Jon Atwood figured out that there was money to be made in building when he was just a kid. He grew up in Colleyville in the middle of a construction boom, and that's how he spent his summers.
His friends and siblings were flipping burgers and working in similar jobs and making minimum wage, $3.25 an hour, during most of his school years. Atwood was working in construction - hard work - but earning $6 to $8 an hour. He studied history at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, but his first love was the building trade. And that's what he went back to after graduation.
"You can't learn construction in college. You have to learn hands-on," he says. As owner of Atwood Custom Homes in Southlake and the builder of the 2015 Fort Worth, Texas magazine Dream Home, that's still his philosophy. He builds eight to 10 custom homes in a year, and he takes each one personally. "I'm probably more hands-on than I should be. I probably should delegate a little bit more, but I have my thumb on every bit of every one of my projects," Atwood said.
The Dream Home is being built on a slightly larger than a quarter-acre lot in Southlake's newest planned development, Carillon, a 205-acre parcel that was formerly a commercial site being developed by Hines for 404 single-family homes.
The home, at 1100 Lake Carillon Lane, sits on a corner lot on the waterfront of a lake built in the estate section of the development. "It is a statement lot for the entire community," Atwood said. "This house, sitting on that lot right on the water, is just going to be just like a Mediterranean home on the water."
Proceeds from tour ticket sales will 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. "The Dream Home attracts a variety of people from all walks of life and affords us an opportunity to share our mission with literally thousands of people," said Judy Youngs, the executive director. "Having the Dream Home in Southlake this year will provide us an opportunity to reach an even broader and more varied segment of the population. And, with the growth of the entire Northeast Tarrant County area, it will provide opportunities for new wish families, donors and volunteers."
The charity connection is an important one for Atwood. "It's a good cause," he said. He had no connection with a Wish with Wings before the Dream Home, but he's interested in giving back. "I've been looking for that opportunity, and this was an opportunity for me to do so."
Atwood calls the style of the Dream Home Modern Mediterranean. "Being in this industry, I'm very passionate about architecture and staying true to different architectural elements," he says. "We're kind of reinventing the mold when we do something like this because it's a hodge-podge of Old World and New World."
What he means by that is that the exterior is Old World Mediterranean and the inside will be cutting-edge. "We'll have a slick finish on the inside, like a museum finish. We're going to have painted kitchen cabinets instead of the stain. We're going to do a lot of light colors instead of dark colors," he said. "The interior is going to be a soft, modern feel. Clean. Not Old World. Nothing like that, just a soft, clean modern home."
He works with customers on what he calls right-sizing and value-engineering in their houses. The intent is to build an efficient house that makes effective use of space and components to achieve the greatest value within the budget.
The Southlake house is planned as a "very open concept" home. "We're going to have multi-functioning rooms," Atwood said. "My living room is also the dining room and the kitchen. It's all one great room. My game room is a game room, media room and bar, all in one room. My utility room is a mudroom, a laundry room and a craft room, all in one area."
The home will be ready for touring in October.
