Dream Homes push builders and contractors to showcase their very best efforts and products to demonstrate what they can do to others in the trade and to the benefit of the eventual owner.
A case in point is the garage door. "The builder wants a really interesting design on these doors that we've never done before," said Bret Westbrook of Fort Worth Overhead Garage Door. "That'll be fun for us."
The 2015 Dream Home is on a corner lot overlooking a lake in the estate section in the Southlake planned community of Carillon, developed by Hines, a privately owned global real estate investment firm. Jon Atwood of Atwood Custom Homes is the builder. The interior design is by Stacy Furniture and Design, a family-owned and operated company with showrooms in Grapevine, Allen and Plano.
Proceeds from tour ticket sales benefit a Wish with Wings, a locally based non-profit that makes wishes come true for children with life-threatening illnesses. It is the third consecutive year for the charity.
"We love to be involved with the a Wish with Wings charity," said Westbrook. "We're a local company, and we do business with everyone around here that's local. It's one way to give back and get some publicity. You know, kill two birds with one stone."
Jon and Michelle Atwood, owners of Atwood Custom Homes, the builder of the Dream Home, practice something they call "Stud Ministry." They pray over and bless the homes they build. In this case, they invited other people to visit the home, April 19, to write blessings and scripture verses on the exposed studs before they are covered with drywall.
The community involvement part of it appeals to Renee Cremean of Texas Tile Roofing, roofer on the previous two Dream Homes. "It's being part of something that is just a little bit bigger than you," she said. "Everybody's always worried about money, profit, this, that and the other. People need to think about not doing that every once in a while."
The company does "anything above the roofline," she said. "We do not like putting on a shoddy roof," Cremean said. "If we've done something wrong, we'll go back and fix it." Dream Homes are built on tight deadlines, but she doesn't think of them as difficult. "Rewarding," she said.
This is the 10th Dream Home for Interceramic Tile & Stone Gallery. Bret McIntire says that part of the reason is to show off their products so people can see them in a home setting. "We do get some walk-ins who say that "we do want that product that we saw at the Dream Home," " he said. But giving back to the community is also part of the reason.
Interceramic is one of the largest ceramic tile manufacturers in North America and also deals in natural stone. It is a distributer for products from other companies as well.
This year, as it has been for the past seven years, Aaron Ornamental Iron Works is partnering in the Dream Home, supplying stair and porch railings and some fencing. "It's taking a stake in our hometown," said Todd Brock, the founder and co-owner.
An uncommon feature in this Dream Home is what is called a mono-beam stair system. That means that a single exposed beam in the center supports the stairs, rather than structural supports on either side. "It's a little bit more of a modern look, a cleaner look," he said.
You can visit showrooms, look at pictures in books and surf the Internet all day, but nothing beats seeing a product in place. That's one reason Dannie Loveless of Loveless Gutter participates. And that's also a reason that Dream Homes have better furnishings than a comparable custom home. Companies put their best product forward.
Loveless is installing ordinary half-round gutters, but with a plus. "We're going to do some collection boxes for the downspouts that gives it a lot of curb appeal," he said. Some builders and homeowners may not know these are an option, and he wants to show them off.