Designer-decorated model homes have come to Copperwood Estate.
The new-build community by Claridge Homes and Uniform Urban Developments in Kanata North has been underway since 2023 and the opening of models is the next stage in Copperwood’s development. Uniform unveiled its five model homes — three singles and two townhomes — last fall, while Claridge has begun gradually opening its five singles more recently. Together, they offer buyers 10 homes to visit for design inspiration and to experience a home they’re looking to buy.
While Claridge has had a busy year building and opening model homes across the city, for Uniform, Copperwood Estate became its first model row since before the pandemic, marking a return to the buying process where a row of model homes “is such a critical component,” says Uniform marketing manager Emily Meyers. “People want to look and feel and touch and wander … They’re taking more time to make decisions and part of that is touring homes and really understanding the product and the quality and the space and the materials that they’re buying.”
The new models have also given both builders a chance to showcase newer floor plans that haven’t been built as models before, while at the same time spreading the various floor plans they’ve built as models across their other communities — a trend several Ottawa builders are employing to present their lineup.
“We’re strategically choosing what we’re demonstrating at Copperwood,” says Meyers, who adds that the model row here is the biggest they’ve ever done. Uniform has evolved from a small boutique builder of infills and enclaves in the 1990s into a larger volume builder with developments of 100-plus homes.
Copperwood Estate, for instance, sits on about 120 acres and will see some 600 singles, towns and bungalows, along with higher density housing, between the two builders.
Claridge has also been strategic with its model choices. “We wanted diversity,” says sales and marketing manager Leah Tynan. “We tried to select as many different plans throughout (our communities).”
The homes at Copperwood, she says, “are cosy and inviting and warm (with) a feeling of home.”
Claridge was planning to open townhome models as well but sold them before they could open. And because the builder has been so busy with models in multiple communities, two of the models at Copperwood were not yet fully decorated at the time of writing, although they are available to view.
Uniform, meanwhile, is deliberately showing an unfurnished model — the Nobel single — to give buyers a different perspective, Meyers says, adding that buyers are appreciating the option. “There’s some merit in seeing the space unencumbered by furniture.”
And both builders have opted to show a mix of upgrades in their models, with at least one for each built with minimal extras to show predominantly standard (or included) features and finishes.
“We want people to know that you can have a gorgeous, relevant, fresh, lovely house without doing anything (extra),” says Meyers. Uniform’s Ferguson model, one of the two townhomes featured, has just $5,000 in upgrades, while the Ashby single has very few upgrades, almost half of which went toward finishing the basement bathroom. Claridge, meanwhile, included only the design centre bonus currently offered to buyers in upgrading the stairs to hardwood in the Killarney single.
“Claridge has really great standards, so it’s great to showcase what we offer,” says Tynan.
Meyers says the feedback on the models has been “fabulous.” Designed by Hobin Architecture and decorated by 2H Interior Design — both long-time collaborators with Uniform — the homes evoke a contemporary feel that’s warm and welcoming, with a mix of natural materials and earth tones to appeal to a variety of buyers, Meyers says.
The Claridge models, which have been decorated by interior design manager Kayla Pollock, also feature earth tones, although often with deeper hues, as well as plenty of texture and layers.
Touring the Copperwood Estate models
The models are located on Bosch Place in Kanata North. The sales centres and models are open at various times. Check our Copperwood Estate development summary for more information.
This article ran in the Ottawa Citizen on Oct. 23, 2026.
