Windsor-area home featured on Kitchen Kaper tour

By Cherry Sokoloski
Fossil Creek Current

The Steppel family now enjoys its own home on the range, with buffalo grazing outside the dining room window. The home, located south of the new fairgrounds facility on North County Road 1, is one of those featured on this year's Kitchen Kaper Home Tour. The buffalo, which belong to Elaine Steppel's sister-in-law, spend each winter on the Steppels' prairie property.

This year's Kitchen Kaper is set for April 29, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The annual fund-raiser, sponsored by the Fort Collins Service League, benefits programs at Foothills Gateway, a facility that provides care and services for the developmentally disabled.

Completed in 2003, the Steppel home was clearly designed for a large family --as well as a lot of friends. The home was built in the French Colonial style, with 9,000 square feet of very livable space. The four Steppel children are still in grade school, but they're learning about the responsibilities of a large home by helping with the housecleaning and laundry. They have the convenience of their own laundry room on the second floor, close to their bedrooms.

Besides being family-friendly, another priority for the Steppel home is easy maintenance. That's why the exterior was built with brick and stucco, plus metal-clad windows. Most of the first floor has tile floors, and the home has a central vacuum system for ready access.

"We'd rather enjoy our home than work on it all the time," Steppel said.

As large as it is - with seven bedrooms and five baths - the Steppels don't pay a huge utility bill because of some well-planned efficiency features. First, the foundation was built with foam blocks, creating an R-52 insulation value. The exterior walls have both spray foam and batting, resulting in an R value of 35. There are lots of windows for passive solar heat, and the home is heated by a hot water in-floor system.

"Our idea was to keep our utility bills the same as our old house in Fort Collins," Steppel said, even though the family quadrupled its space.

Other interesting features of the Steppel home include a library with a 14-foot ceiling, marble counters and fireplace. In the finished basement, the mosaic floor is made from scrap granite, and a game area offers foosball, air hockey and pool. Two long bars, one in the kitchen that seats eight people and a second in the basement, encourage plenty of socializing.

Lots of advance planning went into the Steppel home, with the owners serving as both designers and general contractors. Although the couple is still young, they went so far as to plan for their retirement and eventual old age in their dream home. The house is handicapped-accessible and includes an elevator. Also, the design is suitable for a bed-and-breakfast establishment once the children are grown.

This year's Kitchen Kaper features five homes in and around Fort Collins. Besides the Steppel home, others are located at 3212 N. Overland Trail in LaPorte (the Tapestry House), 4376 Woody Creek Lane north of Fort Collins, 180 Palmer Drive in south Fort Collins and 7410 Couples Court near Windsor.

Home tour tickets cost $30 and may be purchased at several Fort Collins businesses. Tickets for both the home tour and lunch at the Fort Collins Country Club are $45. For more information about the tour, call 225-2897.