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Every year about this time, we have a lovely Parade of Homes here in Colorado Springs. Home builders and designers build their best and throw open the doors to looky-loos like me. Would it surprise you to know I went into labor with my son at a Parade of Homes years ago?

Yeah, I’ve gone every year I’ve been in town. I love, love, love looking at houses. But, since I’ve seen so many, I’m not so easily impressed. But THIS house just blew me away. Go get a fresh cuppa, because there’s going to be over 50 pictures in this post and you’re going to want to see every stunning detail. You can click on any of these photos to get a huge view.

As you walk up to Haven at Red Rocks, it’s cute – love that copper roof, but (tongue in cheek) it looks like a fairly typical million dollar home in the Parade of Homes here in the Rocky Mountains.

Let me help orient those familiar with Colorado Springs. Red Rock Canyon is south of Garden of the Gods – a Colorado Springs city owned park. Manitou Springs is a rock throw away to the west of this house.

You can see some of those famous red outcroppings to the right of the house as you walk up. Red Rock Canyon is also an open space park. Keep in mind that the views you see from the back of the house will never, ever be built on. Yeah, there was a big local political brouhaha over that, but … that’s not what this post is about. Let’s get to looky-looing shall we?

Walk through the little inconspicuous opening in the adobe wall and you’re greeted by a little bridge that crosses a water feature with a waterfall coming out of the street side wall. The parking lot you see towards the top is to accommodate all the Parade of Homes looky-loos like me. Those cars are parked on the last lot in Red Rock Canyon … if you’re interested.

Here’s a glimpse looking back towards the driveway. There’s another waterfall in the wall here. The water sounds walking into this house were just heavenly. Off in the distance, you can see the Garden of Gods just north of this house. I failed to get a picture of the porch to the right, because we had to put on our little booties that everyone who wants to tour this house has to wear.

This is the view back towards the entry from the great room. I instantly fell in love with the colors, wing chairs, the massive stone fireplace and the coffee table. That coffee table is as big as the kitchen floor in our tiny townhouse. To the left of the lady coming in are stairs going down to the basement lower level, and to the left of the stairs is the dining room.

The great room has a wall of glass doors that fold back to completely open onto a massive covered deck. More on that in a few. See that view? OPEN SPACE, never to be built on! To die for. You can use the telescope to look at the wildlife!

The dining room is directly across from the great room – no walls in this open plan. That is the window you saw to the left of the entry.

To the left of the dining room is the kitchen. It has a mix of cabinet finishes that I love. What looks like a cabinet stack on the very right is actually a door to a massive pantry – of which I failed to get a picture. The three people standing in the center of this photo are standing at a SECOND ISLAND built directly in front of a six-burner stove wedged into the corner back there. The guy on the left is my hubby   Can you see the faucet on the front island here? It’s one of three sinks. Under the window is another sink.

And this is your view! OPEN SPACE!

Stand on tippy-toes, crane your neck (I’m short!) and look down for a glimpse of the kids’ private water park! It’s neat. More on that when we go downstairs.

We’re outside now on the L-shaped deck. The doors to the left are the great room. Yes, that’s a TV above a gas fireplace. On the ceiling are speakers and heaters!

Turn around to see stools at a tiled ledge overlooking another stunning view of the open space. Why do you need a tiled ledge you ask?

To wolf down the burgers from the grill. Hubby was underwhelmed by the grill. It is pretty wimpy considering the rest of this place. So, that’s the upper deck and the upper floor on one side of the house.

Now, let’s go to the left as we come in the front door. Here we have a small home office. I failed to get a decent shot of the desk, which is a gorgeous, curved French piece, because we were enthralled by another secret door. Remember that stack of cabinets in the kitchen that open to a pantry? Well, that’s just one of many secrets to this house. The girl with hubby here is the designer’s daughter. And, she’s not showing him the books.

The entire bookcase opens to a closet where you can keep all those ugly things like printers and mail. There’s actually a mail slot from the mudroom into this closet – of which I failed to get a picture. Look! I took over 100 photos! I tried to get everything!

Here’s the mud/laundry room that is on the other side of that closet wall. The tip of that black chair on the left is where the mail slot is. The window overlooks the entry and water feature. There’s another TV. This house has a TV in every room – even the bathrooms.

Spin around 180 degrees and you see this wall of the mud/laundry with a charming hubby posing in front of a charming chalk board.

Wait! It, too, is a secret door …

… that leads into the master closet! How handy is that? Need to freshen something you want to wear? No problem – sneak through the secret door and pop it in the steam dryer!

From the master closet, we entered the master bath. How about that view from the jetted tub? The black rectangle is a see-through fireplace. The master bath also has a separate shower with those cool windows that fill with opaque gas at the flip of a switch to give you some privacy. Yes, sorry, I failed to get a shot of that, too. To the right of the fireplace is the door into the master bedroom.

