“When we built a house with HBC, we really built a home.” What a powerful statement Angie Sidden made when speaking about the custom home building experience with Homes by Chris. For many reasons, the Sidden family knows their new home is the one they will stay in forever, cherishing their time to grow as a family under its roof. As HBC built the family’s home, they also built their story, which had actually been evolving over several years.
John and Angie Sidden had owned houses before, but they hadn’t owned a home, which was something they desperately wanted to have together and to share with their two sons. Their story with HBC custom builders began in May 2013 when they had decided to purchase a house on three acres of land which they had planned to renovate. John and Angie spoke with Julia Haseltine, designer with JW Interiors, and she referred the couple to look at Homes by Chris’s model homes in Woodneath Farms. As it turns out, peeking through the windows of the model homes was all it took to know they wanted to build a home with Roy and Chris Ragland, the husband and wife duo they had not heard of previously.
As soon as the Siddens spoke with the Raglands, the plans to build a home moved very quickly. Roy had led them to the subdivision Prairie View Heights, which is located in the Liberty School District, but provided three acres of land they could call their own. Roy helped to select the best lot in the neighborhood in an effort to reduce a windy effect around their home, as well as a lot which had lots of character. During the planning stage, Angie mentioned being very pleased with how Chris worked to help change the front elevation of the floor plan they desired to build. She took their opinions and made alterations to the traditional Beckett floor plan and made it one the Siddens could call their own. Then, in only four short weeks, the plan for their home had been drafted, settled upon, and ground was broken.
As those who have seen HBC custom homes know, what truly makes Homes by Chris different from other builders is the higher level of integrity in the craftsmanship. The home is already upgraded so much, that it doesn’t take much to ‘upgrade’ the home, which oftentimes results in unexpected overages. The Siddens, in an effort to build their story with HBC, asked themselves, “What do we need to do now that we can’t do later?” when building their home. Some things are easy to change, such as light fixtures and paint colors, after you have been in the house for a while, but structural aspects should be considered from the very beginning of the process. John and Angie thought through all of the details in deciding what to do with their dream home.
Modifications to the Beckett floor plan, as made by the Siddens:
- Installed under-counter lighting vs. plate racks
- Extra outlet in the pantry for mixer & coffee maker
- Chose quartz kitchen countertops vs. granite
- Installed a hot water dispenser
- No fireplace in living room; installed a wall of windows instead
- Removed bench by closet & added a full-length mirror instead
- Removed bathtub from master bathroom and added a linen closet
- Custom built the drop zone to fit a kennel for the family’s dogs
- Bumped out the garage, added a window, and trimmed out the drywall
- Suspended garage
- Pocket doors installed in all places they could be
- Added a built-in desk to their son’s bedroom
- Added built-in bookshelves in the office
- Added a gas grill line to the exterior
During the building process, a personal relationship developed between the Siddens and the Raglands which isn’t the experience you get with every builder. “Chris helped me get the discontinued knobs I wanted. Chris stored our discontinued kitchen light fixtures for six months because she knew how badly I wanted them for our house….I was sad when the process was complete, as our weekly interactions would be ending,” noted Angie. “Chris worked so hard to make sure our family was in our new home before Christmas,” which is definitely not something you get from your typical builder. It was important to Chris that Angie, John, and their two boys would get to celebrate Christmas in their home, which is just another indicator how Homes by Chris makes the client their top priority. The Siddens are just another example of how custom builders HBC don’t just build you a house, they build your home and your story.