When the parade ends, DeBoer, his wife, Kim, and their two young children will move into the new house.

"When I got married, one of the first things I told my wife was that I wanted to build a home for us," said DeBoer. "I think I'll get so much more satisfaction out of that, more than being in a house that someone else built. Being able to say that you built that place with your own sweat and muscle just means so much more when you're living in it."

The home is a four bedroom, two and one-half bath, contemporary tri-level house with vinyl siding. It sits on more than an acre of land at 6434 Longwood Drive, off Port Sheldon Road and 96th Avenue.The Parade of Homes begins Thursday and will continue through June 25. Tickets for the parade can be purchased for $10 at the Home Builder's Association of the Holland Area, 211 Lincoln Ave., or at any of the 59 parade home locations.

"Tickets also can be purchased at any Macatawa Bank location, and those tickets will be discounted to $8," said Bob Barker, president of the association. "Proceeds for those ticket sales will go toward the 56 non-profit groups that are volunteering at our home locations."

DeBoer, a 1991 graduate of Zeeland High School, said he used the plans from a friend's home --- with a few alterations -- to build his new place.

"We had the plans from a friend's home that we really liked and just made some alterations. We thought it had a real comfortable family feel, the floor plan was efficient and the rooms flowed very well into one another," DeBoer said. "We're very happy with the way it turned out."

The 2,927-square-foot home has large windows for plenty of natural light, fawn-colored maple cabinetry, Brazilian cherry wood floors in the office, maple wood floors in the kitchen and dining room, cathedral ceilings in the living room and a basement family room that features a wood-burning fireplace with a mantle made of sassafras wood beams and a rustic ledge stone top.

Derek Noorman, DeBoer's partner, said the new residence will make a great home for the DeBoer family, and will serve as a fine showcase for their business, DNR Builders. Noorman also constructed the Zeeland Township home in which he lives.

Noorman, 32, a 1991 graduate of Holland Christian High School, said he and DeBoer will be "baby-sitting" the home on Longwood Drive throughout the Parade of Homes to help with tours and answer questions.

"It's a calling card for you," Noorman said. "Even after the Parade of Homes, anyone who wants to see what type of work you can do, all you have to say is 'Come over to my house.'"

Barker said this year's lineup of homes includes a pair of remodeling jobs. One is a former gas station and antiques shop that has been turned into a 3,000-square-foot cottage at 415 Lake St. in Saugatuck. The other is a former barn that was disassembled in Peoria, Ill., and brought piece-by-piece to 1444 Katherine in Glenn, where it was reconstructed as a residence.

Home time
What: Lakeshore Parade of Homes
When: June 16-25.
Admission: $10
Contact Patrick Revere at patrick.revere@hollandsentinel.com or (616) 546-4280.