HOMEOWNER SPOTLIGHT
Christen and Matt
The Community of Bishops Bay
Q. Where did you move from, and how did you end up in The Community of Bishops Bay?
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A. We moved away from Madison in 2013 and spent three years in Virginia. When we decided to return home (Madison has always been home to us), we bought a house in the Back Nine Neighborhood of The Community of Bishops Bay. We started casually looking for our “forever lot” in 2019. We stumbled across our lot, which offered privacy and room to grow, in COBB during the summer of 2023. Things moved rather quickly, thereafter, and we broke ground on our home that fall. We have always loved the sense of community that COBB has brought us and wanted to stay nearby because of that.
Q. How do you spend time around the area? Are you involved in the community?
A. We have three young children, who are active in the Waunakee area, and participate in multiple activities. We both work in the healthcare field in Madison. Most of our time is spent bouncing between these two things. We enjoy being outdoors and one of the things we enjoy the most is that our home backs up to a county park. We enjoy taking walks in the woods and prairie with our very young (and energetic) dog. Of course, when our kids come with us, there is a lot of negotiating around whether or not we can keep the snake we find or if we can bring 10 packages of fruit snacks for our one mile walk. Outside of our home, we are avid sports fans and have enjoyed watching the Badgers play in a multitude of sports over the years. We have really enjoyed attending volleyball games, although those tickets are increasingly difficult to come by. It’s been fun to see the sport grow over the years as we have been fans and players of the game for much of our lives. We enjoy food and appreciate the culinary community in Madison. We also enjoy theatre and spending time at the Overture Center.
Q. Could you explain what it is about the neighborhood that you enjoy?
A. We have developed deep friendships within the Community of Bishops Bay and that has kept, and will keep, us in the community. This community has shown us that a good neighbor makes life better and we are grateful that we have been able to find that here. We also enjoy our location. We appreciate being able to walk and the relative ease in commuting anywhere in the greater Madison area. Lastly, we wanted our children to be able to get their education through the Waunakee School District.
Q. Are there particular features or design elements that you are happy were incorporated into your new home?
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A. Building a home from the ground up is as challenging as it is rewarding. We received input from friends who had already been through the process. We approached the building process with the idea that our home needed to support and enrich our lives. We think we accomplished that. We enjoy food, so much of our attention was focused on building a kitchen that would support us over the years. We also consider ourselves to be quite active, so having an in-home gym was a must given the hectic schedules we maintain with our jobs and kiddos. Finally, we really wanted to steer away from the more popular neutral palettes of homes. We made some bold choices with counter tops, flooring, colors, and wallpaper which really paid off.
Q. Did you have a favorite part of the building process?
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A. There were several moments that were memorable to us with the build process. We experienced shock when they dug the foundation. We experienced anticipation as the framing went up. We experienced relief as we saw our vision, which was largely on the computer screen, come together. It is hard to pick one part of the process that was our favorite, but maybe it was the end. We consider this our dream house and do not plan to build again (famous last saying, we hear) and we are immensely grateful that we were able to accomplish this dream when many cannot.
Q. Were there any surprises of building a new home?
A. We are first time home builders. Despite our amazing realtor prepping us, we were surprised and a bit overwhelmed, with the number of decisions we needed to make with our build. Everything you see in the pictures was curated by us with guidance from the team at Heffron Homes (and support from our friends). We appreciate Jaclyn and Renee being there to guide us through the process.
Q. If you could offer advice about building, what would it be?
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A. Your house is being built for you, not for anyone else. It is important to remember that and to stay centered in a process that can easily uproot you.
Christen and Matt,
What a lovely story of your building process. You've done an amazing job with thoughtful design and function through every space. We truly wish you happiness in your new home for years to come.
~ The Staff at Heffron Homes
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