CUSTOM HOMES ARE ONE OF KIND CREATIONS

From the circle drive to the clean, angular lines of the white-walled, high-ceiling living room, the house fits Mary and Dale Spell to a T.

"It was so much more than either one of us ever dreamed," said Mary Spell, director of public relations at St. Francis Medical Center and a former journalist.

"We are never bored with it," she said.

The custom-built home at 371 Edgewood Drive was designed by Cape Girardeau architect John Boardman, a good friend of the couple.

In 35 years of marriage, the Spells have resided in three mobile homes and two houses. Early in their marriage, there was no time to settle down.

"We were moving too fast to buy a home," recalled Mary Spell. That's because her husband was working in heavy construction for R.B. Potashnick and moving from project to project. He still is in heavy construction, although he now works for Delta Asphalt.

"In '75 or '76, we bought our first house," said Spell. Their new house, which they moved into in the spring of 1989, is only a short distance from their old house but light years away in terms of design.

The exterior of the contemporary, 1-story house is cedar, stained gray-brown in color, with two angled wings that draw one to the center of the structure. The house sits on a site of about two acres.

Inside, the gray and white checkered tile floor in the foyer draws one into a large, open area that serves as both dining room and living room. Mary Spell said they wanted a "great room effect." A series of windows line the back wall, and patio doors lead to a rear deck.

The upstairs includes a family room loft, with a barred opening that looks down upon the living and dining room.

The house, said Spell, has "lots of privacy, lots of little special curves and angles."

"The lines are really a big part of our house," she noted. "There is not a square wall anywhere."

Having lived so many years in mobile homes with their confining walls, Spell said they wanted as open a house as possible. "We didn't want any more walls than we had to have."

The house includes a skylight over the loft family room. "John always puts a skylight in his houses. That's one of his trademarks," said Spell.

She said they gave Boardman pretty much a free rein in designing the house. "He built this house like he would have built it for himself."

They did ask that it be designed to accommodate large family gatherings. The Spells have four married daughters and eight grandchildren.

"The idea was we wanted space for our family to enjoy," said Mary Spell. Even the master bedroom fits into that concept, being a combination bedroom and sitting room.

"I wasn't that hard to please," she said. "Space was my major requirement." The house encompasses about 3,700 square feet, including a downstairs family room.

And they wanted a circle drive to avoid having to move cars every time someone wanted to leave.

"It is a comfortable house," said Spell. "It kind of lends itself to a lot of peace.

"It's got an old-fashioned quality about it, while being contemporary, I think."

Spell said an architect-designed house allows an individual to get a unique house. "You can get exactly what you want for your family, and you can get a lot for your money."

"Every house is its own individual house," said Boardman, who estimates he's designed about 105 houses excluding his own since he began working as an architect in 1950.

For Boardman, originality and creativity are the essence of his craft.

Boardman, who has spent most of his architectural career in Cape Girardeau, has designed homes all over the region.

"I have a philosophy, I will not copy a house," said Boardman. "A good architect has to avoid the fads."

Architecture, he said, amounts to "the capturing of space."

"A custom home is built for a single, individual family," observed Boardman. But at the same time, it has to be one that can be resold because homeowners today often move several times.

"Certainly, I wouldn't recommend a two-bedroom house because they don't sell," said Boardman.

In designing a house, Boardman said he has to take into account the site itself and the needs of the client. "I think the site is important in regulating even the type of house," he pointed out.

"A view is always important to a client," he said.

Some people, he said, want a custom house to appear traditional on the outside; Georgian colonial is popular in this area.

"They want the tried and true exterior. They are happy with that," said Boardman. "On the inside, they want the latest in the bath and the kitchen and appliances."

Today, many people bring architects pictures of a house or houses they like, complete with floor plans. They then ask the architects to modify the plans to meet their needs.

Even when things are pretty well spelled out, Boardman likes to add some special touches. "I like to do a surprise or two for the client and I like them to find it late (in the design stage)," he said. Such surprises may include a loft or a hidden room or corner space.

"With a custom house, if done by an architect, there is no guesswork as to the finishes and baseboards and lighting," said Boardman.

He estimated it can take 12 to 16 months on average to build such a house. "It depends on the contractor too," he said.

As to the Spells, their house is truly a home one tailored to meet their needs.