By Michael Gardner, founder and lead architect at studio g ARCHITECTURE
Luxury custom homebuyers now have more options than waiting up to two years to build their own home. Increasingly, they are choosing to work with licensed architects and builders who can deliver an evolved custom build experience — a completely unique and curated custom home in less time, with a more realistic price tag and without the many heartaches and frustrations that come along with a traditional custom build.
Unlike the conventional process, a curated custom home is often move-in ready and designed to appeal to a sophisticated client. This reimagined process of custom home construction has recently gained popularity among professional architects and clients, especially over the past two years when inventory has been significantly lower and the top priority for new home builds is finishing them quickly.
Curated custom homes are similar to traditional custom builds in that they showcase a design that is unique. But unlike traditional builds that require clients to be involved in even the smallest details and decisions, that responsibility is put on the architect and designer.
I love designing and building curated custom homes for my clients. The final product is a stunning home that is completely their own and created by a team of renowned architects and designers. The best part is the client doesn’t have to lift a finger unless they want to. All the decisions are made by their design team, right down to the silverware. The experience of purchasing a curated custom home is now enjoyable and stress-free.
One of my more recent designs in Ascaya, called Adelaide, is a stunning example of a modern curated custom home. When designing the estate, our team of professionals created a unique one-story layout that took into account details such as the shape of the site and the elevated Strip and mountain views that are nearly exclusive to Ascaya.
Adelaide is the entire package, with every feature and piece of furniture already selected to fit the overall design. As a curated custom home, it offers a beautiful custom design without the heartache of a long, detailed and expensive building process.
Decisions, decisions
There is a lot of time involved in building a home, from the preliminary research and examination of the home site to the endless decisions that come with creating a cohesive and practical design. Even when initial decisions are made, chances are there will be many more decisions and reassessments to make throughout the building process that generally slow the process even further.
In contrast, a curated custom home is still completely custom, but those often endless decisions needed to build a unique design are turned over to a professional with experience in combining architecture with interior design.
Decisions are made easy for the client in every aspect. Some architects, like myself, can offer a curated custom home that is completely move-in ready for those who want that convenience, in which everything from the furnishings to dinner plates is meticulously selected to create a truly cohesive and unmatchable home experience.
In the curated custom home process, the client’s team of professionals is also able to leverage its expertise and make decisions based on elements that clients might not notice until it’s too late. Some of these finer details that a client might not know to take into consideration include the size and shape of the home site, sun orientation, the scale of interior spaces, complementary materials and textures, designs that complement the community, the prevalence of wind and adjacent home sites.
In some cases, a client who wants to be involved in the planning can even preview the architectural plans and designs before construction begins. Sometimes, my firm will design several curated custom homes in the same community, which often offers our clients the luxury of choosing from a selection of custom homes in their desired neighborhood.
Time is money
Most often, curated custom homes save our clients a lot of time. In a traditional custom home process, the many decisions that are required in building a fully custom home often stretch the timeline out to several years. Deadlines are extended and clients are left feeling like they are wasting away months, or even years, in a rental or less desirable house waiting for their dream home to finally be ready.
When the majority of the decisions are turned over to the client’s team of architectural and design professionals, the process is often much quicker. Our clients are able to move in to their new homes much faster, sometimes in less than a year.
Simpler way to finance
One of the more frustrating aspects of building a custom home is arranging the financing. There is a long and tedious process to securing the financing needed to build a home that might take several years to complete.
On the contrary, that process is usually much easier when it comes to purchasing a curated custom home. The home sites are already secured and the designs are often already complete. In some situations, the homes are even nearly finished by the time the client is ready to buy, making the buying process similar to purchasing an existing home or resale.
