Broadview Homes is bringing a line of spec homes to the Edmonton area new homes market. Here's a lineup of Broadview Homes in the new community of Sienna, in Fort Saskatchewan. Photo by Supplied /Postmedia

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Ikea got you to start the car, now Broadview Homes wants you to stop the car.

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Broadview, a single-family home builder new to Edmonton is hoping its different designs will get you to exclaim ‘stop the car!’ when you drive by one their newly built houses.

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Just like Ikea’s 2004 It’s Not a Mistake ad campaign became synonymous with spotting a bargain — a woman realizing the extremely low prices she paid at Ikea were a steal, she urges her husband to start the car in order to make a quick getaway — Broadview is betting that not only are its distinctive exteriors eye-catching but that they will get you to want to stop your car and check out its offerings on the spot.

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“It always seemed puzzling to me why some of the most impressive single-family homes existed in infill communities but not in greenfield (communities),” said Nicholas Carels, vice-president, Broadview Homes. “You know, some of the biggest builders with access to the best trades, the best materials — why were the stop the car moments happening in infill and not greenfield?”

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Some of that, said Carels, is because of the production nature of greenfield communities and some of it is because of the architectural controls that look to create a theme or a standard feel to the neighbourhood.

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But Carels said those standards can also mean the homes don’t look overly different from one another.

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“We want homes that people pull up to and their hearts start beating a little bit faster,” said Carels. “So we’re creating something that, it’s not going to be for everybody, but someone is going to go ‘wow, this is different, I love it! Now, let’s do it!’ ”

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Broadview homes are just starting to pop up in various new communities in and around Edmonton. But you won’t find any Broadview show homes. In fact, you can’t even pick a model and choose the finishes to your new Broadview home.

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Instead, it has adopted a different business model. Broadview will build the home, on spec, and sell it to you completely finished.

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Carels likens this to the idea of a diner going into the kitchen of a great restaurant and directing the chef on how to cook the meal. First, he said, it isn’t going to happen, and second, it’s unlikely the diner is going to be able to do a better job than the chef or has the knowledge to do so.

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“We have some phenomenal employees here, some amazing designers; we know what the trends are,” said Carels. “Why would we take that responsibility and put it on a customer? They’re hiring us for our style, our expertise, what we can bring to please them. Why are we making them do the work (choosing the design and the finishes)?”

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As to why Broadview decided to choose a route less travelled, Carels said it’s about putting the money into building a better home.

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“Our business model allows us to spend more on the (actual) home because we’re not spending it on the show homes and all of the added marketing,” said Carels.

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So what do you get if you go for a Broadview home?

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While Broadview offers two-storey homes, it’s not just about two-storey homes.

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“Very few of our plans are just traditional two storeys because at some point … we got away from bungalows with lofts and splits and bi-levels, and somewhere along the way our industry ended up (saying) you could have any home you want as long as it’s two storeys.”

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Broadview’s Juno, for example, is one example of that thinking, coming in at 1,422 sq. ft., with 969 sq. ft. on the main floor, including the primary suite, and an upper that includes a loft and two more bedrooms in just 453 sq. ft.

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Its Hadley model, meanwhile, is a two-storey home that comes in at 1,517 sq. ft., also with a main floor primary suite while the upstairs includes a loft, an open-to-below area and two more bedrooms.

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For something different, there’s Broadview’s Isabelle, which takes on the look of a New York brownstone.