Dec 11, 2023

The Kirklen Family's Dream Home: A Tilson Live Oak D in Grayson County

For the Kirklen family, the decision to build a custom Tilson home was an easy one. The Kirklen's had owned their Grayson County land for over 12 years and wanted to take their time to find the perfect floor plan to maximize the views of their large pond. After carefully studying every plan on the Tilson website, they decided on the Live Oak D. They chose the D elevation to maximize the amount of masonry on the exterior, and after looking at the options at the design center, they selected Prairie Cream Chop as their stone. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at the Kirklens' customizations and how they turned their Tilson home into their dream home.

Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Tilson Home Tours. I'm Kelsie and I'm here with the Kirklen family to talk about their Live Oak D home here in Grayson County. So this is the first Live Oak that we've seen in person up close. So when you pull up to the front of the house, it's got a very typical Tilson exterior but in the best kind of way. You have the gables. You've got the cedar posts. And you've got that lovely stone. So tell me a little bit about the exterior and what you were looking for in that.

Yeah.

Well, we really wanted to do some stone out there. I always wanted to have a stone. I always liked Austin stone, but in the design center we saw the cream-- prairie cream chop and really liked that. And thought that would make a good exterior. So and I liked the fact that the D had so much of it covering the front. You didn't have a lot of the--

Yeah, it's definitely more masonry than the others. Yep.

Yeah, which I think just fits out here where we are. Yeah. And the front load garage makes it really accessible from your driveway and just kind of extends the house long ways. Right. Which was important. So you can enjoy more of your back area.

Right. And even though you don't really see the front of the house all that much when you drive up, the view is all out the back.

Yeah. It's still nice that it looks nice out front.

Yes, it does. It's very homey. Very welcoming. And I know y'all said you don't typically use the front door and I'm sure everybody just comes through the garage, but your front porch is really nice.

Thank you. We love it. It turned out really nice.

Yeah. And then when you come in you see this beautiful kitchen. So I want to see a little bit more about what's going on in here and hear a little bit about your design. So with these cabinets, we haven't seen a lot of this color yet. So I really want to get a close up on these and talk a little bit about it.

Well, I love these cabinets. We had white cabinets in our other house and I was just ready for something different. And I didn't want to go real dark. And then I saw these and I kind of liked that they're a little bit rustic, but not too over the top. So I just think they have a nice kind of casual, comfortable feeling. And I really do like the color because it's not kind of-- it's not too deep and dark. Yeah. Yeah. And I really like the hardware that you chose to go with it, because I think it brings out more of the warm tones of the cabinets. Because the way that they are, you could have really gone either way. If you did more of a black hardware it would have made it more cool toned, but the warm tones really tie-in with the backsplash and your countertops and the floors. Everything is just very, very warm and welcoming.

Thank you.

I love the color scheme.

And we did move the microwave. That was the other thing we wanted to do. We moved it over to the kind of coffee bar area. Yeah.

And-- It's kind of nice to have this space by itself.

Yeah.

And then this island is huge.

All the Tilson islands are huge. I don't know. I haven't seen the house that didn't-- we had a big island in the other house. I told him the other day, I said now we have an even bigger island. But it is such a great work surface. Yeah. And you've got extra seating. Yeah. Lots of space to do things. And I think it fits with everything else. And then of course, there's more storage and cabinets underneath it. So that helps too. Yeah. Well, let's go check out the little dining area. OK.

OK, so the view from right here is amazing. Well, I would never get used to that.

Well, it is-- that's why we put the house here. We've had the property for 12 years. And it took us a while to finally say, OK, let's build a house out here. So when we-- it was like where else are you going to put it without-- and that was one thing we loved about this floor plan. And we worked real hard to pick one where we had lots of windows facing out the back. Yeah.

We could enjoy the view from all the rooms.

And she memorized every floor plan. So she'd spend every night looking through them and how many windows do they have here. And so I think by the time we actually went in to talk to the sales people, she already knew pretty much all the plans.

Yeah, you were a pro. You could have probably sold it yourself.

Got to do your homework.

So with this dining space I really like that it has super easy access to the living room and the kitchen, but you also have the door right here that goes out to your outdoor living space.

