The Lot
The lot is a heavily wooded slightly over an acre proper rectangle in the City of Bunker Hill Village in the Memorial Villages of Houston, Texas.
We came about the property from a deceased neighbor of my in-laws. She was a bit of an institution in the neighborhood and had lived in her home as the original owner since 1953! We’d known her for a solid 25 years so her passing was truly a tragedy.
Her heir decided to sell us the property as he had no need of it being a resident of the Villages and knew of our desire to live in the neighborhood.
After an unsuccessful run at selling it on the open market at the tail end of 2015’s housing downturn, we got the lot at a very competitive price.
The Architect
Our architect is Robert Dame of Robert Dame Designs. We were referred to him by a home builder whose home we were looking to purchase before we decided to buy the lot.
Robert could be described as an eccentric genius when it comes to home design. He’s not an architect by training (although he has architects on staff) but his designs were substantially more aesthetically pleasing and distinctive than the other five firms we looked at.
He has a great attention to detail having been a home builder in a former life. In addition, his staff which included our project manager, Don Pattie, is also truly exceptional. They have been a pleasure to work with.
We spent a solid year and hundreds of hours working on our plans and we are very decisive people so Robert Dame Designs is not for those who are on a tight timeline or those looking for a low cost designer.
However, you do get what you pay for and then some if you are willing to wait.
The Builder
Our builder is Corbel Custom Homes. We were referred to Corbel by an interior designer we were considering.
We spent an extensive amount of time interviewing and bidding the project across seven builders through two bidding rounds. After many many meetings, site visits, reference calls, and background research, Corbel was the least cost builder that still provided the exceptional quality home we are looking for.
Mike and Nick Bregenzer, and their talented staff, have been great so far with a solid history of successful projects that demonstrate the attention to detail, use of skilled trades, and quality construction that produce successful outcomes and happy clients (we met with quite a few of them).
While the project is still in its infancy as far as the actual construction, we are optimistic we will receive similar results.
The Designer
Our interior designer is JD Bartell. We were referred to JD by a builder who’s home we were looking to purchase before finding the lot.
JD has already caught more issues and brought up more solution to both exterior and interior design and aesthetic issues in the short time that we’ve engaged him than we would ever notice in the course of construction.
JD has an architecture and design background and it shows in his CAD designs and enhancements of our plans. He has a feel for dimensional spaces that one would otherwise not see.
JD’s work has been a bargain so far and we are looking forward to engaging him throughout this project and the many many decisions we have in front of us.
Supporting Cast