With this O.M.G. bed! I really did screech oh-my-god, oh-my-god! when I saw it. The bedding is gorgeous – like a grown up princess bed. And look above the bed – a beautiful painting of sheep. It’s like it was meant for me   I love the light fixtures, too.

Here’s your view. Can you imagine the sunrise lighting up the Red Rock Canyon? I can! What a wonderful alarm clock that would be.

Here’s a closeup of the rose motive quilted satin comforter and bed skirt. If anyone knows the maker of this bedding, please leave a comment. I WANT IT!

This is to the right of bed with a pretty French dresser and rooster upholstered arm chair.

Here’s your view if you were lounging in bed. That is the fireplace into the bathroom. To the left of the bathroom entry is another big screen TV – that, again, I failed to get a shot of. I’ll remind you that I took a hundred-plus photos of this place!

OK. Now, were done with the main floor, and we’re going downstairs. Please don’t call this a basement! Look at the detail on this staircase. See how the wood flooring continues around the top of the stairs? And notice how the edge of the flooring is finished.  The entire house shows this attention to detail. I tell ya, should I ever win the lottery, I’m hiring this builder and the designer. They created magic together. Love the big baseboard and the idea of a massive mirror above the stairs, too.

At the bottom of the stairs you’re greeted by this little hall of a wine cellar area. Aren’t those barrel tops cute? No, they don’t open into a secret passage. Hubby and I pulled and pushed on them, but they’re just a unique wall treatment.

Directly opposite of that wine barrel wall is a mini bar with wine frig. That’s real brick on the back splash. There’s a gated (!) wine room just to the right of this counter.  It, too, was made entirely of brick and held thousands of bottles of wine. Yes, damn it! I didn’t get a picture of it. Hubby was teasing me about locking me out of the wine closet. I was laughing instead of snapping a picture.

Walk through the wine cellar area to spill out on this big, big family room. Do you see the sprays of water in kids’ private water park outside the fireplace? Again, that parking lot is for Parade of Homes visitors and is actually the last lot available in this exclusive community. To the left of the pool table is another wall of window/doors that open to the lower level terrace.

Just outside the pool table is a stunning outdoor fireplace – it’s concrete made to look like a gnarled piece of dried up scrub oak.

Hang a right from the concrete driftwood to the kids’ private water park! Isn’t it cute? I’d play in it, too! The stairs there go to the front of the house and a spot we almost missed.

Looking back from the corner of the terrace, there’s another fire pit thingy here. Why? I don’t know, perhaps this one is for roasting marshmallows. Please notice the stairs hubby is headed for and the stainless topped table in the shadows on the very left.

The stairs flank a terraced vegetable garden here along the back of the house. Notice the upper deck with the telescope. And notice the stainless steel table tucked into the lower terrace at the bottom right? That is a potting bench.

And here’s your view as you re-pot your house plants on that potting bench under the cover of the upper deck! What you don’t see … because I failed to get a picture of it, too, is the roof here. It has several of those ceiling heaters.

We’re back inside the basement lower level to look at a junior suite down here. The barn door wall is just too cool. Click on this photo to get a bigger view and look at the water fall “faucet” above the tub. The shower is directly behind that faucet.

OK. I’m getting tired prepping photos. I’m going on three hours for this post! Below are a series of photos of the man cave area of the lower level.

Uh huh. The builder called the man cave the ESPN room. It had five flat screen TVs, six recliners, another eight bar stools – four on each side of the door and two beer taps. Yes, hubby was in heaven. Notice the score ticker above the door to the man cave? It’s hooked up to ESPN. The side lights on each side of the door are NOT plastic. Those are stone! Notice the “slots”, too, right outside the door. Fun!

This the view down hall from inside the man cave. The little arched door leads to …

a little playroom under the stairs complete with tiny tire swing.

Across the way is a half bath with a urinal. Too funny!

Across from the bath was another kids bedroom with two twin beds. Don’t you love the ceiling and the Dutch door!? This room had a private bath that I did not get a photo of either.

So, there’s a tour of the house that blew me away. It was awesome.

Hubby and I walked back upstairs to leave and surprise! We almost missed an outdoor space off the dining room.

With stairs that go down to the kids’ private water park.

I swear, I could NOT stop snapping pictures of this place or stop gushing over how much I loved it.

Walking out backwards, I snapped a few more of the entry. To get an idea of the floor plan in this area – the office is to the left and you can see the fireplace in the master bedroom on the lower photo. You can better see the ceiling of the great room and deck in the upper photo.

I love every thing about this house! I have the name of the builder and designer – who, by the way, is opening her own store this fall. Can’t wait for that! She also left out business cards with some of the paint colors she used in the house. I’ll post those later if anyone’s interest. I’m tired of this post! But I hope you enjoyed it.

There was another house in this year’s Parade of Homes that  came in a very close second to this one. It had a croffice (craft room-office) to die for. Watch for that post in the future!