Consumers building homes in the Washington, D.C., area have become more sophisticated in recent years and now demand a greater level of personalization in their designs than most builders are currently willing to accommodate, according to Rob Cappellini, CEO and co-founder of Evergreene Homes.
“Much of Evergreene Homes’ opportunity in our market is derived from the appreciation our homeowners have for the designs and the flexibility that we offer,” Cappellini said. “Most builders have a pretty rigid process, which is born out of necessity, but we’ve worked really hard to create a process that allows them to have more involvement on the design side with a broader range of choices for their exterior home design and finishes throughout the home.”
Evergreene has focused on preserving efficiencies and keeping costs low. Taken as a whole, their process allows them to build for people, not the market.
Central to this effort is the company’s in-house design and architectural services, which allows them to more clearly communicate with clients to avoid changes and setbacks, which enables them to deliver a home their clients love.
“We really strive to create spaces that reflect the way families live today,” said Cappellini.
For today’s active families that means more open floorplans, innovative mud rooms and laundry rooms, comfortable porch spaces, and large open kitchens that connect seamlessly to inviting great rooms or extended living areas outdoors. Formal spaces, on the other hand, aren’t getting as much attention.
When it comes to exteriors, Greg Moore, director of architecture for Evergreene Homes, said clients in the D.C. and surrounding areas have moved beyond brick exteriors. They’re looking for a cleaner, more cohesive look and have been drawn recently to modern farmhouse-inspired designs.
The style has grown extremely popular, but demands an expanded palette of materials and subtle changes, which brick and vinyl exteriors cannot match.
Moore’s solution is to use James Hardie® fiber cement products, which can easily transition between board and batten, lap, and shingle profiles. That flexibility allows his team to create simple, clean lines without resulting in a plain look. What’s more is clients often demand James Hardie products for the aesthetic quality and better resale value.
“The different materials and colors, the durability, and the name recognition are all things that really attracted us to the company,” Moore said.
When construction is finished and the punch list is complete, Evergreene’s clients get a house that stands out for all of the right reasons, while still blending into the surrounding neighborhood. For Cappellini, one of the most gratifying parts of the job is seeing how homeowners react to the finished house and then hearing from them after they have settled in to share how much they love their new home.