The Art of Custom Podcast

Learn the difference between custom home building and production or "cookie cutter" home building - find out which one is better for you. Kim Hibbs and Danni Eickenhorst from St. Louis home builder Hibbs Homes talk about the advantages to building a home that's truly customized for your lifestyle - and what you can expect as you begin the process.  Over 12 episodes, Danni and Kim will cover architecture, design, types of new construction homes, construction financing and budgeting, smart home technology, designing for seasons of life, and energy efficient home design.  Listen along for all 12 episodes to find out if building is right for you - and to get prepared for your home build. Questions or comments for a future episode? Call our voicemail line at (314) 266-9709 and leave a voicemail. We'll try to include you in an upcoming episode.

We're back! In Season 2 of The Art of Custom podcast, we will be taking a deeper dive into the custom home building process. Follow along with clients Rick and Meredith while they build their dream home in St. Louis's Historic Dogtown Neighborhood. In this season, we'll talk about each part of the custom home building process. We will be with them every step of the construction process from designing the home through moving day! Follow along on The Art of Custom Podcast Homepage - see pictures and videos of the process. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for custom home building inspiration and updates!

Demolition and excavation are officially underway at the Schaper home. We started with the demolition at the property, removing the home that was in disrepair. The next step was excavating the lot to prepare for construction. The lot in this historic neighborhood held a number of surprises for our crews starting with clay soil that has to be improved before it can withstand building. The build turned newsworthy with the discovery of a mine shaft and a historic cistern. The cistern turned out to be a time capsule holding Prohibition-era bottles and artifacts. The Dogtown neighborhood, known for its rich clay soil, has a long history of brickmaking and industry. Many of the challenges we unearthed on this lot were tied to that history.

Finding the perfect piece of land to call home can be one of the more challenging steps in building a custom home. But having the right home building team in place can simplify the process and, more importantly, help to ensure you buy the right piece of land for your goals. One of those important team members is your realtor. In this episode, we talk to Jan Hibbs, Vice President of Hibbs Homes and Realtor with Coldwell Banker Gundaker in St Louis, MO, and JanaLee Jacobson from Berkshire Hathaway in Park City, UT about the lot search process and how to find the right land to build on. Jan, JanaLee, and Kim talk about what factors you need to consider when deciding where to look for land, maneuvering the challenges of land scarcity in the current market, and what to consider when designing your custom home to get the best resale value.

You've found your land, you have your builder - now it's time to start putting pen to paper to turn your vision into a design. Working with an architect to design your dream home is one of the most exciting parts of the custom home building process. And today we're talking to two of our architect partners about how that process works. Jeff Day, a leading high-performance architect in St Louis, and Jamie Walker, a leading designer and architect in the Northern Utah region, join us on today's show. Get some insights into what's coming in home design, the evolution of post-COVID home design, and tips on how to find the right architect for your project. Listen NOW!

For most of us, our homes are the most significant investment we will make in our lifetime. Building a custom home is one of the best ways to get the most out of your time living there, and we want to make sure you get the most financial value from your home. Today, Kim talks to a few experts who can help you figure out how to make sense out of the dollars and cents in your construction budget. Drew Padgett, our senior estimator at Hibbs Homes will start things off by talking about how to make the most of your allowances and some of the terms you'll run into while building your new home. Later, we're joined by Trisha McConkey, one of our lending partners in St Louis, and Ace Allak from People's Home Equity in Northern Utah. Trisha, Ace, and Kim will demystify the construction lending process and help you get an idea of what to expect when you begin the construction financing process. Listen to previous episodes and download our Construction Lending Guide by visiting www.ArtofCustomPodcast.com

It's time to get down to business and start turning some dirt! Today we're talking all about construction and all of the challenges and opportunities that come along with building a home that has never been built before!  Hibbs Homes Director of Construction, Chris Pedigo, and Marketing Director, Melody Meiners, join Kim in the studio to get into the details, expectations, and some of the unexpected parts of building a custom home.

In part two of our series focusing on everything between the studs in your custom home, we talk to experts who weigh in on green construction techniques, the benefits of building a high-performance home, and how we measure just how well your home is built. Get your primer on what to expect when building and living in a high-performance home! SHOW NOTES 

Details are at the heart of custom home building, and sometimes the details can be a little intimidating for our clients. Today we're talking about the finishing touches that make your custom home truly one-of-a-kind. From managing the process to design idea, joining us to explain the process and trends are Hibbs Homes in-house designer, Anna Entringer, and Kiley Blackwell, one of our design partners in Park City, Utah.  Later, Stephen Landcaster from Pella Windows and Doors talks to us about windows and doors and their impact on your home's efficiency and design.

Almost every home has a smart device of some type, but what makes a home truly “smart”?   Today, we are talking with the smart home technology experts about how to make your home more convenient, accessible - and safe! - by implementing a connected smart home strategy during construction! Learn what the smart home experts and builders do to help keep your home from aging out as new technology comes along and how custom home builders work with low-voltage electrical, sound, and AV equipment suppliers to create a high-tech home that stays ahead of the curve.

