For two weekends each summer, dozens of the area’s newly constructed homes and outdoor living spaces are open to the public.

The Home Builders Association of Northwest Louisiana’s (HBA) annual Parade of Homes is a fun way to see the latest trends in home design and product innovations – not to mention an up-close look at beautiful area houses. Prepare your perfect parade route, so you can be sure to view all of them. The 2020 parade will take place on the weekends of June 20-21 and 27-28, and homes will be open for selfguided tours from 1-6 p.m. daily. The two-weekend event features homes in Caddo, Bossier and DeSoto parishes.

Jennifer Brown Hammons is the Home Builders Association of Northwest Louisiana’s first female president and an associate broker at Coldwell Banker Gosslee. She says the tour is a great way for builders to showcase their workmanship, promote their company and generate buyer leads on homes that are available for sale.

“The main benefit is advertising and getting name recognition out there,” said Hammons. “Some of the houses are for sale, so the builders are trying to sell their products. Some of our members are suppliers and subcontractors – they get to show off their work, too.”

Attendees who see a home they love can check their Parade guidebook to determine whether the home is available and its sale price. All price points are represented beginning in the low $200,000s to the multi-millions.

Parade-goers who are interested in remodeling rather than building or buying a new home can make reliable contacts through attendance at the Parade. “Attendees can also get great remodel ideas from the new homes” said Hammons.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, this year’s Parade will include measures to reduce any possible spread. The HBA is utilizing touch-free tickets that can be downloaded to a smart phone. Hand sanitizer will be available in each home, and commonly touched surfaces, such as doorknobs and counters, will be sanitized on a regular schedule. Paradegoers will also be asked to maintain social distancing within the homes, and occupancy limits may be implemented at high-attendance houses as needed.

“As an industry, we are hanging in there and very grateful,” said Home Builders Association of Northwest Louisiana executive director Dixey Robertson. “It seems like the people who were planning to start building a house are still going to build their house. They want to capture the lowinterest rate.”

Josh Knicely Builders will have a home on display for the tour. The Mook family in Shreveport’s South Highlands neighborhood tasked builder Josh Knicely with adding a third home to the family plot of land. The property includes the home of parents Dr. Tommy Mook and Ann Kinnebrew Mook, and son and daughter-in-law Dr. Jason and Katie Mook next door. Daughter and son-in-law, Drs. Julie and Aaron Broadwell, are building a new home behind Jason’s. Knicely says Julie and Aaron bought the original house on the Ontario lot and lived in it for several years. They demolished it last year, because it was structurally unsound and began construction of their dream home.

Knicely says the home features many unique details, like an area with brick flooring and true wood inlay. The remainder of the home has white oak flooring by Custom-Bilt Cabinet and Supply. The couple included the family pet in their home plans by including a dog room with a built-in area for food and water bowls with its own wallmounted pot-filler faucet. The space under the quartzite counter is large enough to accommodate the dog kennel.

Special family touches have also been added, including a stained-glass window in the master bath that was created from a picture of a sunset taken during the couple’s wedding weekend.

A light in the breakfast area, reconfigured by Copper Works Lighting, was discovered by Julie during a post-medical school graduation trip to Europe with her mother.

Hoogland’s Landscape provided the installation of the beautiful backyard terrace designed by Lloyd Overdyke. The outdoor living space features a spa area by Morehead Pools with handcrafted concrete pavers leading down to the gas fire pit. Kori Shurley provided design services, and Sound Minds installed cameras and other technology.

“It was a fun project and great people to be with and around,” said Knicely.