BY KATE JONUSKA • SPRINGSHOUSES.COM

Sometimes small is good, like in the case of golf scores or jeans size. But those who claim that smaller is always good have never had a car weather the elements because it lacked a garage, seen family members bump elbows while preparing a meal or stumbled over clutter due to a lack of storage space.

In real estate, bigger is often simply better. And this University Park home in northern Colorado Springs, listed by Connie de Jong of RE/MAX Properties for $999,000, proves how luxurious it can feel when you have space to let down your hair, let down your guard and let a sigh of relaxation drift — through the open floor plan, up to the vaulted ceilings and out the sunny windows to dissipate in the pine trees.

“A lot of houses of this caliber are outside city limits,” says Rob de Jong, pointing out that few homes so close to the city center have .66 acres of trees, soaring views and such private quiet. “The location makes it stand out. The privacy is amazing, and it makes it really unique to border 250 acres of open space.”

To read more: CLICK HERE to see a PDF of this article, which ran May 17, 2008 in Springs Houses, a section of The Gazette.