Planning a home that will be comfortable no matter where life takes you doesn't require a crystal ball. In fact, you don't have to drastically alter your design vision to make your home more accessible at all stages of life, it just requires a little bit of design know-how and a building team who can help you finesse your plans. Today, we're speaking with two of those universal design experts and sharing one story about how adaptive home design can make a world of difference.

You've heard about the home building process from experts from around the country. So we wanted to turn the tables a bit, and share with you what it is like to build your dream home. Today we're going through the home building process step-by-step with former clients who are sharing what they have to say about turning their vision into their forever home. We would like to give a final thank you to our sponsors this season - Pella Windows and Doors and Ferguson Bath, Kitchen, and Lighting Show room. We are busy planning for season four, which we will kick off in fall of 2021! See you then!

We are back for season four of The Art of Custom! This season, we are going to take a deep dive into the details and decisions that elevate any home's design. In this season, we are going to go room by room to discuss the elements that make your home functional, comfortable, and beautiful. To get things started, we are going to start with exteriors. We will talk about the architecture, windows, materials, colors, and more that make your home a stand out. Join us while we discuss the art of exterior home designs, and get inspired for your own home's design by visiting our website at HibbsHomesUSA.com

Your kitchen is one of the most important areas of your home, and sometimes our clients design an entire home around having a spectacular kitchen. Whether you’re a professional chef or professional at ordering carry-out, you won’t want to miss this episode where we take a deep dive into the fundamentals of kitchen design. You’ll hear from the experts on how to make the most of your kitchen and make it work for you. See more inspiring kitchen designs and start planning your dream home at HibbsHomesUSA.com

It is one of the few places some parents can get complete solitude and it is the one room where anyone can unleash their inner Pavarotti. Today we're talking about the art of bathroom design. From powder rooms to en suites, the basic designs of bathrooms have become anything but basic. There are a lot of important elements that come together to make an outstanding bathroom that is as functional as it is relaxing and inspiring. To help us deconstruct this important space, we have Hibbs Homes custom home design team members, Anna Entringer and Ann Fritz, on the show to share their expertise, talk about bathroom design trends, and share stories about specific custom home projects that feature outstanding bathrooms. 

In the quest for a good night’s sleep there is one essential element that will predict your success and that is the design of your bedroom! Everything from the materials on the floor to the layout of the space to the windows are important components to creating a cozy space that is as inviting at the end of the day as it is invigorating at the start. And in today’s episode we talk to some of the experts in creating the best bedrooms. Joining us in studio again are Ann Fritz and Anna Entringer from the Hibbs Homes design team, and special guest Meg Minicky Lead Interior Designer at Olive + Opal Interiors in St. Louis, MO. Dreaming about your dream home? Get more inspiration at HibbsHomesUSA.com

With the holiday season quickly approaching, many of us are thinking about those spaces where we will gather with friends and family to connect and celebrate. Many of our clients who are in design right now are planning intentional spaces in their homes where they can spend time with their guests, so we wanted to bring in some experts on creating gathering spaces. We are welcoming Amie and Kory Hannah to the show to talk about their experience in designing Air BnB spaces and to share their interesting story about flipping and preserving historic homes in the greater St Louis area.  

Whether it is indexing by the colors or the rainbow or defining your organization style using a bug, home organization is a huge trend right now. An “Instagrammable” pantry doesn’t happen in a day, and many of our custom home clients are planning ahead and building their organization strategy right into their homes.  To help prepare you to build an organized home we are talking to Lindsey Wolski, a recent client of ours who has taken her custom home organization to social media and is making quite an impact. We also have one of St Louis’s leading experts in closet design and organization, Jennifer Williams the founder and president of St Louis Closet Company. See pictures of the Wolski home and more at our website HibbsHomesUSA.com

From work to play, many of the rooms in our homes have started to pull double duty. Creative and productive spaces are taking center-stage in today's episode. We're bringing back one of our premiere Utah home building partners, Lydia Huffman of LH Designs, to discuss home offices and flex spaces. We will go through a variety of unique and practical design considerations and help you get the most of the those productive spaces in your home. Get inspired! Check out our floor plan library at HibbsHomesUSA.com

Media rooms, playrooms, and other recreational spaces usually find their home in the lower level. Our basements are where many of us feel free to let our imaginations soar when it comes to design and usage. If you're in the process of building or renovating a home, you've likely been thinking about what to do with this space. We have Paul Hamtil of Hamtil Construction and Tony Pratte from The Sound Room joining up to talk about all of the different ways we can use the lower level and how to approach building and designing to make it feel like a natural extension of those above grade living areas that get most of the design love. For show notes and more information, visit us at HibbsHomesUSA.com