SIOUX CITY | Roz Koob did not want to build a home, because in her line of work, construction usually means trouble.
“I’m an attorney, and I do a lot of construction work,” Roz explained. “And you don’t go to an attorney when things go well, you go when things go badly. But it all turned out really well.”
With a little coaxing, Roz and her husband Rob began designing their custom home from the ground up. Their main emphasis was on family and social gatherings.
“We’ve had friends over quite a bit, we’ve had family over just for Hawkeye games,” said Rob. “And we host all of Roz’s family gatherings -- Thanksgiving her family will be in town, on Christmas her side will be here -- we have everything here.”
With that in mind, the Koobs began creating their kitchen.
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“We wanted something that was functional with a lot of room for people to kind of come and go,” Rob said.
Their kitchen, which boasts sparkling Cambria quartz countertops and a large island with an electric cooktop, sits just to the left of their large living area. The living room’s focal points are a yawning, oyster-white mantel and a cool-toned reclining sectional sofa.
“We wanted a big sectional, and I wanted a recliner back, but I wanted to find something lighter and more neutral to go in this space,” Roz said. “And the rest of the living room was really inspired by our friends' house.”
High, coffered ceilings accompany these features, making the living room feel particularly unique.
The basement is a haven for the Koob family -- another plush sectional, a fully functional bar area and six flat-screen televisions. The TVs are stacked side by side, so the Koobs and their guests can keep up with multiple college football games at once.
“On Saturday, there’s generally a bunch of games and we’ll pick our three favorites -- obviously the Hawkeyes go in the middle,” said Rob. “You can watch a game and you kind of know where the action is on the other ones.”
Rob said he drew inspiration for the basement den from a few of his favorite hangouts in Sioux City.
“I wanted a nice space to watch games, so that was a big part of it,” he said. “I love hanging out at Townhouse or Buffalo Wild Wings, and I like how they have TVs over the bar so that’s kind of where we got the idea.”
The basement also boasts another sports bar-like feature: a urinal.
“When we started out, there were a couple requirements,” Roz said. “I wanted the double door entrance, Rob wanted the walkout ranch. My non-negotiable was the double doors, but Rob’s non negotiable was the urinal.”
Another of the couple’s favorite features is the deck, which presents a sprawling view of the Whispering Creek Golf Course and its clubhouse. Roz wanted her money's worth on the view -- so she opted for transparent railings.
“If you look at everybody else’s deck, they all have railings,” Roz said, “And we looked for something that when you’re sitting down, you don’t have any obstructed view.”
