Welcome Home: The Final Reveal of Project House Utah

Join us as we tour our much-anticipated speculative build in Utah. Take in the breathtaking architectural and design elements, touches of charm and whimsy, and abundance of warmth.
Editor’s note: We are delighted and proud to present the final reveal of Project House Utah with our project partners, The Fox Group.
A Fox Group home immediately draws you in! Owners Cara and Tom Fox have traveled extensively throughout the world, and their adventures have honed their style. Tom is an expert at creating historically accurate homes, and Cara’s exemplary eye for design makes them a dream duo. Every Fox Group home beautifully intersects an old world aesthetic with livable ease.
The time has come at last for the big, final reveal of our Project House Utah home, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! Over a year ago, we started our journey with an empty lot in the mountain-rimmed and big sky city of Salt Lake City, Utah. We met Cara and Tom Fox, the incredible husband-wife duo behind the full-service residential design and construction firm, The Fox Group, and owners of the cute boutique shop filled with all sorts of home treasures, The Fox Shop. The following months brought on an onslaught of challenges, including setbacks due to weather, recovering supply chains and the typical holdups always faced in new constructions. Through it all, the team pressed on with passion, a commitment to excellence and masterful skill to transform this speculative build into a home brimming with warmth and whimsy.


From Plans to Pavement
As all projects begin, this one started out as a vision. Since this is a spec home, or speculative build, the end goal is to create a move-in ready home with no specific directions dictated by a homeowner, versus the traditional new-build method of a buyer purchasing land with plans drawn up for the construction. This allowed Cara and Tom freedom in crafting a design. With backgrounds and specialties in classic architecture and New England traditional design, they created an aesthetic that beautifully blends farmhouse and cottage simplicity with an Americana historical feel and touches of elegance. “When designing this home, we envisioned creating a timeless Colonial farmhouse with a sophisticated yet welcoming presence,” Cara says.


Once the vision was cast, the team got to work fitting it into the size and shape of the lot. Cara and Tom carefully crafted a blueprint of the house and then mood boards that brought together all the character and heritage of a Colonial-style home with added warmth and charm. Selecting just the right elements for each room was a crucial part of the success of the design, and thanks to our list of sponsors Cara was able to find pieces that truly have brought her original vision to life.



Creating Cohesion in Project House Utah
A few key elements mark the Fox Group’s design, tying it all together. “To create a cohesive vibe throughout the home, we added warmth throughout each space,” Cara says. “The unlacquered brass details and hardware by Emtek/Assa Abloy create a cohesive feel. The blue and white is repeated in some form or pattern in every room. Each space has a nod to classic traditional and historical significance.”



Starting at the exterior of the home, the stone siding and Colonial pillars give the home a historic feel, while the landscaping by Emily Brooks Wayment makes the best of the long and narrow plot of land with a collection of outdoor gathering spaces tucked here and there.
Just inside the custom door by Ozark Custom Doors, the foyer reveals a breathtaking entrance into the home, with delicate Laura Ashley chinoiserie wallpaper in blue and cream. The spiral staircase takes center stage as an architectural talking point designed by The Fox Group team and adding to the overall classic feel of the home. A brass chandelier presides over the space.



In the main gathering spaces of the kitchen and pantry, dining and living room, warm touches and cozy elements marry English cottage and American farmhouse style. Custom cabinetry with elegant, scalloped detailing and deep-green finish evoke the English countryside, continued with an Arto Tile backsplash featuring a Delft horse pattern. Troutman Chairs counter stools and unlacquered brass hardware add warmth. In the living room, a mixture of greens and blues tie together the different palettes throughout the home. Hardwood flooring and Woodgrain’s tongue-and-groove wall treatments, crown, base and case mouldings add to the character and historical feel alongside brass sconces.


Working Whimsy
Throughout the design, Cara’s penchant for beautiful and whimsical spaces is on full display. “I wanted it to feel whimsical and fun but with colors that are very traditional and classic, and saturated like the greens in the kitchen and the blues and whites in the foyer,” Cara says.



In the laundry room, sky-blue scalloped custom cabinetry echoing the kitchen and pantry and providing functional storage. Laura Ashley wallpaper once again graces the walls, injecting charm and sophistication. The mudroom highlights a special agrarian wallpaper alongside brick flooring once again referencing the American farmhouse feel Cara envisioned. Similarly, in the girl’s bedroom, Laura Ashley wallpaper once again sets the tone with its soft floral pattern. Star wallpaper in the formal powder bath holds a special meaning for Cara and her family, that true north always leads home.


Throughout each space, Tom, Cara and the team at The Fox Group weave together a variety of design elements like threads to form a beautiful tapestry of a build that is made not to be just a house, but a home.









Project House Utah Sponsors
Woodgrain

A wonderful long-time partner to our project homes is Woodgrain, who specializes in moulding, doors, building products and fasteners. Woodgrain products bring strength, warmth and style to every home.
Visit woodgrain.com
Charles P. Rogers

Since 1855, Charles P. Rogers beds have been creating heirloom quality beds and top-rated mattresses in New York City. As the longest continuously operating bedding manufacturing and retail company in the United States, Charles P. Rogers is synonymous with tradition and quality.
Visit charlesprogers.com
Emtek

Emtek celebrates their customers’ desire to express themselves through
fashionable designs that elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Assembled to order in Los Angeles, Emtek’s customer-fi rst focus and
straightforward approach makes them a dream to work with.
Visit emtek.com
Arto

Arto Tile has been handcrafted in Los Angeles since 1966. With truly unique products, customers can make their spaces distinctly their own. Traditions carried forward from Arto by his sons, Armen and Vod, add to the enduring appeal of Arto Tile.
Visit arto.com
To see more of story behind Project House Utah previous to the final reveal, see In Progress: Project House 2023. Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for your daily dose of farmhouse inspiration!
A lover of history, good stories and beautiful spaces, Laura finds that writing for American Farmhouse Style is a wonderful outlet. Residing in the rugged West, she enjoys watercolor sunsets and finding beauty in the unexpected. She is a wife to a wonderful husband and a brand new boy mom. When not cuddling with the baby or her two cats Tigger and Scout, she enjoys dabbling in fiction writing, attempting soap making, baking and DIY home projects.