Get Ready to Move!

Three luxury home builders want to welcome you home.

Written by Marion Butterworth

The Washington metro area has lots to offer its residents - an abundance of jobs, clean, efficient mass transit, some of the best schools in the country, a city steeped in history and the museums, monuments and memorials that embody the life of our nation.

Without a doubt, this is a great place to live, but the wealth of choices can be daunting. Before you buy a new home, determine what type of builder you want.

There are three basic types of residential builders: production, semi-custom and custom. Production builders are those who build standardized models in high volume. Semi-custom builders also work from standard floor plans but are more flexible, willing to make changes for a price. Custom builders construct one-of-a-kind houses designed to the buyer's specifications. Custom homes cost more and usually take longer to build than production or semi-custom homes; however, buyers end up with their dream home.

Researching builders and visiting new home sites is time consuming. In an effort to simplify your search, we offer you a peek inside houses designed and constructed by some of our area¹s finest luxury home builders.

Gruver-Cooley: Sourcing Specialists

Photo courtesy of Gruver-Cooley

How does one engineer a wall to support a couple of 1,200 pound stone tablets? For the answer, when Ed and Edwina Rogers were ready to build their house in McLean, they turned to Gruver-Cooley.

Photos courtesy of Gruver-Cooley

"Our interior designer, Stacey Grigg Saidy from Drawing Room Designs in Great Falls, recommended Gruver-Cooley. They did a tiny job in our last house, putting an apartment with a kitchen in the basement," says Edwina. Pleased with that job, the Rogers engaged the company, headed by Chip Gruver, to build their new home. "He's third generation," Edwina explains. "They've been around for more than 75 years."

The Rogers had several unique requirements for their home. In addition to space to showcase an extensive and unusual art and artifacts collection, they needed the right main floor space with an easy flow for the large fundraising events that, as a couple of lawyer-lobbists, they often give. They also needed "nice, private, separate quarters" for the nannies of their two young children, according to Edwina. "Gruver-Cooley worked in a complete apartment with its own laundry and kitchen," she says.

They enjoy the gallery built specifically for their art. "It has rods so that we can change out the paintings just like in a regular art gallery," explains Edwina. To support the stone tablets that came from a Taoist temple in Taiwan, Gruver-Cooley put steel beams in the floor. The home also includes doors from a castle in Rajastan, India.

Photos courtesy of Gruver-Cooley

Another of the Rogers' requirements was room for guests. Says Edwina, "We wanted a guest suite equivalent to one at the Ritz-Carlton." Not only did they get it, but Gruver-Cooley customized large antique armoires to accommodate TVs. "They even put pocket doors on some," says Edwina. "No job is too small for them."

"They have excellent sources for attractive basic materials like air returns and vents, medallions, moldings, stone and wood. We don't have any aluminum vents. Some are reproductions that look like they're out of turn-of-the-century grand hotels." The kitchen's exposed beams came from a barn in Maryland. "They were able to source fabulous mantels," she says. "We have nine, and they're all very different. Gruver-Cooley simplifies the selection by doing the legwork and research. They met with us every Friday. They bottom-line the choices, so our selection was quick and easy. We had heard horror stories about builders, but we never had a problem."

Equity Homes: Contemporary Colonials

Photo courtesy of Equity Homes

Equity Homes appeal to move-up buyers and those who want an updated house with the latest in modern technology and conveniences.

Photo courtesy of Equity Homes

Dr. Jagun, a Potomac nephrology specialist, was looking for a new home, and she didn't want to leave the area. Fortunately, she found more than she had hoped for nearby.

Located just minutes from River Road in Potomac, Equity's Stoney Creek community offers the space, both inside and out, that the doctor ordered. Situated on two-acre home sites, the Buckingham model, one of six offered by Equity at Stoney Creek, has everything a discriminating buyer could want: up to three kitchens and garages for up to five cars, dual staircases and a sumptuous master suite with sitting room, pass-through fireplace and lavish bathroom. Dramatic two-story foyers, arched entryways, architectural columns, nine to eleven foot ceilings and transom windows all attest to thoughtful attention to the little luxuries in life.

