Family Adventures - Kansas City Homes & Style

Home Is Where Memories Are Made!

Boasting Nantucket influences throughout, this residence makes its owners feel as if they are on vacation year-round.

Story by Ann Butenas | Photos by Matt Anderson

Our jaws dropped when we first laid eyes on this gorgeous home situated in the exclusive Village of Loch Lloyd, a private, gated community where you can just leave your cares behind. Admit it. Yours did, too. But that’s okay, as this stunning and expansive one-and-a-half story residence designed and constructed by the award-winning Starr Homes is definitely a show stopper, but most important, it serves an express purpose with ease: giving its owners the perfect place to raise their family and enjoy life to the fullest.

Known as the Bridgeport, this unique floor plan encompasses a grand total of 8,352 square feet across three expansive levels. There is definitely something for everyone in the busy, active family that resides within.

“This house is great for a family and for casual entertainment,” expressed Gerry Starr, co-owner of Starr Homes, referencing its coastal Nantucket appeal with ample windows throughout for a light and bright feeling. “We used a lot of white paint for a nice, airy feeling, along with warm tones in places that also dovetail with that particular design.”

In order to bring this stunning vision to life, Starr and his team of experts initially sat down with the owners, Matt and Heather Bridges, to map out what they desired in the home.

“They came to us with a list of features and must-haves that were important to them,” he indicated. “While some clients come to us with a plan in hand, many simply come to us first to explain what their objectives are. Working together with our clients is one of the easiest and quickest processes to designing a custom home.”

Without a doubt this home is truly the cream of the crop, the most impressive features are the folks who reside within: Matt Bridges, an emergency room physician and partner with St. Luke’s Health System, and wife Heather, a nurse, who, along with their three young children and Heather’s mom (who occupies the incredible guest suite!), will most certainly welcome you with open arms should you stop by for a visit. Pretentious they are not. Friendly and approachable? You bet. Guests are always assured a warm, relaxed and memorable visit. Heather will be the first to admit there is nothing fancy about her family.

“This home is a great complement to our laid-back attitude,” she noted. “Starr Homes did a great job of balancing our personalities throughout the spaces. We feel like we are on vacation all the time and we try to use every room in the house. We also enjoy entertaining, and for some reason, we tend to do that more now! I come from a large, extended family with four brothers and 19 nieces and nephews, and we love to get together whenever we can.”

The Bridges moved into this palatial home in June this year. As their fourth home together as a family, Heather refers to this particular abode as a product of 15 years of deciding their own style, and the opportunities for fun it affords the family is not lost on her.

With ample square footage to canvas, this active family doesn’t mind covering the territory on a regular basis. In addition to plenty of sleeping quarters (five bedrooms and a full guest suite) and numerous places to relax and privately unwind after a long day (six and a half bathrooms), there is also a movie theater, an indoor sport court with a 16-foot ceiling (perfect for indoor basketball or even a makeshift game of soccer) below the suspended four-car garage, a fully insulated music room, a wine cellar, a relaxing bar on the lower level, a Mom’s office, a prep kitchen next to the spacious main kitchen, an expansive lower level recreational area and oversized covered lanai with outdoor kitchen. The home is situated on a large lot with a creek running behind it, so privacy reigns supreme at this location. If this sounds like a resort to you, that description is quite apt. More than anything, however, it is now home to the Bridges, and they are already making so many amazing memories here.

“The gym and the theater rival one another for our time,” laughed Heather. “Matt and I played sports in college and now our kids are involved in sports. We play down in the gym together as a family at least three or four nights a week, and we also love to snuggle together to watch movies in the theater room.”

A large outdoor covered lanai with a wood burning fireplace, TV and outdoor dining and grilling area makes for the perfect relaxing escape from a busy day. When it is time to entertain, the expansive kitchen island allows for ample seating. What is notably absent is a formal dining room, something from which Starr Homes has deviated for nearly the past decade. In its place, the main dining space in this home is towards the rear and opens directly to the lanai for the perfect flow of indoor and outdoor entertaining. This area can accommodate the smaller, daily family meals just as easily as larger gatherings.

For an even more casual vibe, the lower level bar and wine cellar is a perfect place for Heather and her friends and family to relax while enjoying engaging conversation and laughter amid the other activity in the house, as they are able to close themselves off from the noise of the nearby sport court and the contiguous game room and open family room.

“We can see everything going on around us from our little spot by the wine cellar, but can’t hear all the noise,” she smiled.

The music room is a favorite escape for Matt, also an amateur musician who loves to spend time there in the evenings strumming his guitar. The primary focal point of this room cannot be missed, however. The floor-to-ceiling mural on one wall within was created by a friend of the Bridges, Nancy of Dynamic Displays, who presented it to them as a gift.

“The mural is an image of Beale Street in Memphis, and it also depicts B.B. King’s Blue’s Club, which is where Matt, then in his 20s, first saw Kenny Wayne Shepherd perform and is who inspired him to learn to play the guitar,” said Heather.

As a family that enjoys friends from all walks of life, the Bridges look forward to a lifetime of fun and casual entertaining in this wonderful place they now call home.

“Whenever you see this house, we want it to give you a warm hug,” reflected Heather.