Colorful “Safari Home” Features Custom DaVinci Roof

Designed to have a “European Cobblestone” feeling, four earthy colors of polymer roofing tiles staggered on the Craig’s roof create an inspiring pattern. By using a custom blend of Light Clay, Medium Light Autumn, Medium Autumn and Black, the homeowners were able to make an exterior design statement with their roof and work “from the top down” to add color to their home.

“We had 49 roofing colors to choose from with DaVinci and got very creative to come up with the exact custom color blend we thought would complement our house,” says Angie Craig of Westwood Hills, Kansas. “The new roof replaced a solid black asphalt shingle roof and motivated us to get rid of the boring white paint on our home. We replaced it with a stunning golden amber paint and then added new black accent trim to match the new rounded black gutters. The newly-installed shutters and doors have unique wrought iron elements incorporated into them. This was really a full house transformation!”

From the Beginning...

At the start of their search for a new roof for their 1940 home, the Craigs consulted with friends and researched options for both a roof and a contractor. Jack Craig “wanted to make a statement” with the new roof and was eager to try something different.

Aware that their color and product selection would need to meet the approval of the strict local neighborhood homeowners association, the couple started interviewing contractors and reviewing product options.

“We looked at a variety of synthetic roofing products, but we kept going back to DaVinci because they had a broad spectrum of color options which appealed to us,” says Craig. “The same thing happened with choosing a roofing installer. We interviewed several contractors, but kept going back to Shawn Bellis at Epic Exteriors because he shared our vision and enthusiasm for the new roof.

“We can’t say enough good things about Shawn and his team. They were very knowledgeable about the product, worked patiently with us, kept an extraordinarily clean jobsite and made the entire roofing experience very enjoyable.”

When it came time to get sign-off on the colors for the new roof, Bellis made the presentation to the board for the homeowners association. “We live in a neighborhood that’s both traditional and historic, so we didn’t know how our color selection would be received,” says Craig. “We were thrilled when Shawn came back with the approval, but he stressed to us that the board members said we ‘pushed the color envelope’ with our choices!”

Installing the Roof

Once onsite with the green light to proceed, Bellis and his team removed three layers of old asphalt shingles (more than 1,000 pounds per square) and the original wood roof layer. With the blank canvas of the roof to fill, the Epic Exteriors workers then installed the colorful Multi-Width Slate roofing tile to get the look desired by the Craigs.

“Seeing this dream come to life for the Craigs was exciting,” says Bellis, a DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor program member. “Our team has installed many DaVinci roofs in the Kansas City area, but this was truly the most creative use of color we’ve been involved with so far. As each row of the slate tiles were put in place you could see the vision Angie and Jack had turn into reality.”

According to Bellis, he enjoys working with the authentic slate products from DaVinci and appreciates that they’re manufactured locally in Kansas City. “These polymer tiles are easy to install, are thick and realistic-looking, and have a terrific appearance. And, because they’re locally made, we can take advantage of their recycling program quite frequently after a job with any left-over products.”

Safari At Home

After owning an interior design store for 10 years, Angie Craig has now achieved for her home exactly what she wanted --- a vivacious exterior and an interior mix of antiques, safari-themed items and eye-catching furnishings.

“All our home’s elements lean toward the eclectic side, from the exterior shutters to the interior rugs,” says Craig. “We wanted to add more pizzazz and interest to our home and the colorful DaVinci roof was the perfect starting place to achieve our goal. Not a day goes by that a neighbor doesn’t stop in awe at what we’ve achieved on the exterior of our home. And, in our minds, it all starts at the roof with the color and excitement flowing downwards from there!”