Yeah. It's just perfect for what we need. And downsizing at this stage in our life just the one eating area is just perfect for what we need.

Yeah. And with the added seats on the island, you have plenty of space for people to sit if you do host gatherings. Yeah. And I think we probably could have fit a much bigger table even in here than we did. Oh, definitely.

Yeah. This is a really nice space.

Yeah.

And then let's go check out here. All right.

While we're over here. I'm so excited.

Oh, the dog's bell.

The little doorbell, that's cute.

That's for the dog.

Yeah, this is great. Oh my gosh, you guys probably sit out here all the time and just take this all in.

Weather permitting.

Yeah, that's true, especially up here. So this is gorgeous. This porch is amazing. Did you add anything to this porch or was it just you wanted it the way that it came?

So one of the options that we had was to extend the porch and have a cathedral ceiling, which matched the cathedral ceiling inside. Yeah.

And we had been to so many of the Tilson models that we had seen different treatments on the patios and we really liked how the rough cedar trim was. And then one of the places had this wood up on the top as well. And we thought that looked really cool. Yeah, it does.

So as we were putting it together we said, well, we got to do that. And then that kind of gives us a happy hour spot here to look at the whole pond.

Yeah, it really frames it. This would actually be good for your watercolor paintings because you could just sit here and you've already got your frame built into the house. And you can just paint your view.

Plain air on the back porch.

But it's enough room where you don't have to squeeze by things. And you can kind of sit and just stare and do nothing. Yeah, you've got plenty of room. And then you extended this after the fact. Yeah. So the natural tendency is just to make this thing bigger, so we did. And of course, we're hanging out over a big open area. But it matched, we matched the wood color as best we could and all the cedar posts match these. Yeah, I think the color scheme is great. I love the exterior color of the house. I think it's really nice because it's not too dark, it's not too light. It really just blends in well with the nature around you. Yeah. Yeah. So this is kind of our hangout spot.

Yeah. Well, let's go check out the extension. All right.

Well, this is an awesome extra space. You've got tons of more room for people whenever you want to have them over.

Well, in the secret is it's really a place for her to stash her extra money.

That's true. The real reason that the deck extension is here. That's why there's more room on the porch because there's a place to put it and the grill and things can live out here. Yeah.

And not be in the way--

It's a good spot.

--on the porch.

And it's nice to have it uncovered too, because then you can get some sun on you and enjoy that.

In the afternoons the sun's back that way so we get some shade here as well.

Yeah, that's perfect. Well, let's go check out the rest of the house.

All right. OK. So in here you have that cathedral ceiling that you mentioned extends out. Right.

I think that's become a really popular feature.

Yeah. I've noticed.

But it is. It's beautiful. And it just makes whatever size the room is, it makes the room feel bigger and more spacious. And I really like the wood trim that you have going around the ceilings too. I think that just kind of brings a little bit more earthiness to it.

Yeah.

It makes it really nice.

Yeah. And it just transitions well out to the porch. Yeah.

And we stole lots of ideas from the Tilson models. We--

We did a few road trips. Road trips.

Here and there.

While we were waiting for it to be built, we had to find something to do. So it was in the middle of winter and we just go check out the models all over the state. And we saw this kind of trim and liked it. And said, let's do that.

Yeah. And I love the fireplace that you have bringing in the stone from outside with the big cedar mantel. Those are my favorite. And then you have these two windows here. I like these a lot. It brings in that sun. Because the sun rises over here, so you get all that morning sunlight coming in. And it really just adds so much natural light to this space. Yeah. Well, we added windows just about every place we could put a window. We said, how about there? Because it also then because of the view you just get a wraparound effect of it. And the answer is never no. It's like, OK, we'll put a window there.

Sure, why not? Yeah.

As long as it works. Yeah.

And then you mentioned that there would be a third window?

There would be another window here in the standard plan and the porch would be much larger. But since the view is what we really cared about here, we decided to bump this area out onto the porch and make a little office. And so we have a door here instead of a window.

Oh, well, we should go peek at that office then. Oh, this is awesome. This is a great conversion of the porch. Yeah. So as part of downsizing, I also wanted to downsize the office.

Yeah.

And we were trying to figure out how to do that with the floor plan. And so we worked with Tilson. The porch was bigger than we needed. And I didn't want a huge office, but what we started off with was kind of small. And Janet was saying, "I don't think your desk will fit in here."

