A playground for kids of all ages

• Slideshow: Tour this home

There's the black- and white-tiled game room off the kitchen that their mother, Karen, has equipped with not only bicycles hanging from the ceiling, but an old-fashioned gas pump, a telephone booth, roller skates, a Ping-Pong table, a gum-ball machine, three TVs, a parking meter and a fire hydrant.

And right outside the door of this game room is a 1968 fire engine. Really.

Then there's the theater room, a themed bedroom for each - Ben's has portholes and cannons - and the tree-lined backyard with a swimming pool and a large play area for basketball, roller skating, tennis and bike riding.

That's about 8,000 square feet (12,000 total under roof) of warm, kid-friendly space that combines a sense of casual elegance where grown-ups also are catered to.

Take the master suite, where a seating area around the fireplace creates a retreat for Karen and Bert Hayenga. And the spacious master bath, which has not only a spa tub, large shower stall, his and her commodes, sinks and closets, but also a sun-splashed lounge area where Karen can practice ballet and dance exercises at a barre.

The Hayengas' Paradise Valley home beckons you inside with its warm, buttery- yellow walls, rich wide-plank wooden floors throughout and wide windows that fill each room with sunlight.

"It's who we are," says Karen, whose eye for detail and penchant for collecting is evidenced throughout the home.

And it's a home that the Hayengas generously share with friends and family and groups who've hosted countless charity benefits there.

"If we are fortunate enough to get to live here, then we're going to share it," says Karen, who with her husband, Bert, began the Creative Leather furniture store.

The Hayengas' spirit is announced in a Scripture they have written on the ceiling of the circular entryway inside the front door:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight" (Proverbs 3:56).

Off this entryway, rooms and wide hallways lead to various areas of the house.

An open country kitchen with honey-colored cabinets and creamy, richly veined marble countertops serves as the hub for the family.

The Hayengas' children - Baylee, 13; Beri, 12; and Ben, 8 - share a study area conveniently located off their bedrooms.

The nearby laundry room has two sets of washers and dryers (a third set is in the parents' wing).

Throughout the home furnishings such as an antique chair, vintage aprons, tables, china and other keepsakes have a story behind them.

Karen used an antique armoire to house the guest- bathroom sink, and barn siding and a barn door form closet doors in her children's bedroom.

She attached two tires with shiny hubcaps to the sink in the guest bathroom, off the game room, in keeping with the room's '50s car theme.

This is a home that feels like Christmas year-round, something that Karen and Bert Hayenga wanted guests to sense when they walked through the doors.

Reach the reporter at susan.felt@arizonarepublic.com and (602) 444-8246.