Southern Living Showcase Home tours to begin in Hawkseye
Custom-home builders Kathleen and John Leebel said last year was hard on a personal level after their family was touched by the untimely deaths of both a dear friend and a family member to cancer.
After learning to cope with their losses with the help of patient and family outreach centers, the owners of the Lewes Building Company decided they wanted to give back to the organization that aided them and help others in their battle against cancer.
“One of our best friends passed away of lung cancer, and my brother passed. He was 38,” Kathleen said. “We were intimately involved with their journeys with cancer, and one of the things that really helped us was the counseling and outreach centers.”
As Southern Living custom home builders, the couple decided to take advantage of their expertise at the Lewes Building Company to raise funds for the Tunnell Cancer Center, which helped them overcome their losses.
With national exposure in the magazine, Kathleen said, the project will not only help raise funds through the purchase of ticket sales to tour the home, beginning Friday, Nov. 23, but also the profile of their company's namesake town of Lewes, bringing additional exposure during a quiet time in the resort town.
After a private preview party Friday, Nov. 16, tours of the six-bedroom, five-and-one-half bathroom, fully furnished home will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, until Saturday, Dec. 1, with proceeds from ticket sales donated to the Tunnell Cancer Center.
Located on one of several lots owned by the Lewes Building Company in the private community of Hawkseye, the home backs up to the natural preserve of the Junction and Breakwater Trail, and the same quality construction is assured by the company as neighboring lots are developed.
John Leebel said he purchased prime real estate in Hawkseye long before the start of their showcase home construction in May.
“It’s been a pretty smooth build,” he said. “We purchased these lots about a year ago with plans to build large Southern Living homes through the area to preserve home values.”
The two-story home features indoor and outdoor fireplaces, an open deck, indoor/outdoor living areas and a two-story porch. In addition, the layout calls for library and study areas, a dining room, great room, four to five bedrooms and an in-law suite. Marble bathrooms feature luxuries like a soaking tub or zero-entry walk-in shower.
With a list price of $1.129 million, the home will be furnished for tours by Steven Price, merchandise manager and accessory buyer at Johnny Janosik furniture gallery in Laurel, in what he refers to as "refined coastal style," with the loaned furniture and accessories available for purchase at the end of tours, he said via email.
“All services such as the furniture layouts and the installation are all donated time,” Price said. “Johnny’s got involved in this project because we felt the Southern Living brand helps showcase the range of products that we carry.”
The Lewes Building Company's showcase home at 35568 Peregrine Road in Hawkseye will be open for tours from Friday, Nov. 23, to Saturday, Dec. 1, with tickets available online at www.eventbrite.com.
