#1 in a series on buying land and building your custom home at The Pinehills.
When your decision is made to buy land and build a custom home at The Pinehills, you quickly discover that this process is about quality craftsmanship and paying attention to detail. The visioning begins with conversations – between you, your architect, and your builder. As they listen and begin understand that “home in your head”, your team expertly guides you through decisions on important details – large and small - and assembles an army of talented craftspeople who are passionate about bringing your dream home to life. We had the chance to talk about the process of designing a custom home with Architect, Bart O’Brien of Whitman Homes and Custom Builder, Glenn MacKenzie of MacKenzie Brothers, two of the Custom Home Architects/Builders who work in The Pinehills.
The Pinehills - What are “details that matter” when building a custom home?
Bart O'Brien - For an architect it all begins with the land. Before we even start the home design, we want to know where the sun is going to rise and set. What the natural light looks like throughout the day. Where the kitchen is located or the master bedroom is located is based on what the land is offering us. We look at the views from the land and see what is there. Is it a golf view? Is it a pond view? Is it a distant view that might be better imagined from the second floor of the home.
Glenn MacKenzie- Does the house fit the lot and does the lot fit the home? That’s key. The home site the house will be built upon must be the correct lot for the customers ideas and views.
TP- Once you understand the details of the land, then what?
BO - Every custom home we design is started from scratch/a blank piece of paper. So, once we understand the land and the views, we work with the client to understand the details that matter to them. That matters most when we are building a custom home. At the end of the day we are designing the home for a specific person or family. We recently worked with a family whose teenage daughter was central in the design of her bedroom, her amazing bathroom, and craft room; What mattered most to her was a place to create.
TP- What does craftsmanship mean to you?
GM- It’s about quality. The quality of all aspects of the home from the foundation to the final finishes. Craftsmanship is embodied by every trade and individual working on MacKenzie Brothers’ custom homes.
TP- It sounds like craftsmanship is more than something you can see.
GM- Most definitely, craftsmanship is how a person approaches their individual trade, the quality of their work and the pride they take in their job. And after 36 years building homes, it’s very easy for me to recognize a true craftsman at work.
