Dan and Shanel Whitehead built their dream home with a 2,000-square-foot indoor basketball court in Parker. (Liz Thurston photos)
Dan and Shanel Whitehead are completing a home in Parker with an indoor basketball court that can be accessed by slide, three hidden doors, a child-friendly underground crawl space and an in-ground trampoline in the playroom.
But their youngest kids are juniors in high school.
“We have two grandkids now, but we’re hoping for a whole basketball team,” Dan said. “I’m a kid at heart. But really, we’re building this for them.”
The Whiteheads hired home builder Stately Homes to create their 8,400-square-foot dream home at 5720 Hidden Oaks Way in Parker.
The kitchen is Shanel’s favorite room in the house.
Construction began in November 2020, and the family moved into the five-bedroom, six-bathroom residence on Dec. 21, just in time to celebrate Christmas. They still have some final touches to complete this year.
The Whiteheads, who have six kids, moved to Parker from Utah four years ago. Dan, founder of Pi Wealth Management, opened a second office in Denver.
The couple had been dreaming of building their own custom home for the last 27 years.
“Dan was making $27,000 a year as an accountant at one point, and he would go sit at his desk and sketch out our home as a stress reliever,” Shanel said.
The slide shoots straight into the basketball court.
“The basketball court and the slide were non-negotiable,” Dan added.
The Whiteheads were driving around looking for a lot, when they fell in love with the one their home sits on now. Stately Homes was originally planning to build a spec home on the 1.03-acre lot until owners Lori and Jeff Gilbert met their new clients.
“We were immediately drawn to it, but financially we weren’t in the position to do it,” Shanel said. “We asked them to wait two years, but they had to move forward with the spec house. Then COVID hit, and we got back in touch because we came by six times, imagining our house. They told us they weren’t building a spec house anymore, and we were in. We felt like this was divine guidance.”
Dan and Shanel Whitehead with Stately Homes founder Lori Gilbert.
The Whiteheads bought the lot for $350,000 in 2020, according to property records, and said they have spent $2.7 million on the build. They sold their old home nearby and moved into a rental for a year, but Shanel said she regrets that since their old home appreciated $250,000 while they were in the rental.
The Gilberts, who founded Stately Homes in 1999, have never built a basketball court or a slide in a home, but they were ready to take on the adventure.
“We’ve never had anybody want that. But we can pretty much fulfill anybody’s wish list,” Lori said.
The Gilberts originally owned an interior trim and custom woodworking business, which they have since integrated into Stately Homes. They’ve built around 25 custom and spec homes and spent seven years between 2008 and 2015 doing scrapes and remodels. Nearby the Whiteheads home, Stately Homes is building a spec house at 5901 Noble Pine Way in Parker.
Lori Gilbert and her husband Jeff are building a spec home nearby.
“Parker and Franktown are big areas for us, mainly because we can still find land out there,” Lori said.
The Whiteheads call their home “Shoots & Ladders,” because of the basketball court.
“We have this ladder with all of our kids’ heights over the years, and we’re going to put one on the wall in the gym to measure each of our grandkids,” Dan said.
A door hidden behind a shoe rack leads to the slide into the basketball court.
Dan, who is 6-feet, 5-inches, used to play basketball at Brigham Young University before he broke his foot. And four of his kids play, too.
The indoor basketball court is 2,000 square feet and adjacent to the kitchen, which has a window down into the court that Shanel uses to see when her kids are hungry. The slide is behind a hidden door disguised as a shoe rack and leads directly to the court. There’s also a separate entrance for the kids’ friends to enter and exit, plus a water fountain and a hand dryer in the bathroom to make it feel like a real gym.
In the basement playroom, there is a 5-foot crawl space underneath because the home is built on a structural floor due to clay in the ground. The Whiteheads are planning to create what they call a “submarine” under the playroom. Kids will be able to access it from a hole under the stairs, and it will be carpeted with ocean scene murals and portholes to peek your head up in.
The couple is also putting an in-ground trampoline in the playroom with monkey bars above it and a climbing wall next to it.
“Gracie, you’re going to be so spoiled,” Shanel said to her 2-year-old granddaughter.
The third hidden door leads to the unfinished playroom.
Outside, they are working on building a zipline, a huge net hammock, a swing set, and another in-ground trampoline. They also have a jacuzzi and a firepit.
“We were going to have another twisty slide coming off the balcony, but it’s the cost of a car,” Dan said.
The Whiteheads’ dream was to create a big gathering space for their family, church members, neighbors, friends and future grandchildren. Their dining room seats 22 people, and the neighborhood kids have already come over to play on the slide and the basketball court. Any given typical night, their children have about three or four friends over each.
“Everyone always thinks we’re having a party, but that’s just a Tuesday night for us,” Dan said.
They plan to make “Shoots & Ladders” their forever home, and even when the kids graduate and move on, Dan and Shanel know they’ve created a place where they can always return for a bit of fun.
“Whenever we were building the home, I would go to the window in the kitchen and say, ‘Someday, I’m going to get to watch my kids play,’” Shanel said. “And when we first moved in, I stood there and watched them play basketball and just started bawling. This is 27 years of dreaming.”
