Each one unique. Each one evolving. Spending an average of six months in a fluid process of customer participation and builder progress, moving through the design to discover the upgrades, helping a dream come to reality, causes the builder to form an emotional attachment to the project making it hard, almost sad, to hand the keys to the customer and let it go on closing day.
The reward is that the new homeowner feels that building with you was a fabulous process, that the end product exceeds their expectations. That you were able to translate their ideas and needs into reality and complete the dream. That in the end you have built them something that, in the beginning, they could not have accurately described. That’s what John and Terri Degen told me over lunch on a rainy afternoon at their home in Middle Grove, N.Y.
John and Terri own DegenHomes - a truly custom home building company. John Degen has more than two decades of experience in the home building industry and harbors a lifelong passion for woodworking and detail born from childhood memories of working alongside his grandfather in their woodworking shop and assisting him in building the family retreat on Babcock Lake.
John enjoys the challenge of staying true to a style of architecture. Whether building an Adirondack retreat, a Victorian mansion or a vacation bungalow, following through on the style and making it come to life is what inspires him.
New products also hold influence. State of the art materials, fixtures and systems inspire John to find ways to incorporate efficiency and modern convenience into even the most traditional design. While John’s favorite architectural style changes often, he admits to admiring Frank Lloyd Wright, not so much for the traditional reasons - his clean lines and Art Deco style - but for the fact that Wright was a “big picture thinker” going beyond the design of the physical structure to also create lighting, furniture and other details that worked in harmony with the building.
This is where John’s wife, Terri, comes in. Terri handles the details of the living space, creating not simply a home, but an environment. A look around their own home reveals where Terri’s talents truly shine. From the bar in the gameroom that is actually a shadowbox displaying golf balls collected on various vacations, to the custom painted base of the clawfoot tub; from the banister carved from the center of their Christmas tree to the rustic beadboard backsplash, it all works.
Color scheme, tile selection, decorative drawer pulls - every last detail makes their home unique. And Terri does the same for her customers, resulting in floorplans that figure in things like window size and likely furniture placement rather than simply the number of bedrooms and baths.
The benefit of running the company together as spouses is that they “get” each other. A state of being “in sync” which in turn helps them connect deeper with their customers as well.
By the end of the time it takes to build a DegenHome, Terri and John often have befriended their customers. Terri has been known to deliver handmade holiday wreaths for her customers’ front doors, and John has paid visits to customers months, even years, past closing just to say “hello” and check up on his product.
And, if you build a custom home with DegenHomes you may very well find a special housewarming gift incorporated into your home. It may be an upgrade you’d pondered but decided to wait on, or a signature piece of woodworking or cabinetry. Sometimes it’s the perfect piece of artwork to add that finishing touch to your great room. Terri calls it their “personal touch upgrade.”
The Degens are currently working on Battle Ridge Manor near Saratoga Lake in Stillwater. For more information, or to set up a meeting with the Degens call RealtyUSA Sales Agent Marion Desantis at 378-2200.
