Q. Please tell us about your custom home design process. What is your average timeline, from start to finish?
A. There are multiple ways to start the conversation when customers come to us. Because we’ve been in the business for 30 years, we’ve accrued a lot of different plans. So, we can either start with a previous customer’s plan and tweak it or go in a completely different direction and start from scratch because, when we sit down with a customer, it’s really about understanding their lifestyle and how they function.
Once a customer decides on a home design, we begin the selection process. We have an amazing design studio in our office building, and about 80 percent of a customer’s selections — on windows, exteriors, appliances, countertops, handrails— are made right there. We’ve used Pella windows exclusively for a number of years.
On the average, an Eagle custom home takes close to 12 months, from the initial design and selection process, to digging, framing, the mechanicals, and completion. Like everyone, we’re working around supply chain issues and other shortages.
Q. Is there a primary area where you prefer to build?
A. We’re a Greater Cincinnati custom home builder. We are comfortable with having seven to 10 projects in the queue each year. We focus on understanding our clients first and foremost. We work with each client, from the ground up, considering their lifestyle now and in the foreseeable future.
If they have kids in high school, what will their house look like when they go off to college? What will their house look like when they have grandkids? Everyone’s lives are different. Some clients may want a $300-a-bottle wine cellar while others may don’t drink.
We like to play the role of coach. We dive into the details of each customer’s lifestyle and how they want their custom-built home to function within that lifestyle.
We work with an amazing designer, Jill Neverovich, who is great with helping us keep up on current design trends, yet she keeps it relative, of course — we’re in Cincinnati, not LA. We also like to call her a marriage counselor because she is great at merging a couple’s differing design ideas.
Q.Speaking of home design trends, what are the top three that Eagle Custom Homes currently sees in Cincinnati?
A. There are a lot of different, fun things going on right now.
Home offices are still making a comeback. Many of our clients are high-level executives used to working at an office. With more people continuing to work from home, today’s home offices are often designed to provide dedicated workspaces physically separate from the rest of the house
Also, utilizing “dead” spaces, such as underneath stairs, for things like open-stair wine racks, as one example, is a popular idea.
And everyone wants wireless rather than hardwired, from countertops with built-in wireless charging units to smart security cameras and WiFi-operated garage doors.
Outdoor living spaces remain popular. People want to unwind in their own comfortable oases. We consider that in the way we lay out a house design. We utilize earthen berms around our homes, create tree walls, for example, to ensure privacy. Some clients want seamless indoor/outdoor living areas, with sliding glass doors that fold into themselves, allowing inside and outside to flow into each other.
Trends come and go, so it’s important to pick what YOU like.
Q.What is your favorite part of the building process?
A. My favorite part is when the Pella windows come in! It’s the most amazing thing ever! Honestly, though, the final walk-through is such a fun experience. All the hard work finally comes together. The selection process is fun, too, because everyone is jazzed about what’s going on. But the end is a celebration. You finally see the big picture, validating all the selections that have been made.