A true test of a custom home isn’t in the blueprints or the construction photos, but in the quiet morning moments when homeowners wake up and feel like they’re exactly where they belong. For Brandon and Catherine, this revelation came not as a dramatic moment, but as a gentle daily affirmation that their four-year journey from vision to reality had achieved something rare: a home that exceeds expectations while feeling effortlessly right.
“We love being here,” Catherine reflects on their first month of living in their new home. “It’s just little things about it, how quiet it really is, how the whole house feels so well built. Aesthetically, it’s just so calming and lovely to me.”
The Unexpected Harmony of Daily Living
Perhaps the most telling measure of their home’s success lies in the pleasant surprises that emerge through actual living. For Catherine, who wasn’t as sure about living in the woods, the daily experience of “waking up to trees and bird songs and just the calm of it” has become an unexpected source of joy. Brandon’s connection to the space runs equally deep. After visiting family, he found himself “just missing the house.” They both describe the space as feeling cozier than anticipated, a quality that emerges from the successful integration of their distinct priorities.
The evolution of their “Team Aesthetic” vs “Team Efficiency” dynamic reveals how a thoughtful process transforms potential conflict into mutual appreciation. Catherine explains their approach: “We hash things out a lot, but once we make the decision, we then don’t consider it much of a compromise.” Their high-performance European windows perfectly illustrate this. Catherine initially had concerns about the cost, but their thorough discussion process meant that once the decision was made, it felt like a shared choice. “I’m so glad that’s the decision we made, they’re perfect and they are worth every penny, and I can’t imagine the house without them.”
Spaces Coming Alive
The transition from architectural drawings to lived space has revealed how homes develop their rhythms independent of their designers’ intentions. Catherine envisioned her reading room as her private retreat, where she expected she would have to invite other people in because nobody would be very interested in hanging out there. “Instead, it has become a family favorite where each person in our family takes quiet moments throughout the day.”
Similarly, Brandon finds himself drawn to the primary bedroom during daytime hours as a peaceful retreat, a private space away from the family activity. Even the bare living room—still awaiting furniture—has become the morning coffee ritual location for the entire family, drawn by the expansive windows and the nature just beyond them.
Behind the Scenes – Aesthetics Meet Performance
The technical systems have also proven their worth through measurable performance. During a recent heat wave on a day when the temperatures reached 98 degrees, the air conditioning ran 4.5 hours compared to 16 hours at their previous residence, while maintaining a lower temperature. This dramatic efficiency gain validates their investment in geothermal heating and cooling, air-tight insulation, and a thoughtful three-zone system.
The HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation) system operates invisibly, continuously exchanging indoor air with fresh outdoor air while recovering energy from the outgoing stream. The system’s sensors automatically detect cooking odors or other VOCs and increase ventilation. “It does it all behind the scenes,” Brandon notes, explaining how proper ventilation becomes essential as homes become more airtight and energy-efficient.
Even seemingly minor technical features like hot water recirculation create daily luxury—immediate hot water at every faucet without waste. It’s a luxury that reduces water consumption and energy. “I turn the shower on in the morning and it’s hot right away,” Brandon explains.
“The kitchen/dining room is probably my favorite space. We imagined it as the center of our home, and it’s been that. The design also feels really reflective of our style.” Catherine says. “We all appreciate the functional kitchen layout, and I’m particularly glad to have a view of the outdoors as I stand at the sink. The terrazzo backsplash, which was a wish of mine, is striking and warm. And the simplicity of our cabinet door style allows the character of the wood to take center stage.”
The terrazzo tile and quarter-sawn oak cabinets provide timeless appeal and the durability needed for family life, while the charred Japanese cedar (Nakamoto shou sugi ban) at the front entry creates a dramatic first impression, particularly striking under evening accent lighting.
The Riemco standards exceeded expectations, they discovered only after moving in—soft-close mechanisms on every pocket door, thoughtfully designed kitchen storage with roll-out drawers, hidden cubbies that eliminate counter clutter, and a pop-up outlet that disappears into the counter—demonstrate how attention to detail compounds into daily satisfaction.
The Wisdom of the Journey
Their experience offers valuable guidance for navigating the complex decisions of custom home building.- Know your priorities. “Really understand what your priorities are. There are lots of things that most people would enjoy in a home, but very few people are going to be able to do all of them. If you can get the things that are most important to you, you have a high probability of being happy with the outcome,” says Catherine. Brandon suggests addressing elements that would be expensive or impossible to change later, even if not immediately implemented—running wiring for future needs, for example.
- Take the time you need. Their four-year timeline, including a pause during COVID when lumber prices spiked, ultimately proved beneficial. “That gave us a lot of time to reflect on what we decided and what to change before we did the final design. Giving yourself time to really reflect on what you want, not rushing it, and having a builder that’s going to be okay with that,” he explains. “Riemco didn’t rush us.”
- Design + Build. The design-build approach proved crucial, eliminating the complexity of managing separate architect and contractor relationships. “I feel like the relationship we’ve had with Riemco from the start just felt like the right fit. That has been critical for us at every stage. Riemco has the design and build process worked out, so you get the whole package, and they manage all of the handover to construction. It really eases the burden.”
- Clear, consistent communication. Communication emerged as perhaps the most critical factor. “Choose a build and design team that is open to a lot of communication, and you feel like you can ask questions and you’re getting good answers. When we had concerns and we talked through things, we got great results, but we were working with a team where that was very much the company culture.” Their daily group text with Ron created a partnership that extended beyond construction completion. “When we finished, there was a period where it was strange not to have our texts with Ron; we’d all gotten used to that, and we had to check in a couple of times just to see how Ron was and to say hi,” Catherine noted.
The Luxury of Intentional Living
As Brandon watches deer wander past the corner picture windows of his office, and Catherine finds focus in her cozy nook, their home stands as a testament to something far more refined than compromise. The initial dynamic of Team Aesthetic vs Team Efficiency has evolved into a shared appreciation for thoughtful design that honors both beauty and performance.
“This was really a house that we built for us and our family, knowing how we live,” Catherine reflects. Their daughters have found their rooms “feel more like them” than their previous spaces ever did. The family enjoys the natural light and views. The technical systems perform flawlessly while remaining invisible. The aesthetic choices bring daily joy without sacrificing function.
Catherine captures the essence of their achievement: “It is an incredible luxury to ever be in a position to make so many choices about your environment- it is amazing, and we feel really privileged that we were able to have this experience.”
What has emerged isn’t a tale of balancing competing priorities, but proof that when both perspectives are honored through careful process, the result transcends either individual vision. Their home has become a living expression of how thoughtful design enhances every aspect of daily life—exactly as both teams had hoped from the beginning.
