Custom Builder Magazine

A U-shaped home in St. Augustine, Fla. responds to its site in every way, with high-performance construction tuned to its proximity to the water and nearby marshland Story at a Glance: The residence features a distinctive U-shaped layout that maximizes waterway views from nearly every room. Design includes hurricane-rated glass, external solar shades, and structural reinforcement for Florida’s coastal climate.

Builder in 5 is our five-question series with the minds behind standout custom homes. Next Up: Javier Carcamo, co-founder and director of operations at Yonkers, N.Y.-based Cargo Workshop. Carcamo's early work in advocacy and housing policy helps define his approach to renovations across New York City.

More homeowners now start their research in AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. They ask detailed questions, compare options and build a shortlist before they ever visit a website. In fact, the 2026 U.S. Houzz State of AI in Construction and Design Report found that nearly one in 10 homeowners already use AI this way, to find, evaluate, and communicate with pros. That shift has a name in the marketing world: Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO. The idea is simpler than the term.

Getting to this site in the Shenandoah Mountains was a challenge, but once the homeowners saw the potential—and the views—renovating the existing barn was the only option Story at a Glance: The project preserved key historic features such as wide-plank pine flooring, exposed timber framing, and original trusses to maintain the barn's character. Design choices emphasized contrasting old and new, with modern elements and a new addition complementing the original structure.

Builder in 5 is our five-question series with the minds behind standout custom homes. With interest in remodeling and whole-home renovations running high, we talked with Jim Walker, founder and CEO of Copper Sky Design + Remodel in Atlanta. His design-build firm specializes in Craftsman, Midcentury Modern, and Victorian-era homes, working from a philosophy that's part renovation, part restoration, with a goal of preserving history. 1. You built your firm around restoring older houses.

In Waccabuc, N.Y., Sam Fertik is framing an elevator shaft without installing an actual elevator. The house it would serve, Nº134, is a spec home—the first project Fertik’s firm, Carbon Custom Builders, is building without a buyer attached. Whoever buys the home can choose to add the elevator later, which saves Carbon roughly $100,000 on equipment that the homeowner may not even want.

Over the past decade, builders, designers, and their clients have paid greater attention to the way homes impact health and well-being. From wellness-centric building certifications to considerations like lighting and ventilation, the industry is bringing wellness into the conversation early on in the process. Here's what housing pros are saying, and how they’re integrating wellness into their projects. How Did We Get Here?

Ahead of our 2026 Women in Residential Construction Conference, produced with our sister publications Pro Builder and Pro Remodeler, we’re looking back at a standout session last year. In her talk at the 2025 conference, Allison Guido of Hanover, Mass.-based remodeling firm Almar Building & Remodeling used Spencer Johnson's classic business fable Who Moved My Cheese?

Previously rundown and underutilized, a porch at a home in Chevy Chase, Md., was transformed into an indoor-outdoor spa through a series of customizations by local contractor Zantzinger and Washington, D.C.-based MV Architects. While the porch remodel was part of a larger two-story addition that also gave the home a dining room and outdoor seating, this edition of The Rundown focuses on the customizations that helped shape the lower-level spa room into a distinctive retreat.

The couple who owns this house came to the project as a blended family. He had lived in the home for years and has three children, and she was moving in with her two daughters. Built in 1952, the waterfront property sits in Seattle's Laurelhurst neighborhood along Lake Washington. The husband grew up in it, bought it from his parents years later, and this is the third time he's renovated it. Neither had to search for a design team.