Dan and Shanel Whitehead built their dream home with a 2,000-square-foot indoor basketball court in Parker. (Liz Thurston photos)
Dan and Shanel Whitehead are completing a home in Parker with an indoor basketball court that can be accessed by slide, three hidden doors, a child-friendly underground crawl space and an in-ground trampoline in the playroom.
But their youngest kids are juniors in high school.
“We have two grandkids now, but we’re hoping for a whole basketball team,” Dan said. “I’m a kid at heart. But really, we’re building this for them.”
The Whiteheads hired home builder Stately Homes to create their 8,400-square-foot dream home at 5720 Hidden Oaks Way in Parker.
The kitchen is Shanel’s favorite room in the house.
Construction began in November 2020, and the family moved into the five-bedroom, six-bathroom residence on Dec. 21, just in time to celebrate Christmas. They still have some final touches to complete this year.
The Whiteheads, who have six kids, moved to Parker from Utah four years ago. Dan, founder of Pi Wealth Management, opened a second office in Denver.
The couple had been dreaming of building their own custom home for the last 27 years.
“Dan was making $27,000 a year as an accountant at one point, and he would go sit at his desk and sketch out our home as a stress reliever,” Shanel said.
The slide shoots straight into the basketball court.
“The basketball court and the slide were non-negotiable,” Dan added.
The Whiteheads were driving around looking for a lot, when they fell in love with the one their home sits on now. Stately Homes was originally planning to build a spec home on the 1.03-acre lot until owners Lori and Jeff Gilbert met their new clients.
“We were immediately drawn to it, but financially we weren’t in the position to do it,” Shanel said. “We asked them to wait two years, but they had to move forward with the spec house. Then COVID hit, and we got back in touch because we came by six times, imagining our house. They told us they weren’t building a spec house anymore, and we were in. We felt like this was divine guidance.”
Dan and Shanel Whitehead with Stately Homes founder Lori Gilbert.
The Whiteheads bought the lot for $350,000 in 2020, according to property records, and said they have spent $2.7 million on the build. They sold their old home nearby and moved into a rental for a year, but Shanel said she regrets that since their old home appreciated $250,000 while they were in the rental.
The Gilberts, who founded Stately Homes in 1999, have never built a basketball court or a slide in a home, but they were ready to take on the adventure.
“We’ve never had anybody want that. But we can pretty much fulfill anybody’s wish list,” Lori said.
The Gilberts originally owned an interior trim and custom woodworking business, which they have since integrated into Stately Homes. They’ve built around 25 custom and spec homes and spent seven years between 2008 and 2015 doing scrapes and remodels. Nearby the Whiteheads home, Stately Homes is building a spec house at 5901 Noble Pine Way in Parker.
Lori Gilbert and her husband Jeff are building a spec home nearby.
“Parker and Franktown are big areas for us, mainly because we can still find land out there,” Lori said.
The Whiteheads call their home “Shoots & Ladders,” because of the basketball court.
“We have this ladder with all of our kids’ heights over the years, and we’re going to put one on the wall in the gym to measure each of our grandkids,” Dan said.
A door hidden behind a shoe rack leads to the slide into the basketball court.
Dan, who is 6-feet, 5-inches, used to play basketball at Brigham Young University before he broke his foot. And four of his kids play, too.
The indoor basketball court is 2,000 square feet and adjacent to the kitchen, which has a window down into the court that Shanel uses to see when her kids are hungry. The slide is behind a hidden door disguised as a shoe rack and leads directly to the court. There’s also a separate entrance for the kids’ friends to enter and exit, plus a water fountain and a hand dryer in the bathroom to make it feel like a real gym.
In the basement playroom, there is a 5-foot crawl space underneath because the home is built on a structural floor due to clay in the ground. The Whiteheads are planning to create what they call a “submarine” under the playroom. Kids will be able to access it from a hole under the stairs, and it will be carpeted with ocean scene murals and portholes to peek your head up in.
The couple is also putting an in-ground trampoline in the playroom with monkey bars above it and a climbing wall next to it.
“Gracie, you’re going to be so spoiled,” Shanel said to her 2-year-old granddaughter.
The third hidden door leads to the unfinished playroom.
Outside, they are working on building a zipline, a huge net hammock, a swing set, and another in-ground trampoline. They also have a jacuzzi and a firepit.
“We were going to have another twisty slide coming off the balcony, but it’s the cost of a car,” Dan said.
The Whiteheads’ dream was to create a big gathering space for their family, church members, neighbors, friends and future grandchildren. Their dining room seats 22 people, and the neighborhood kids have already come over to play on the slide and the basketball court. Any given typical night, their children have about three or four friends over each.
“Everyone always thinks we’re having a party, but that’s just a Tuesday night for us,” Dan said.
They plan to make “Shoots & Ladders” their forever home, and even when the kids graduate and move on, Dan and Shanel know they’ve created a place where they can always return for a bit of fun.
“Whenever we were building the home, I would go to the window in the kitchen and say, ‘Someday, I’m going to get to watch my kids play,’” Shanel said. “And when we first moved in, I stood there and watched them play basketball and just started bawling. This is 27 years of dreaming.”