So we bumped it out a little bit and added another window. And the best part about this is I get kind of a 360 degree view of everything. I can see the front, the side, and the pond. Yeah. It's your command center.

Yeah. So if I have to be in here doing anything, at least there's something to look at.

Exactly. And it's great, because you didn't have to add anything to the actual footprint of the home. Right.

You just added the walls.

Right. Exactly.

To enclose the space.

Yep. Yep.

That's a really easy transition. So the window there used to be here and we just pushed it out and added another window and a door and office. Yeah, well let's go check out the rest of the house.

OK.

Yeah, this bedroom's beautiful.

Thank you.

So tell me a little bit about what you did in here.

Well, in the live oak plan there is actually a closet at the front of the bedroom here. And so you get a little foyer coming in. But we really wanted the closets back towards the bathroom. So we moved the closets back there and split them on either side. And then partially because we wanted more windows in here.

I'm shocked. I know. But we saw the casement. I think it's the Rockwall model down in Melissa that has the casement windows, which we really liked. And so we put in two casements and then a single window in between. And we just liked that arrangement a little bit better.

Yeah. And every single morning you wake up and you see that first thing?

Oh, it's wonderful.

That is top notch. Can't beat it.

Thank you.

I'm a little bit jealous. That's OK. And then through here you have your master bathroom?

Master bathroom. Yep. And the closets.

All right.

And what's nice is it created a bit of a hallway here into the bathroom, which I think is kind of nice. OK.

So go ahead.

OK. Oh, yeah. I like this little hallway.

Yeah, I think it's nice.

And then I like these pocket doors too for your closets. Yeah. That just saves room on the inside of the closet. It's very efficient.

Yes. Yeah. Those are nice. We like those.

And this is a fabulous bathroom. It's so spacious. This shower is huge. I love the tile.

It is huge. And it's-- at first I'm like, "Wow, that is a big shower." And we didn't change that. That's exactly how it comes. And then I thought, well, maybe I should have made the shower a little smaller. But then once it's all done and stuff, it's like it's really nice. Well, and I like that it has the double-bench seats and you've got the little hooks in there too.

Yeah. That's really helpful. Plus, a window. Natural light. Of course you need that. Right.

And then another window to see the view. Yeah. And then we've got a big closet with lots of storage. So even though we don't have some of the taller cabinets in here, there's plenty of storage in the closet.

And I like that these are kind of lower. A lot of people will choose to raise up the vanities, but I kind of like the traditional lower vanity. It really just gives you that extra space for your mirror and it just kind of makes it seem more open. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it turned out great. We love it.

Yeah. I love it too.

It's a good bathroom.

It is a good bathroom. Always good to have one of those.

Yeah. And then you've got two other bedrooms on the other side?

We do.

All right. And then in here you have your craft room.

Yeah, this is-- we don't need all three rooms for people. So we made this room into a craft and art room. And it's just space to, you know--

Yeah, I really like it. Plus, you've got the huge closet because it could have been a bedroom. So you've got tons of storage for all of your art supplies and anything that you could need. Yep. Yep. It's a nice space. I'm still working on it. I got shelves and things to put in so I can put things up on the wall. But it's a great space. I really like it. And again, great light out of the front side of the house too, especially in the afternoon.

Really good light. And then if you know you have visitors coming over you can peek out there, see who's coming out. Right. Yeah. It's a good space.

And then over here we have your guest room?

Yes, the guest room is right around the corner.

Oh, this is nice.

Thank you. It's just a nice sized guest room. Has a big closet. Yeah.

With their shelves on the side and it's pretty much a walk-in closet. But one thing I love about this room is that in the Live Oak that window seat is part of the plan.

Yeah, I love that. So that's not anything we customized. And you have in both bedrooms huge windows, which is really, really nice. And I just like the way this room turned out. And it's just right straight across from the bathroom. So if you have a guest or anything, it's still pretty--

Yeah, they have their own space. Yeah. Yeah.

Plenty of room. And then over just across the hall is the bathroom?

We have a bathroom right just across the hall. OK. Just want to take a quick little peek.

Yeah, that's nice. Yeah.

