This was taken on the outdoor patio of their custom home and marks their last family portrait before their family is joined by a new addition this Christmas!
We share a lot of stories about the custom homes we build, and in large part, it’s because we’re proud of the work we do. However, we can’t take all the credit. Every custom built home is a collaborative process with the clients we work with, and they all bring their unique inspirations, designs, and functions to the design process. To give more light to this, we want to share some customer profile stories with you.
Introducing Erica Heck
To start off this new series, we talked to Erica Heck about her experience with J Thompson Builders. We collaborated with Erica and her family to build a custom home for them in Earlham, Iowa. Full of custom designs and homey details, their house was designed to embrace the beauty around them while hosting beautiful memories for their growing family. Last year, their home was featured in the October issue of Welcome Home Des Moines magazine.
It’s easy to see why this custom home was featured!
The Choice to Build with J Thompson Builders
When the Heck family decided they wanted to build a new home for their growing family, they knew they wanted a builder who specialized in custom home design. Chris Heck, Erica’s husband, knew of J Thompson Builders through his business and arranged a meeting. It didn’t take long to decide it was a good fit. According to Erica, she “knew after the second meeting that we did not need to meet with other builders. [Jeremy] grasped the vision we had right away.”
The sleek and timeless flow of this custom kitchen design is going to host some amazing meals in the years to come.
We love when we can give a customer exactly what they want, and an important part of delivering to expectation is knowing what the client expects. We do our best to communicate clearly and effectively and fortunately, it seems like we hit our mark with the Hecks.
Erica had this to say about her experience:
“We met with Jeremy directly/one on one from the very beginning and the process was laid back, yet professional throughout. From start to finish, Jeremy was our primary contact. Once the house was going up, we knew and had interaction regularly with all of his staff (the very people that were piecing our home together). We never felt as if we did not know what was going on during construction and if we had questions, Jeremy was always the first direct contact.”
Bringing Their Own Ideas to the Floor(plan)
With a client like Erica, it was easy to have a productive back and forth. She came prepared with her own sketches for the home, which inspired much of the final floorplan. Having a client with a clear idea of what they want in a house makes our architect’s job a lot easier. As Erica advises, “Take time and figure out what you want. This will help you make decisions confidently and timely throughout the process. Have patience throughout and remember, it takes time to get things right and you want them done right the first time.”
While that’s not to say a client needs to have everything figured out before they come to us, the more you know, the more time we can spend perfecting the details.
Who needs a TV with a view like that?
Some of Erica’s favorite features include the windows which “are perfectly positioned to capture the incredible views of our pond and the Iowa landscape that is our backyard.” The outdoor patio space offers a great place to hang out with friends and family when the weather is nice, but these gorgeous window views allow the family to appreciate the view outdoors all year round.
Final Thoughts from Erica
“We love our home. It was a dream come true to be able to design it, see it through completion and to live in it and make it our own. I was fortunate enough to oversee the project right alongside Jeremy and I relish my part in every detail (large and small). I am NOT one of those clients that would say “I won’t ever build again.””
You can never have too many stuffed animals.
The house will be a bit fuller this year as the Hecks are expecting a little girl around Christmas! Congratulations on your growing family Erica and Chris! Your little ones are going to have a gorgeous home to grow up in.
To see other custom home building projects, check out The River Barn Project.