ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 Series: Homes by design TAG: 9610290034
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARTY HORNE STAFF WRITER
WHEN Peter and Dottie Noce started making plans for their home on a 10-acre wooded piece of land in Salem, they didn't rush into the project.
One of the first steps was to turn to architect David L. Bandy, who ultimately desigqned the 7,000-square-foot home. Bandy didn't rush, either.
"We worked six months on the plan," said Peter Noce, former owner of Western Sizzlin' restaurants in the Roanoke Valley. "The more we worked, the more excited we got."
Bandy, who at the time about 10 years ago was an independent architect, eventually built a model of the house.
Another 14 months was spent in building the home at 3075 Bent Ridge Road. What the Noces got was a spectacular home with a floor plan that essentially is three separate units. Every inch of the painted-brick house is designed to be functional.
"It's an intelligent house. It's complex, yet simple," is how Bandy describes it.
The centerpiece is the great room, which was designed to provide comfortable living for the family as well as space for entertaining. Also in that unit is the dining area, kitchen, sunken family room, sun room and music area.
Another section contains the master bedroom, a bathroom, office, deck and fireplace. A third unit has three bedrooms and two bathrooms used by the Noces' children when they were home.
All three units are tied together by a huge deck, as well as hallways, and are protected by a sophisticated burglar-alarm system. Between the great room and master bedroom units is a courtyard with a garden.
The house was designed to make maximum use of the beauty of the woods, which can be seen in every direction through a multitude of glass. Natural lighting abounds. "We wanted the house to blend in with the woods, so you don't know if you're inside or out," Dottie Noce said.
The Noces especially wanted the great room to flow as one entertainment piece. That meant placing all food preparation, dining, family interaction, TV viewing and guest entertainment in one large space. Bandy accomplished that by having only one wall in the space to screen the kitchen from the other areas. The rest of the space is totally open.
The central element of the room is a Roman light well, which allows sunlight to flow down a wide shaft from windows 20 feet above the center of the room. The well and four columns on each corner of the well serve as visual dividers and definers of space. The columns also add structural support for the huge room.
Evidence of Bandy's success in designing the kind of great room the Noces wanted was never more apparent than the time when the Noces' daughter was married on the deck with 110 people in attendance. The ease with which the guests moved about inside and outside the room made it "seem like no one was here at all," Dottie Noce said.
Bandy said the master bedroom complex was designed around the idea of having as little furniture as possible in the room. He made that happen with built-in chests and walk-in closets. A round window allows daylight to flow in above the bed, which is partially recessed from the rest of the room. A recreational space is beneath the master bedroom.
Separate heating and cooling units for the children's section allow the Noces to cut utility costs. Since the children have left the nest, the rooms aren't used that much, so the heating and cooling can be cut back. A child's loft playroom is also above the children's bedroom complex.
The Noces said they are extremely pleased with the way the house turned out. "It really has been a fun place to live and work," Dottie Noce said. "We don't feel it is pretentious; it's out of sight. It's a very comfortable, liveable home."
Since designing the home Bandy has joined Echols-Sparger & Associates of Marion. He works out of the company's Fincastle office.
He has won 20 awards for his designs, some of which have included Roanoke Memorial Hospital's Cancer Center and the Cave Spring Post Office. He also has been involved in design work for the renovation of several Roanoke Valley elementary schools, including Virginia Heights and Back Creek.
The builders were Dennis Epperly and Billy Henry of Montvale. "They really stayed with it and deserve a lot of credit," Peter Noce said.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. The exterior of the house is painted brick. The roundby CNBwindow lets sunlight into Peter and Dottie Noce's master bedroom.
Sun room is at right. 2. The kitchen is the only part of the great
room that is walled off. 3. White columns frame this view of the
great room, looking to the front of the house. The living room, with
a wooden-beamed cathedral ceiling, is in the background. To the left
of the columns are the family room and music area; to the right, the
kitchen and dining area. The Roman light well (not visible) is in
the area above the four columns. 4. The master bedroom was designed
to hold as little furniture as possible. 5. Like many parts of the
house, the sun room (right) takes full advantage of the view of the
woods. 6. The sunken family room and music area are closely
connected in the great room. color. Graphic. The Noce home
essentially is three units. The great room is in the front, the
children's rooms to the right and the master bedroom in the back. A
large deck ties the units together.