Inside the unique Derella family home by emerging builder Durham Homes
We all want our home to strike a balance between beautiful and functional—but it isn’t often you find one designed to do that for families, especially with young children. The Derella build proves such a dream is possible, and delivers on all fronts: exquisite details, modern functionality, and space to grow and play.
“We always wanted to have a place for our family to come and feel welcomed, to stay and not necessarily be in the way or on top of each other,” reflects homeowner Justin Derella, who shares two sons with wife Kathy. “We talked about one side of the house having the master, and the other side having the guest suite, for their own privacy—with a common area in the middle, and the boys’ rooms upstairs. And that’s what we accomplished here—we all have our own little retreat.”
The four bedroom, four-and-a-half bath house is in the Braxton Ridge neighborhood in Simpsonville, and features a unique layout that adds additional soundproofing. “When someone needs to retreat to their own room, they can’t hear anything that’s going on in the central heart of the house. That’s because they are technically in their own separate wing, with three walls exposed to the outside,” adds Derella, who recognized early on that prioritizing personal space meant better time spent enjoying each other’s company. “When we all come together in the morning, we’ll talk and have breakfast. The way the back porch is designed, it’s right there and open. We have a dining table out there, and then we also have a dining table in the dining room. There’s so much room for everybody to gather and not feel overwhelmed.”
Spacing Out with Durham Homes
Even big holiday gatherings never feel crowded: “At Christmastime, with the fireplace being right next to the double doors out to the porch, we can open those up and have people eating in the back, people eating in the front. [This past season] we had a lot of family come down—maybe 18 of us—and no one felt crowded. That whole area is screened in, so it feels like you’re bringing the outside in.”
Down to the last detail, the house is designed for another important purpose: to grow with the Derella family. “Even the kids’ rooms reflect the same smart storage as downstairs. Lots of built-in floating shelving and unique spaces like a desk and work area. My oldest son loves Legos, and all his Lego cars are displayed up in his room,” says Derella, which cuts down on clutter and makes room for a computer station and homework.
The builder, too, is a young company, to reflect the Derella family: Durham Homes, co-owned by Martin Childress and Robert Childress. “The company was just getting started, and we liked what we saw in a couple of other models they did,” says Derella. “But it was our sales rep, Vickie Leonard, who sold us on working with them. Let’s be honest—with any builder, you’re going to have issues. But what Durham, and Vickie, did well is that they really stepped up when there was an issue, and were quick to address it. It’s been five years since some of our neighbors started building their homes, and their checklist still isn’t done, whereas Durham was really responsive and listened to our concerns. If there’s a last-minute change, they work with you on it.”
One of Derella’s favorite aspects of the home is its connectivity. “This is a true ‘smart home,’ where everything is connected via Wi-Fi,” explains Derella. “As part of working with Durham, their IT team had the whole home wired. Internet is wired to every room, there’s security in every room. You could say it’s a top-of-the-line, high-tech house—from my stove to the fridge, the washer and the dryer, even the thermostats.”
That tech is even key to setting the scene for memorable moments. “We love watching movies together. We wired in surround sound, with speakers hidden in the walls . . . so you can enjoy a great movie there while you’re sitting in front of the fire,” adds Derella. The family fun extends into the backyard, where a sleek, modern outdoor kitchen looks out over a feature-rich pool with a recessed tanning shelf and artificial turf.
“The way the home sits on the lot, we get beautiful southern exposure—warm light coming in,” says Kathy Derella. “When you wake up in the morning, in the backyard, you just see the sun shining on the palm trees. To me, it’s pure paradise. You’re at ease, you’re calm. The way everything [inside] is designed to incorporate the outside, it’s very easy to entertain, and the kids have room to play. Everything is accessible—it’s a home for us to grow with. Durham Homes really created our vision.”
Photography by Greenville Real Estate Media.
