With dream bedroom designs and the latest in technology, this young family of four has created a custom home in which to grow, love and play.

The Saunders have built a home that encourages fun and imagination.

From the front of their Walkerton home, the only evidence of Randy and Michele Saunders’ little boys, Cole, 3, and Zach, 5, are two painted rocks, given to Randy on Father’s Day, which lie in a border garden surrounding the front porch (landscaping by Brian Folmer).

It’s the little colourful surprises throughout this beautiful home that make it a special place of fun and freedom. There’s a Walkerton Hawks jersey thrown haphazardly over the stairway banister. A bright blue magnet on the dishwasher adds pizzazz to the classy country kitchen. Toys spill out the French doors leading to the playroom. Everywhere you turn, this is a family home.

Once you climb the stairs to the second floor and meander down the hall to the boys’ rooms, you discover how truly magical this home is. The Saunders commissioned Heather Smillie, who designed for The Mom Show, to discuss room themes with the kids and to design spaces to celebrate the boys’ unique personalities. “It was her and the kids,” says Randy. “We had no input. We just let them go.”

Zach’s room is bathed in vibrant red with meticulous black accents. His theme is hockey, and he definitely ‘scored’ with this design. Heather sourced several unique hockey pieces for his special room. Two wrought iron hockey players (from Surroundings) hang on the wall, adding action and movement to the design. Classy black cabinetry, custom crafted by Daryl Johnson, frames the red bed and stores Zach’s toys and clothes.

The front foyer provides seating for the boys, as Mom makes sure their shoes are tied and their jackets are zipped up. Margie Fritz of Margie’s Floral Designs, decorated the home for the fall season.

Walkerton Hawks accents litter the room. Zach’s favourite player, Trevor Harper, signed a hockey stick that now sits above the window across from his bed. Official hockey pucks, donated by the team, add extra fanfare to the space. Joy Source For Sports ironed on felt hockey numbers, as well as the Saunders’ name on the throw pillows, and an intense hockey game is a constant on Zach’s Playstation 3. Heather designed the room so it could easily transform into a different style. “In two years, if he doesn’t want hockey anymore, they can just manipulate it,” she says.

Cole’s room is loaded with superhero power and overflowing with his favourite movie characters. He loves superheroes and movies, and Smillie married the two themes to create a space that encourages imagination and child’s play.

The walls are accented with dry-mounted, Velcro posters of Batman and the Hulk, so they can be switched around or changed when desired. Smillie had a great time designing Cole’s room; she had never tackled a superhero or movie theme before. “It was my favourite, because it was different,” she says, as she plays a game of hide and seek with Cole.

To introduce the boys to their brand new rooms, Randy and Michele organised an unveiling, videotaping the event for lasting memories. The excitement on their children’s faces made their day. “Cole was screaming his head off and they had friends over to see their new rooms and play Playstation,” says Michele.

The custom kitchen was designed by Randy, with the help of Lyn Mullen. The cabinetry was built by Daryl Johnson to give a clean, polished look to the space that is still kid-friendly.

“You make it a bit of an occasion and it makes it fun for them,” says Smillie, whose 10-year-old niece helped her paint and decorate. “It was fun, and it’s really important to have fun in a kid’s room.” Smillie thinks children’s rooms have evolved from providing simple aesthetics to using real décor in an interesting way.

“We wanted to give them their own space,” says Michele, who is ecstatic about the boys’ rooms, which, before their transformation, were bathed in beige paint and used as sleeping quarters, rather than a place to hang out.

Special space for these boys does not end in their bedrooms. Downstairs, their playroom is chock full of toys and movies, and features a 105-inch, front-projector screen for family movie nights. This essential room used to be the office, and the kids played in the unfinished basement. Eventually, too many toys ended up in the living room, and the Saunders decided to permanently move them upstairs. Randy hopes to have the basement finished next year, which will feature an entertainment room, bar, spare bedroom and bathroom.

Cole and Zach are not the only ones with toys scattered throughout the home. Randy, who owns HDTV and Electronics in Walkerton, outfitted the home with a Nuvo-distributed audio system that plays from a number of sources, personalizing each room with its own music, all by the simple touch of a screen no bigger than his hand. The keypad can also control an iPod from the dock station.

Cole’s room is the epitome of child’s play. This room has vibrant colours and carefully chosen accents. Cole loves to show it off to his friends.

Randy points out the lack of high-tech equipment in the living room. Without cabinetry, the space feels open and uncluttered. The equipment is replaced by a single remote that controls music, TV and movies, and can even be used to surf the web. This one piece of technology oversees the entire home entertainment system.

To create such a technologically advanced atmosphere, Randy renovated the home to accommodate his needs. “When we built the house four years ago, it really wasn’t that way,” he says. “People would put the equipment in the room, but not anymore.” The 50-inch flat screen also contributes to the spacious feel.

“I like the simplicity,” admits Michele, who works as a massage therapist in Hanover and is more interested in the convenience of the newest gadgetry. “I can just go to the wall and press a button. Everything’s hidden away. I don’t have 20 different components to figure out.”

The Saunders’ home features a grand total of eight TVs. “We can watch separate things,” says Michele. She can watch talk shows as she prepares dinner in the kitchen, while the kids are captivated by one of their favourite movies.

The family room features a 50-inch flat screen TV. With an abundance of movies to choose from, the Saunders love to spend the night in with a bowl of popcorn and a good flick.

As the self-contractor of the build, Randy planned the electronic systems in the home, along with the complete design. With the much-appreciated help of Lyn Mullen, a family friend and designer, Randy was able to create the home he and Michele wanted in a community that provides quiet relaxation. “I did not do a thing in this house without Lyn,” recalls Randy. “I did not pick a colour. I did not pick a tap without Lyn’s input.”

The goal was to use local trades when building the home, which the couple successfully accomplished. “Pretty much everything in and on the house was done locally,” says Randy. The hardwood floors were expertly created by a local Mennonite, while the maple kitchen cabinetry, finished in an antique glaze, was crafted by Daryl Johnson. The foundation was laid by Dave Spitzig, the framing by Jim Spitzig. Randy was looking for a home in a country subdivision. He found what he was looking for just outside of town, and instantly knew it was the place to watch his family grow.

With so many toys and playrooms, for both young and old, this home is truly a special place, where the family can laugh, have fun and make unforgettable memories together.