the SEVENTEENTH ST project
Built by Brons Construction
Photography by Morgan Turner
Build Perspective with
Joe Brons
BRONS CONSTRUCTION: What made you excited to take on this project?
JOE BRONS:
This project was a new custom spec house that I designed and felt that it was going to be a unique fresh style of home for Cranbrook. I don’t usually design, but I was excited by the idea to design and build something that was all my own.
BRONS CONSTRUCTION: What challenges could you foresee with the build that you were eager to take on?
JOE BRONS:
It was the last house to be finished in the neighborhood, so we definitely felt the pressure of the established lives that were going on around us, and we wanted to impress everybody on the street. This meant keeping a nice, clean and respectful work site and we did a very good job of doing so. We wanted to design a home that would fit in the neighborhood but also one that stood out. Some of the big things to consider were the height restrictions in that area and ceiling lines inside so that we didn’t interrupt the views from the houses behind. We care about having good relationships with the neighbors!
BRONS CONSTRUCTION: What materials did you use and why for key elements of the build?
JOE BRONS:
A star material in this build were the solid fir timber beams we used throughout the entire living room ceiling. It gave the interior this really great modern mountain feel.
BRONS CONSTRUCTION: What elements of this project do you feel especially proud of?
JOE BRONS:
I feel really proud of the curb appeal of this home. The unique design was customized to the lot and really hit that balance of standing out while being a part of the surrounding neighborhood. The symmetry that we achieved in the design was able to maximize the view of the outdoors, which is really spectacular.
BRONS CONSTRUCTION: What are some of the most custom elements of this project?
JOE BRONS:
The floor-to-ceiling rock wall is a custom showstopper. It’s one of the big stand-out features of the home. There’s also a custom 2-way fireplace that brings that relaxed and cozy feel to multiple rooms instead of just one. The custom sliding barn door and timber work stand out on this project as well, and the live edge Paroda bar top is an incredible feature that we are really proud of. Did I say the custom theater room in the basement?!
BRONS CONSTRUCTION: What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of approaching a project like this one?
JOE BRONS:
I’d say it’s important to really consider the element of it being the last house to be finished in the neighborhood. There are so many elements of inconvenience that could impact your new neighbors, like the noise, etc. I’d always advise that you want to establish a very good rapport with the neighbors! Our crew always does the best we can to be respectful of people’s living/family hours, of the mess we create on a building site, and keeping the areas as tidy as we can, but there’s not much we can do about the noise on a workday!
A Full Look at SEVENTEENTH St.
