ALPINE CITY -- Those in the market for a million-dollar home -- give or take a couple hundred thousand -- especially if they are looking for a bargain, will want to check out the homes at Alpine Chateau in northern Utah County.

A home that costs $1.5 million in Sandy is a mere $900,000 in Alpine. And between the currnt low interest rates and Pride Homes' financing plans, Alpine Chateau buyers are saving around $1,000 on their monthly payments, according to Ryan Fenton, Pride's marketing and sales director. One buyer, he says, whose interest rate was in the "high 4 percents instead of the high 7 percents," saved more than $1,200 on his monthly payment.

The smallest home is 5,600 square feet, with a starting price of $600,000, and they go on up form there, to 10,000 square-foot homes and a $1.2 million starting figure. Lot sizes range from .6 acre to two acres, some suitable for horses and the people who love them.

Even if you're not a bargain hunter, but you're drawn to European-style homes with great views, fast access to off-road-vehicle trails, and award-winning design both inside and out, Alpine Chateau should be high on your list of sites to check out.

High on the hillside, every lot offers sweeping views of Mount Timpanogos or across the valley to Utah Lake and Lake Mountain.

"We place every home in such a way that it will not interfere with views from other homes," Fenton emphasizes. "These are beautiful, large homes, which will keep their value forever."

Sixteen lots are still available. Two homes under construction are for sale, with four others already sold. All the plans of homes built so far, he says, are Parade of Homes winners. But buyers can build any plan they want, "as long as it's big enough."

Award-winning interior designer Cynthia Nicolaysen, owner and principal designer of Workspace Designs, Salt Lake City, has designed the interiors, and five hours of her time to personalize the home are included in the purchase price of new homes at Alpine Chateau.

For all the houses to relate to each other, while being individually unique and custom, Nicolaysen also worked with builder Kent Saxey to prepare

specifications for outside lighting, mailboxes, address plates, walkways (brick or stone), stamped concrete or stone steps; the wooden carriage garage doors, and other exterior details.

Inside the homes, now under constrctuction or completed, Nicolaysen's stamp is everywhere. All the millwork is custom, from the built-in entertainment centers, bookcases and china closets to the heavy baseboards, generous trims and moldings, prominent use of bead board and wainscoting, and coving.

In the dining room of one of the homes, she says, 5-foot-high custom recessed-panel wainscoting of the type found in old European homes enhances the walls.

Solid knotty-alder double doors lead into the dining rooms of some homes, double glass doors in others.

In the kitchens at Alpine Chateau, she's incorporated doubled glass or seeded glass uppers with glass shelves and interior lighting to create stunning build-in china cabinets, pantries and other cabinets.

Most homes here have multiple fire-places, she says, featuring custom millwork and stone. Banisters and railings are a mixture of forged metal and wood with custom finishes. To match a travertine and knotty-alder-stained staircase, for instance, Nicolaysen had the wrought iron rusted.

As for colors, "We've used very rich but neutral colors, which appeal to many tastes," she says, citing camels, mustards, creams and beiges. "We'll leave it up to the homeowner to decide if they want a cranberry wall somewhere."

For flooring, she's using upgraded carpet, stone and wood. In one home, she says, the family room carpet, a coffee-and-camel loop graphic, matches the coffee granite fireplace, alder mantel, and beam ceilings.

One exception to Nicolaysen's preference for natural materials is her use of large-format, solid porcelain tile instead of slate for some floors. It looks just like slate, she says, but its more low-maintenance and "as durable as granite. We've addressed issues of longevity, as well as beauty, in these homes," she points out.

Porcelain tile also has low-water absorbency, "so we can use it on an outside patio, and then extend it into the home."