The Espresso Java Terrace Home by Tartan

Their Java apartments can be found at Jackson Trails, and Havenlea (where they are temporarily sold out but more are soon to be built).

There are 305 apartment designs currently available to choose from in Ottawa. These include a number of medium-rise and high-rise condominiums. So first let's establish the essential differences between Java and most other apartments and Terrace Homes.

Current availabilities in Barrhaven present a good example. Here in the south-west of Ottawa, there is nothing available for less than about $168,000.

The lowest priced of the available Terrace Home designs is Minto's Radcliffe 1V in Chapman Mills. The other is Campanale's Ravello 1 in Highbury Park. They range in size from 1170 Sq Ft to 1390 Sq Ft.

But that is not the market that Tartan's Java selection is aimed at. Java is designed in particular for even younger buyers who are able to afford only as little as $160,000 or as much as $176,000.

Java's Unique Selling Proposition

You have only to walk through their model homes at Havenlea in Barrhaven to see that the benefit of buying Tartan's Java homes is not only their lower prices. All of their 9 designs are excellent. To make them particularly attractive Tartan have not fallen into the slavish trap of many other Terrace Home designs which, typically, divide the apartment building into long narrow strips approximately 14'4" at their widest point. Narrowness creates limitations.

Instead, Java apartment homes are designed in a more square or oblong shape about 30ft wide. That provides for broader perspectives from wherever you sit or stand - despite the fact that they are far smaller in size than competing Terrace Homes.

All are on one level only. All have 9ft high ceilings. Three designs on the top level are Lofts - which only means that their ceilings are sloped within the roofline. Each has its own terrace or balcony.

Good Taste

Tartan are also to be congratulated on the excellent designs and good taste in these condo apartments. Good taste is a commodity notable when found in builders, who are typically oriented to such fundamentals as land acquisition, excavation and dealing with sub-contractors for construction.

Certainly, to judge from their simply decorated models and the appliances and cabinets they have chosen, there is a distinctly graceful touch.

It would have been so easy for the builder not to bother too much about style and finish, on the grounds that inexperienced young first-time home buyers would lack discrimination. Tartan has avoided such short-sightedness.

All 9 designs are so good that it is not easy to choose only one for our design award.

It will be much easier for buyers to choose, however, because they know how much they can afford to pay and whether they want one or two bedrooms. Of course, a Den can also be used as a second bedroom or an office.

Other considerations are whether one prefers a galley kitchen to a traditional one. And only three designs include a shower in the bathroom: The Macchiato, The Santo and The Cappuccino (although The Moccaccino also offers a shower as an option if you buy before construction). The Espresso has a second bathroom with a shower stall en-suite.

Not only are they all well designed for the eye and for comfort, but best use is made of the limited space in each design. But such is the excellence of each floor plan that in fact none of them looks "limited" when you walk through them. There seems to be everything there that any young single or couple would want.

Only after careful examination and comparison would we be inclined to choose The Espresso for our design award. It has an easy-to-use and easy-to-keep-clean galley kitchen with a breakfast bar, next to the closet which contains a stacked washer & dryer.

This design has two bathrooms. The main one includes a standard bath, while the en-suite bathroom off the master bedroom has a shower stall instead. The Espresso offers 2 bedrooms, Loft ceilings and a 23ft long balcony. And the main open area with a cathedral ceiling is amply big enough to contain a dining set, living room furniture, and stools for the snack bar.

The Cafe au Lait has an almost identical layout, but it does not have an en-suite bathroom. Instead, it provides about three foot more in the width of its living/dining area. And there are no stairs to climb when you arrive home.

The choice between the two is a difficult one involving trade-offs. But, of course, for an apartment that small, who needs an en-suite bathroom when the main one is only a few steps away? However, it does not have a separate shower stall.

What your choice probably depends on in the end is whether it is required for two people or one.

But from the point of view of pure design there's nothing to choose between the two. However, since we are allowed to choose only one, let it be the Loft. Our 5-Star Design Award goes to The Espresso! Anyone would be comfortable and happy living in it.

You can obtain all the other details and features of The Espresso from HomesExplorer ™. Simply click on "New Homes Search" at the top of this page, and use the price range described below.

Design	Builder	Community	Area	Style	Type	Bed	Bath	Sq. Ft.	Price From
Espresso	EMAIL Tartan	Jackson Trails	Stittsville	Apartment	Terrace Home	2	2.0	895	$179,900

Parking	Features »»
outdoor	Living/Dining Rm	Galley Kitchen	Snack Bar	Ensuite Bathroom	Insuite Laundry	Balcony

Special Features

♦ Java Home ♦ Cathedral Ceilings in Master Bm & Living/Dining Rm ♦ Oversize balcony ♦ 6 appliances ♦ Airconditioning ♦ 5 Star Award *****

12/05/2008 - 10:33