home audio distribution, custom lighting controls, motorized window shades, and smart climate controls. A self-described audiophile and videophile, Justin wanted a dream home theater in the basement, and the home’s lower level features just that, in a state-of-the-art system optimized with special acoustic treatments.
Kaleigh Cody, one of Otero’s interior designers, was also a key part of Jenn and Justin’s team, as was Shane Horner of Horner Networks, an award-winning electronics design, and integration company.
With the team assembled, the project came together and Jenn and Justin’s home became more than the sum of its parts. There is a distinct look and feel to each room and each level but there is also undeniable cohesion and flow.
The space is marked by, well, space. The expanses of openness are their own design element. Stand practically anywhere in the house—except the bedrooms or baths—and you are rewarded with endless lines of sight, most notably through the sweeping serpentine staircase, a showpiece of talented Amish master craftsmen subcontracted by Otero. A minimum of interior walls leaves space uninterrupted. A collection of colorful vases, tastefully displayed in an arrangement of recessed niches, provides a focal point without adding any fuss.
In the great room, a TV and see-through gas fireplace are built into a towering stone wall that spans two levels of the home and includes inset cedar panels that enhance the look. The impressive scale of the wall complements the entire main floor and provides cohesion for the design elements in this part of the house.
The wood and tile floors show off stunning area rugs as well as Jenn’s design flair and preference for pops of color. The lack of wall-to-wall carpet is also good for Justin’s allergies. Subtle wall colors make it impossible to miss Jenn’s selection of bright, abstract artwork. The kitchen chairs, great room, and basement sofas, basement bar stools and theater seating are all leather, further enhancing the clean look. The bedrooms are a continuation of sleek design choices that combine simple furniture lines with colorful area rugs and artwork.
The spa-like bathrooms are full of their own surprises, including clever uses of river rock and colorful LED lights that create an illusion of floating granite and glass countertops.
Walls of windows—including the dramatic, curved front of the house that mirrors the curve of the stairs inside—continue the feast for the eyes from indoors to out. The curb appeal includes a matching of stone, stucco and wood siding with angles that make light dance and provide an irresistible welcome.
“It’s one thing to do a curve,” said Ted Otero, owner of Otero Signature Homes, and the 2017 president of the Home Builder’s Association of Greater Cleveland. “It’s another thing to do a serpentine wall. It made the windows, foundation, walls, etc. more challenging and it drove the entire design of the house.”
A combination of granite and quartz countertops anchors the kitchen’s palette of sophisticated grays and browns. The kitchen includes seating for eight at the table and three at the island. Playful light fixtures enhance the eating areas, as does the expansive view from the kitchen to the covered patio in the back yard, with large custom hot tub and built-in grill. Jenn and Justin’s active lifestyle means they use the grill and hot tub—and commercial heater that warms the surrounding space—year ‘round.
The wine cellar, bar, theater and pool table in the basement also get plenty of use. “That’s where we hang out at night,” said Justin. He and Jenn often host gatherings for colleagues, as well as friends and neighbors. “We needed it to serve multiple purposes,” Justin explained, of the many entertaining options the home affords.
That Justin and Jenn are so pleased with their home, also pleases Ted. “We are 100 percent custom home builders,” he said, “So we will tailor the interior and exterior architectural design to the client’s demands. The most rewarding thing on every challenging, one-of-a-kind custom home, is when the homeowner is thoroughly happy with the design and functionality.”
RESOURCES Builder Ted Otero, Otero Signature Homes; Interior designer Kaleigh Cody, Allied ASID, Otero Signature Homes & Ovation Interior Design; Architect Justin Kapela, AIBD, J.Kapela Designs; AV tech/Security designer & installer Shane Horner, Horner Networks; Spa design & installation High Tech Pools; Landscape design & installer H&M Landscaping; Lighting Cleveland Lighting; KITCHEN Cabinetry Custom cabinetry by Ben Miller, MA Miller; Countertops Cambria; Refrigerator, cooktop, ventilation, double ovens, dishwasher Thermador; Microwave Sharp; LAUNDRY ROOM Washer GE front load ruby red washer; Dryer GE electronic ruby red dryer; Countertops Cambria; OUTDOOR COVERED PATIO Gas grill DCS built-in 36″ gas grill; Spa 10 person in-ground custom spa with 6 jets and color changing LED, High Tech Pools; BASEMENT BAR Countertops Cambria