Very spacious. Perfect for guests.

Yes. And I like that you have the same cabinet throughout. Oh yeah. I love the cabinets.

And then here, standard utility. Extra storage. I love that there's space for big washers, big dryer, and you still have room for a freezer, extra fridge.

Got to have the extra.

Yeah.

Freezer.

Extra storage. Yeah. It works out great. And then right on into the garage. So this is different. I haven't seen something like this before.

Yeah, so this was our idea to have a wet room. That's where it's OK to be wet. So a lot of places will have it inside the house and we just wanted it in this little garage area. When we added the garage, normally you'd have your cars here and this would be an open storage area. But we added this and then bumped the garage out so we could put our UTV in. So this just kind of made a really good transition area for keeping my mud out of the house.

Well--

The real reason. Yeah.

We've lived here long enough to know that you do get pretty dirty when you're out in the country and doing things. And it's nice to have a comfortable place to get your shoes off and change. And we also wanted to be close to the bathroom. So if you really wanted to go straight in and take a shower, you didn't have to go halfway through the house.

Yeah. That's really smart. And then I like that you added the extra garage door so that you could just easily back out and run over to the greenhouse.

The little ATV is the vehicle that does all the work out here. So it's nice to have--

It's the real star of the show. That's right.

Well, let's go back into the kitchen. We'll wrap up and then I'll get out of your hair.

OK. All right. Well, thank you guys for showing me all around. I'm excited that we got to see the Live Oak in person. Yeah. Well, we love it. It's been a great house for us. I think it's a great floor plan. It's just everything we needed. Yeah. Right size.

The right size. Yeah, you're right. It's very cute. Very homey. I love how you've made it your own. Thank you.

Definitely made it perfect for this property. Oh yeah.

And it's been really fun watching as you've been on your journey, sending us photos on Facebook. Like from the very first one that we got where you were on the ladder staking out where the windows would be to now being in it. That's just really exciting to have been able to follow along virtually. Yeah. It's been a fun project.

It has been.

Yeah. Well, good.

We're glad you came to see it.

Me too. And then we want to thank all of you as well for joining us and we hope to someday soon make you part of the Tilson family.

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From the exterior, the Kirklens' Live Oak D model is both efficient and beautiful. The stone exterior adds warmth and character to the home, and the front-load garage extends the house horizontally. The views out of the rear of the home were the most important factor, and they accomplished it. Windows were added in the family room and master bedroom, allowing stunning views of the pond from nearly every room in the home.

In the kitchen, the Kirklens opted for lightly stained cabinets with dark, warm-toned hardware, and customized only a few things by moving the microwave to their coffee-bar area. They love that the large island is perfect for both preparing meals and gathering around with family and friends. The open-concept design flows seamlessly into the dining area, which features large windows as well as easy access to the outdoor living space.

The family room features a cozy fireplace, a cathedral ceiling with wood trim and a rough-sawn beam, and lots of windows that allow natural light to flood the room. The cathedral ceiling extends outside to the rear covered porch, which they extended after closing with an uncovered deck for additional outdoor living space. Off the family room is a study that was added by removing some of the square footage from the front porch and walling it in. Two windows were added, as well as a door for privacy, though when the door is open, you can easily enjoy views of the front, side, and back of the home.

The master bedroom offers a serene retreat after a long day. Customized by moving a closet into the hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom, and adding casement windows and a stepped ceiling, the Kirklens can truly relax in their private oasis. The master bathroom boasts ample storage space and a large walk-in shower with two bench seats. On the opposite side of the home are the secondary bedrooms, which also feature large windows and plenty of storage space. The secondary bedrooms share a hall with a spacious secondary bathroom and utility room.

Through the utility room, you enter the spacious garage. After spending so much time on their property before building, they knew they would need a drop zone to ditch the wet and muddy shoes before coming inside. They decided to add a drop zone inside their garage next to the utility room door. They extended the garage slightly to allow an additional parking space and garage door on the side of the home for their UTV.

Tilson floor plans offer endless customizations and the Kirklens took full advantage of that fact. From the kitchen and dining area to the family room and master suite, every detail of their Live Oak D was carefully planned and executed. The Kirklens have truly made their dream home, customized to fit their unique style and needs.