Home Projects Services Consulting Art & Crafts Style Green Building Reviews About Us Contact Us

A Child-Friendly Home

Design: A Father's Perspective

Acording to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision, CPSC, about 2-1/2 million children are injured or killed by hazards in the home each year. Children present unique challenges to home design. There's no button they won't push, drawer they won't open and wire they won't chew on. Their unbound curiosity, short stature, playfulness, inexhaustible energy and fearlessness make of them 24/7 walking-crawling parental jobs.

Steve Wauson, who is a single father, does not build houses; he builds homes to be passed to the next generation. This is the reason for the outstanding craftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail, nobility of materials and harmony with the surrounding natural landscape. He says, "things that we build should blend with nature, be made of natural and local products, be simple, strong, smart, subtle, comfortable and unique." He also does them.

"Children make you want to start life over." Muhammad Ali

Any parent would like for a home to be an extension of a maternal womb —that immanent warm world where safety and comfort are the norm and where the possibilities beyond the entry doors are infinite.

But in reality, childhood happens in a place where design, imagination and functionality must go hand in hand. Only someone such as Wauson, who knows children as well as homes, can conjure a solution to achieve such feat.

Steve Wauson is as much at ease building an award winning home, as he is rearing children. Such an unusual combination of skills makes him uniquely suited to deal with the issues of infant and child safety, comfort and intellectual stimulation within the confines of living spaces; certainly a departure from many other homebuilders. "I've always been a 'room mom.'" And he has coached all kind of sports for his kids —basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer. This lifestyle choice has certainly paid off as his son Nick currently works, hammer in hand, with him.

Buckeye's Child Friendly Features:

Outstanding privacy. The house structure is invisible from the street.
The building is wired with sophisticated security and a fire alarm system monitored 24/7.
The City of West Lake Hills police and fire departments are located less than half mile away.
The Eanes school district; rated outstanding, together with other local organizations provides outstanding youth social and sports opportunities.
The home provides a safe and private haven for children and pets as it lies one hundred yards down a private road, off and away from Buckeye Trail—which is not a highly trafficked street.
Over 30 children live in the immediate area.
The driveway and private drive is a wonderful space for bikes, tricycles, skateboards and roller blades.
All exterior doors onto upper the decks have deadbolts.
Extra safe railings are higher than code throughout the house.
Stair gates can be easily installed. We’ll be glad to make gates to match the interior railings.
The many porches and decks make safe and suitable play areas for youngsters.
The house boasts multiple livings areas, game room, playroom, and a cozy loft.
All the bedrooms have nature views and water sounds. Two of them are located nearby the private master suite.
Still, one bedroom is located away from the others. It would serve older children, mother-in-law, or guests.
The grotto, creek and pond with their fish, frogs, bugs, tadpoles, etc., provide children and adults alike, with a unique opportunity to explore and understand the critical interdependence of humans and our environment.
The wildlife habitat also provides for a rich interaction with deer, fauns, squirrels, opossums, birds, butterflies, foxes, roadrunners, and more.
There are woods to explore on adjacent lots around perimeter of the property.
The Southern grassy area of the lot is gently sloped lending itself for a good play area.
The lot’s Western area is an ideal area to build a playscape. Talk to us about ideas here.

[ TOP ]

In reality, childhood happens in a place where design, imagination and functionality must go hand in hand.

Only someone such as Wauson, who knows children as well as homes, can conjure a solution to achieve such feat.