After retiring from her 35-year career in the Air Force, Colonel Slade moved back to her native North Carolina and built her first home in 2012. When she decided to sell that house nine years later and build a new forever home, her life changed in nearly an instant, and her plans for the build changed with it. 

“On the first day of showing that house, I fell and ended up paralyzed. While I had already planned to build a one-level home before the fall, some of my priorities shifted after being in the hospital for several months. Since I was using a wheelchair, it was crucial to have an ADA-compliant home with zero-level entries for the front door, shower, etc.,” Slade explains. 

Slade, with the help of her trusted Realtor, Brad Sterman, identified an available lot in the popular Destin community for the build. One of the benefits that drew her to the Destin community was the well-rounded maintenance included and managed by the Destin Homeowners' Association, such as irrigation, mowing, fertilizing, window cleaning, power washing, and gutter cleaning.

Slade says, “I spent a lot of time and money maintaining my yard on my last property. I didn’t want to continue doing that, and, quite frankly, I’m unable to. I liked that yard maintenance is included in Destin, so I could still have a beautiful outdoor space without handling the upkeep myself.”

While she initially spoke to one of the other Destin builders, she quickly decided that Rufty Homes was the best choice for the job, partly because of a word-of-mouth recommendation from her friend. 

She explains, “One longtime friend highly recommended the Rufty team for my build, and I’m so glad I listened. During the whole process, Jon Rufty and his team stayed alert and aware and worked with me during a time when I was very ill. Brad had to stand in for me at times during the project, and they were great at working with him and keeping me informed every step of the way.”

Part of what made Slade’s experience a great one was her Rufty project manager, Mike Koppen. “I really enjoyed working with Mike,” she says. “He was very consistent and would talk to the vendors about my quality expectations, so I always felt like he was on my side. He also had a calm demeanor, never getting flustered, which helped make the building process nice and easy.”

Brad agrees, saying, “Mike is probably one of the best project managers I’ve ever worked with. If issues came up, he would address them head-on, and he always made us feel like he had a handle on every aspect of the build.”

Aside from the ADA-compliant features she needed, Slade had specific ideas about how she wanted her forever home, and working with Rufty made it easy to bring them to life. 

She explains, “With my military background, I know what I want, and I was clear with Rufty about the features in the home that were most important to me. I had them build a pool so I can do my workouts in the water and had them install touch faucets throughout the home, as I have arthritis in my hands. I was particular about every detail, from the glass in the front door to the trim work and the color of my hardwood floors, and Mike and the Rufty Homes team made it all happen.”

Perhaps the most important area of the home, to Slade, was creating a quiet and serene bedroom, perfect for relaxation. “I spend most of my time in my bedroom,” she says. “I’m very particular about noise and originally didn’t even want windows in the space; however, due to HOA requirements, Brad and Mike helped convince me to add windows with built-in soundproofing that gives me natural light without the annoyance of outside noise.”

Now that she’s moved into her home, Colonel Slade enjoys having her closest friends over, where they gather in the outdoor kitchen and grill together. “There are several people who worked with me on this project who I will consider friends for life. Those are just the kinds of relationships I like building with people. I wanted a space where my nearest and dearest could get together and enjoy each other’s company, and that’s exactly what I got in this forever home.”

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