Spacious In Skyline Forest.

Photos by Brett Wilbur: A Family Affair: Designed by the owner with the help of an architect nephew, this Skyline Forest home has enough room for two families.

When Roger Born was looking for a home 13 years ago, he knew that it would be difficult to find one with the quality building and design he wanted. So Born enlisted the help of his nephew, an architect, and together they designed a house with a flexible floor plan and sturdy construction.

"He turned my designs into something that looked decent," says Born. "Something that looked nice. And we built it the right way, instead of the quick and inexpensive way."

Besides its solid construction, the house is laid out so that it has many different options for the use of its rooms.

In its current iteration, Born and his wife, Patricia Kreider, have the upstairs master bedroom with its own wood burning fireplace, deck, and large bathroom and walk-in closet. A landing, or loft-like space separates the master bedroom from another bedroom with its own bath. The landing has enough room for a couch and a TV set, and is used as a cozy hangout to catch up on TV watching and newspaper reading.

On the main floor, a tiled front entryway leads into a formal living room, with another wood burning fireplace and access to the long deck that stretches across both the living room and separate dining room. The deck, decorated with container plantings, has stairs that lead down to a five-person hot tub backed by a privacy wall. A rectangular lawn provides a spot for croquet games against a backdrop of tall pine trees.

But it''s the kitchen that''s the true heart of the home.

A comfortable table sits surrounded by windows with more views of the trees. Behind the table, a long, wraparound, cushioned window seat provides a place to hangout. Drawers underneath the window seat store family games and craft projects to do while chatting with the chef, in this case, Born''s gourmet-cooking wife.

"There''s a spot on the deck off the dining room to barbecue," says Born. "But I''d rather eat her food than stuff I burned."

Pocket doors on both ends of the kitchen can shut off food odors from the rest of the house, and a dutch door to the kitchen allows for fresh air to come in.

Behind the living room, a laundry room with its own sink and built-in ironing board cuts down on clutter in the rest of the house. Two more bedrooms with a shared bathroom are now being used as an office for Born and a weaving room for Kreider. On Kreider''s wall hangs a weaving of a cypress tree shown at the 25th Monterey Jazz Festival.

Downstairs, a soundproofed two-bedroom apartment with a private entrance, living room with fireplace, laundry area, small kitchen, and full bath has sliding glass doors that lead directly out to the back lawn.

When Born''s daughter was younger, she used the room as a rec room to hang out with her friends. Now, with its own heating and hot water unit, it can be used as an in-law unit for another family. As Born jokes on his flyer, "mom won''t want to leave--so charge her." He estimates "mom" might pay up to $1400 a month for the privilege.

But with Born''s youngest child off to college, he and Kreider are looking for a place with a little bit less space than the 3800-square-foot home.

"It''s too big for just the two of us," he says.

Price: $1,295,000. 276 Forest Ridge Rd., Monterey. Contact Roger Born of Roger L. Born Associates at 655-8789.