Many moves eventually led this military family to a Phoenixville townhouse. It was right for them.
Joe and Patty Salinas were looking for a walkable community and a home with a modern kitchen.
Moving 15 times during a 25-year military career, the Salinas family — Joe, Patty and their five kids, ages 11 to 20 — saw their share of houses.
So when Joe retired and the family decided to settle in the Philadelphia area last May, they could draw on their previous living situations to choose the features they liked best — including a modern kitchen, outdoor space, and a walkable community with lots of outdoor activities.
In their most recent posting in a small, Cocoa Beach, Fla., community, they frequently walked, kayaked and biked, and rarely needed to drive. After living in rural areas where a car was a necessity, they loved that freedom.
“Phoenixville had that very same feel,” Patty said, and the family found a fit in the Steelpointe townhouse complex. “We saw all the trails and the water and living in Steelpointe gave us the opportunity to be mobile without a car. That gives our kids a lot of autonomy before they are able to drive.”
As they began looking through different floor plans to build their perfect townhouse, a spec house popped up that checked all their boxes. The 3,000-square-foot end unit has four floors, with four bedrooms, and one half and three full bathrooms. A fourth-floor loft serves as a family recreation area and leads to an outdoor deck, complete with fire pit.
“It was important for us to have a house soon so our kids could get acclimated before the school year started,” Patty said.
The first floor features a bedroom with an en suite bathroom. The open-space second floor includes the central galley kitchen, surrounded by the living room and dining room. Bright light floods into large windows that offer views of the tree-lined park across the street. The family enjoys beautiful sunrises from the eastern exposure in the front of the house and sunsets out back.
“The house is beautiful on its own, so I was not into overdecorating,” said Patty, who calls their decorating style comfy and functional. With neutral walls, she added color in the curtains and home accents.
A modern kitchen was a priority, something they hadn’t had for the last three years while stationed in Florida. That home, built in the 1960s, had its original kitchen.
“My oven was like an Easy Bake Oven,” Patty said. “I literally had two pans that I could fit into it and the temperature was variable. Our kitchen now is so functional and our range is so big that it makes cooking nice and comfortable.”
The large central island, surrounded by stools, serves as the family gathering spot, where they catch up on the day’s activities.
Much of their artwork offers daily reminders of some of the places they left behind. A painting of cartoonish sheep by British artist Mackenzie Thorpe hangs above their couch, a keepsake of the years they spent in England early in their marriage.
A watercolor depicting the Fourth Street boardwalk in Cocoa Beach is from a photograph that was taken by Joe’s uncle, artist Rick Harlow.
“My uncle ended up going to prison for a couple of years, and in prison, he helped kids finish their GEDs and got an appreciation for how difficult it was for these young men to break the cycle once they got out of prison,” said Joe, a tree house builder for Treetop Builders in Exton.
“So every time I see that picture it’s a reminder not only of this incredibly special time, but also this powerful story of my uncle.”
When settling in Phoenixville, the family hoped to find a street with friendly neighbors, similar to their West Point neighborhood. They feel that vibe now when they spend time on their front porch.
“People are always out and about and because everybody moved in about the same time, they always want to talk to you,” Patty said. “It’s a really friendly community.”
Although they live within walking distance of the community’s downtown, their neighborhood is nestled amid trees, making it feel separate from the downtown hustle and bustle. The Salinas family has cherished their time moving around the country and the world, but they are happy to put down roots in Phoenixville.
“We had lived in North Carolina for 10 years, and we saw how our kids developed ties there and thrived,” Joe said. “So in making this move, we want to be here for the long haul. Having lived in so many different places, we got a snapshot of different kinds of situations, and this is the one we like the best.”
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