In addition to options such as an in-law suite above a two-car garage, wiring for technology, a rear sunroom, a veranda off the owners' suite, coffered and box ceilings, and closets, garages, window treatments and wine cellars customized by Home Design Elements, the Buckingham boasts many standard features that are considered extras by other builders, including a side sunroom, three-car garage and a brick exterior on all four sides.

"The entrance is my favorite feature," says Jagun. "It's absolutely grand. I lived in London for a while, and the name 'Buckingham' suits the house perfectly. It's palatial," she adds.

Photo courtesy of Equity Homes

As a commissioner for African Affairs, appointed by Mayor Anthony Williams, Dr. Jagun does quite a bit of entertaining. She says, "The backyard is perfect. We went into the house and loved it, but the back sold me. It allows entertaining on a diplomatic scale."

She says that it was the kitchen that sold her friends, though. "I'm an okay cook, but for them, it's a kitchen to die for. Everyone has his own favorite part. My son's is the basement entertainment area. Everything's customized," explains Jagun.

The sales manager for Stoney Creek, Debbie Paschal, explains that what distinguishes Equity from other production builders is their huge selection of options. "We have a full scale design center with two professional designers to assist clients in personalizing their homes. We also allow a certain number of 'special pricing requests' that other builders won't touch."

Mitchell & Best Homebuilders: Invitation to Change

Photo courtesy of Mitchell & Best Homebuilders

What makes Mitchell & Best's approach to building semi-custom homes unique is their willingness to accommodate clients' preferences. A recent purchaser of the Wellington model at Fieldstone Farm in Purcellville, Va., Frances Conrad says, "I liked the floor plan but didn¹t want our home to look like the model."

She and her husband Steve, an attorney, loved the area and had been looking for a custom home, but were put off by the 18 to 24 month time frame that they were told it would take to build one. "This home was practically a miracle. It was only 11 months from the time we signed the contract until we moved in. They are so big that they already have their subs lined up, so there¹s no time spent searching for qualified people," she says.

Photo courtesy of Mitchell & Best Homebuilders

Mitchell & Best helped the Conrads tailor the Wellington, designed by architect Bruce Hutchinson of Hutchinson & Associates in Rockville, exactly to their liking. "They welcomed the changes we wanted. It's part of their mindset," Conrad explains. "We didn't change the blueprint much, just moved one door and redesigned the basement to match the model." The Conrads took advantage of the many options available to customize the woodwork, kitchen, plumbing fixtures and flooring, though.

For the kitchen, "which I love," says Conrad, "we did use their vendor, Stuart Kitchens. When I didn¹t find the stone flooring I wanted in the Mitchell & Best options, they said, 'Tell us what you want.' They went to outside sources and found other vendors that had it."

Photo courtesy of Mitchell & Best Homebuilders

Eight-foot-high made-to-order woodwork distinguishes the Conrads' Wellington from others. "I brought pictures from magazines of millwork and trim, and they created it," Conrad explains. "Every bathroom is unique. We don't have any standard cabinetry." Instead of a granite fireplace surround, one of Mitchell & Best's options, Conrad wanted a more traditional look for the dining room fireplace, so they opted for "white brick with a custom-made mantel."

The Conrads wanted a walk-out basement, but the lot didn't allow for one. Mitchell & Best accommodated their desire by installing French doors that lead out to a stone patio flanked by stone walls. "I didn't want a dark, narrow staircase up," says Conrad. Instead, 15-foot-wide stairs flow from the patio up to where a pool will eventually be.

The homeowner determines how they want their home to look outside as well as in. "You tell them how you want the front walkways and driveway to look. They ask you to draw a picture of what you want." The Conrads expanded the width of the portion of their driveway closest to the secondary garage by six feet to make a safe play area for their two young children.

Linda Mitchell Ellington, vice president of sales and marketing, explains, "It's rare to find any two Mitchell & Best houses exactly alike because we offer so many options."