High-end home reflects European architectural design

by Paul Schreiber

SBJ Reporter

pschreiber@sbj.net

On a 160-acre stretch of land in north Springfield, a small army of subcontractors are putting the finishing touches on the 8,500-square-foot, 14-room residence of Gaylen and Dedre Jones at 2172 E. Farm Road 48. Gaylen Jones is president and owner of A-1 Electric, a 15-year-old Springfield-based electrical contractor. The owners would not disclose the building price.

Living spaces include four bedrooms with four bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, study, great room, library, laundry, powder room, sitting room, play room and living room, said Matt Bailey, vice president of Howard Bailey Company, general contractor for the project.

In back is an in-ground pool and an eight-acre lake, he added.

Growing home

The Jones' new homestead didn't start out this size. It came in at 6,500 square feet in June 2002 when site work began, but a renovation of attic space above the garage and a second-floor game room addition put the total 2,000 square feet higher, said Bailey.

"It's about a 16-month project total, especially with all the changes and there's been a ton of changes," Bailey said, who hopes to have it all wrapped up by Christmas.

For Dedre Jones, Thanksgiving would be better.

The current snag, however, is the arrival of a cut-stone Gothic fireplace from Dallas-based Stone Magic that should be in this week, she said. One thing leads to another in a "chain reaction" when it comes to keeping the project moving forward, she added.

According to Bailey, there are more than a dozen subcontractors and supply houses contributing services and product to the endeavor.

New old

Approaching the home off Farm Road 48, A-1 Electrical Service crews are busy putting in electrical lines for the seven antique lamps that will flank the driveway. The old style lighting foreshadows the house beyond. The structure exhibits an Old World look, Gaylen Jones said.

Added Dedre Jones, who designed the interior: "We wanted a new house that looked old, basically. So we just wanted to incorporate some old with the new and make it all look like it had been there forever."

Steve Busch, project architect and owner of Busch Design Group in Tulsa, Okla., said the house's architecture reflects English and French elements from the Jacobean and Norman periods, respectively.

"They were very explicit on what they wanted, and when you have a client like that, it usually falls into place very nice," Busch said.

Busch has done about 90 custom homes in the Springfield area, including work at Millwood and Highland Springs.

Piecing the puzzle together

Getting the house to look like it has been there a while required creative thinking and contributions from a number of subcontractors. Paving bricks from downtown Kansas City streets are now in place as part of the house's facade. Beams torn out of a Chicago warehouse and finished on site give the great room a somewhat Bavarian character. Both items were purchased through Cross Creek Architectural Artifacts & Salvage, Bailey said.

Inside the vestibule are two, 100-year-old, three-quarter-ton granite columns topped with sandstone-colored capitals. Each sport a male and female face that look benignly down on visitors. The pieces, which originally were external fixtures flanking an electric company's entrance in St. Joseph, were bought by the owners.

The columns are supported on top of a jack system that allows for future removal, if necessary, said Bailey.

In the master bathroom, a columned double shower awaits its glasswork while Extreme Woodworks employee Jeff Herring fastens pieces along its upper framework.

In the library, a marble fireplace from a nunnery in St. Louis sits in place, still wrapped in plastic sheeting. It was purchased from a salvage shop in Kansas City, Dedre Jones said.

Throughout the house, workers measure and cut, stepping back on occasion to consider the next step of their project. Outside, employees from A-1 Electrical continue their work on getting the electric lines in place.

Gaylen Jones will be happy to have the place to himself and his wife and reflects on the lengthy challenge of the whole venture. "I just think the whole thing took an awful long time," he said.