Hoteks downsize into one-story home

Rod and Hope Hotek own 30 acres in rural Van Buren County where they moved into a new home a few years ago.

The home is located on property just outside the town of Birmingham. The couple had been living on an 80-acre parcel adjacent to it in a much bigger house. But as the years went by and their children moved out, the couple could see they didn't need so much house. They hired Ben Muntz as general contractor to build them a new and more compact home, which they moved into in October 2016.

The house the couple raised their kids in was three stories, but they knew they didn't want to deal with stairs in the years to come.

'I went online and looked at different floor plans, taking bits and pieces from each,” Rod said. 'Ben was great to work with. He showed us where certain ideas would work better.”

The couple's new home is one story with a porch slab. The floor is unusual in that it's cement but stained and polished so it resembles steel.

'It's a really unique form,” Rod said. 'The floors are heated as well by pipes running under them. It feels so nice to step on when you get out of bed in the wintertime. And our heating costs in winter are a lot less. It doesn't use that much propane.”

The couple have a gas fireplace in the bedroom and living room for an additional source of heat, though Rod said the fireplaces are mainly for aesthetic purposes.

Background

Rod was born on a farm outside Fort Dodge in northwest Iowa. His father quit farming when he was a baby, and the family moved to Shreveport, Illinois, where Rod grew up. When he got to graduate school, Rod met his wife Hope, who hails from Charleston, South Carolina. After finishing grad school, the couple moved to South Carolina, where they lived for nine years.

In time, Rod began to pine for his old stomping grounds in the Midwest. Though she wasn't from there, Hope liked the idea of moving to the Midwest, too. Rod's parents are both Iowans and had retired outside Ottumwa.

'I thought it would be good to move back to Iowa before the kids started school,” Rod said. In 1993, Rod and Hope moved to Fairfield, where they lived for just over a year before buying 80 acres near Birmingham in Van Buren County, and built a home there.

In the early 2000s, the Hoteks acquired 30 acres next door, and rented it to a local farmer. After their two boys moved out and after Rod retired, the couple decided that was where they wanted to build a smaller home to live out their golden years.

'After the kids moved out, we felt that the old house would be a lot to take care of,” Rod said.

By then, the Hoteks had built an in-law suit onto their home for Hope's parents, who moved to the area from South Carolina. The couple wanted to downsize, but they wanted to continue living in the country. They went from a 3,200 square foot house to a 2,400 square foot house. Their land is mostly timber just like it was at the old house, with about 20 acres of woods and 10 acres of prairie.

Rod said the new house doesn't feel too much smaller because the space is practical. The living room and kitchen are in one area, with a finished island in the middle. The island has an interesting origin. It comes from doors salvaged from a recent remodel of the Jefferson County Courthouse.

'That's a pretty unique piece of design in the kitchen and dining room,” Rod said.

The old house was all electric, but the Hoteks wanted a gas range. Since they knew they were going to save money on space, they splurged on kitchen fixtures, opting for a high-end dishwasher, refrigerator, and gas stove. The old house had a fireplace, and they wanted the same thing in the new house, but with a twist. Instead of having a wood-burning fireplace, they opted for a gas flame.

'We always like to have a fire going in the wintertime,” Rod said. 'I had to go out and chop wood for it, which was a lot of clean up. As we get older, we don't want to deal with that. Now we just take a remote, hit the switch and we've got a fire.”

Contractor

Rod said that Ben Muntz was great to work with, that he gave the couple advice about picking colors and told them that certain things that look good on paper might not look good in practice.

The house has two bedrooms, a master suite with a bathroom attached and a walk-in closet. Rod has his 'man cave,” where they have a couch that can pull out into a bed to accommodate visitors, like their grown children and their families. Off the couple's garage is an in-law suite for Hope's parents.

The man cave was not part of the initial design. That room was originally going to be the garage, but Hope didn't like the idea of Rod driving his muddy pickup tires over the nicely polished cement floor. Instead, the couple opted to build a detached garage, and the original garage became the man cave, with gym equipment, a card table, and an office where Rod takes care of the family business.

Rod said that one of the things he likes most about his living arrangement is how quiet it is.

'I was raised in a town about the size of Ottumwa, but most of my relatives have lived on farms in Iowa. For most of my adult life, even when we lived in Charleston, we lived in the countryside just outside the city,” he said. 'I like the peacefulness of living in the country. When my friends come out, from Fairfield or Illinois, they remark on how quiet it is. They don't hear any traffic, and they're surprised at how dark it gets at night.”

The Hoteks' house is not visible from the road because it's set back about a quarter mile among rolling hills to boot.

Now retired, Rod spends his days doing fun things like building a treehouse for his grandkids.

'My wife says, ‘Rod, you're a person who needs projects,'” Rod joked.

Rod also makes birdfeeders and other crafts in his wood shop. He has a pond on his property where he can fish, go boating or explore on kayak. He's got a big garden, too, and usually ends up giving away excess produce to his sons and neighbors.