New-home buyers in south Stittsville can find fresh inspiration thanks to five recently opened models at Idylea by Tartan Homes.
The designer-decorated homes showcase four new floor plans for the longtime builder and one favourite design that’s also found in Tartan’s south-end community of Findlay Creek.
“They’ve been massively popular,” says sales manager Kyrie Warren.
The models are the latest activity in a burgeoning neighbourhood just south of the CARDELREC Recreation Complex and next to Fernbank and Shea roads, where five builders are developing in three communities: Idylea, Shea Village and EdenWylde.
Idylea is the most recent of the three to launch, with Tartan starting sales in August 2023, followed a short time later by sister company Tamarack Homes. Between them, they will build about 600 homes that are a mix of townhomes, semi-detached and singles. To date, about 15 per cent of the project is built.
Tartan is selling semis while Tamarack offers towns. Both have singles. As a result, Tartan is showcasing two semi-detached models and three singles, done in a variety of styles, features and finishes.
“Even if a floor plan doesn’t resonate with a particular buyer, if they see a decor or styling that’s appealing to them, I think it’s not a far stretch for them to think of that style in another floor plan,” says design centre manager Anna Riopelle in explaining her process for outfitting the models.
Decorated in styles from coastal to contemporary, Warren says they’ve been getting very positive feedback from buyers who range from first timers and families to downsizers. For the semis, it’s been several years since Tartan has offered them and they are proving popular as a more affordable alternative to a townhome that still lives like a single.
“They just feel brighter, airier and we keep hearing from our buyers that once they’re inside they have no clue that they’re actually in an attached product,” says Riopelle, noting that many of the semis come with the features of a typical single, such as mudrooms, oversized garages, large laundry rooms on the second floor, optional basement bedrooms and flex spaces. “They all feel like single-family homes.”
The singles, meanwhile, complement Tartan’s other single models throughout the city to show the range of its single-family home portfolio while also showcasing two new floor plans — the Coventry and the Brighton.
The Coventry, which offers a less formal layout choice among Tartan’s largest homes, has proven to be so popular that available 44-foot lots at Idylea for the home are temporarily sold out with 15 prospective buyers on a waiting list for new releases. “Everyone’s obsessed with the Coventry,” says Warren. New 44-foot lots are expected to be released this summer.
Tamarack is close to opening a row of model homes as well but, at the time of writing, they were not yet ready.
While Idylea is a new community, both Riopelle and Warren cite the mature and natural areas that form two of its boundaries as a draw for buyers. On its west side, homes will back onto a well-established neighbourhood that has mature trees and wider lots, while on its north side, homes back onto the Kemp Woodland conservation area and the sports fields of the rec centre, with The Great Trail (formerly the Trans Canada Trail) recreational trail just beyond.
“It’s actually quite private,” says Warren, who also notes the many amenities in the area, from schools within walking distance to the proximity of destinations like Tanger Outlets and the Canadian Tire Centre as well as the plethora of shopping and services in Stittsville and Kanata.
“You’re close to everything but it doesn’t feel like everything is on top of you,” she says.
Here’s a look at Tartan’s models at Idylea
The semis
The semi-detached floor plans offer an affordable alternative to a single with more of a single feel than a townhome.
“This is the first time we’ve reintroduced our new line of semi-detached product and it’s been very well received,” says Warren.
Ficus
Size: 2,576 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 3 (with the option for 2 more)
Optional layouts used: basement bedroom and bathroom
Design style: contemporary coastal
The Ficus is Tartan’s largest semi floor plan. It was chosen as a model to help buyers better understand its unconventional layout, with the dining room stretched across most of the front of the home and separated by a dividing wall from the kitchen and living room at the back.
“When you actually walk into the house people are wowed by it,” says Riopelle, adding that the unusual floor plan allows for larger-scale furnishings.
Adds Warren: “It works great for a downsizer who already has all the furniture for a big space.”
Ivy
Size: 2,358 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 3 (with option for a 4th in the basement)
Optional layouts used: optional ensuite
Design style: contemporary with mid-century modern influences
The Ivy is a mid-sized semi and is the model home that’s shown with standard features and finishes, meaning no upgrades. Tartan makes a habit of showing such a home “because we’re proud of our finishes,” says Riopelle. “If you can walk in and be wowed by a home with our standard features, just as they are, which I know people will be, then we feel a bit more proud about it.”
While a standard home, it does show the optional ensuite layout. “We wanted to show in a mid-sized semi that everybody could basically check every box they could ever want,” Riopelle says.
The singles
There are three single-family home models — two new floor plans and the third a popular one for which there is already a model at Findlay Creek.
Sirius
Size: 2,635 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 4 (with option for 2 more)
Optional layouts used: modified prep kitchen, optional ensuite, extended rec room, basement bathroom and fireplace
Design style: modern contemporary
The Sirius is the only one of the five models that is not a new floor plan. But this popular midsized home includes some tweaks that differentiate it from the model built at Findlay Creek, such as the removal of a partial wall that divided the flex space beside the foyer to allow it to feel more open.
This model has also been built to net zero so that Tartan could test what would be required to elevate its homes from current Energy Star levels. Warren says the company hopes to offer net zero ready homes for sale in the near future.
Although not done in the model, the Siruis is a home on a 35-foot lot that can accommodate a fifth bedroom on the second floor by converting the generous loft.
Brighton
Size: 3,245 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 3 (with option for a 4th)
Optional layouts used: basement bathroom and fireplace, prep kitchen
Design style: transitional with a bit of glam
The Brighton is a large single but one that can fit on a 38-foot lot when most its size would be on a 44-foot lot, Riopelle says. Although the model was built with the standard layout that features a main-floor study and powder room, it’s easy to see how that space could be converted to a main-floor guest suite, which is important for many buyers who are looking at multigenerational living.
When it came to the styling, “I wanted a more opulent look for that house,” Riopelle says. “I wanted it to be glitzier, lots of gold, mirrors, but then it’s also contrasted with the warm wood floors … a bit more of a showier, blinged-out home.”
Coventry
Size: 3,525 sq. ft.
Bedrooms: 4 (with option for 2 more)
Optional layouts used: basement bathroom and fireplace
Design style: casual transitional
The Coventry is a new floor plan touted as a more informal Cambridge (Tartan’s largest home, which has a more formal layout with the living room and dining room up front and separated from the kitchen and family room). The slightly smaller Coventry still has the formal living room at the front, but the whole back of the home is an open-concept kitchen, family room and dining room to “appeal to the other style of buyer who likes a large home but wants a bit more of a casual lifestyle,” says Riopelle.
The home’s styling is meant to appeal to a young or growing family. It’s “a comfortable house for family gatherings,” she says. “Let’s face it, you can fit a lot of people.”
For more on Idylea and Tartan Homes, see our development summary.
