That’s precisely why Joe Garcia, owner of G&G Custom Homes, hires Addington and his crew for his builds. Addington reaches out to homeowners several months in advance to walk around the house, look at terrain & elevation and begin brainstorming possible designs. He encourages them to think “big picture” by asking what’s important to them. For example, do they have kids or pets? Do they envision adding a pool or pergola down the line?

He notes that while a lot of folks outside of the new construction industry will want to pull the trigger without a design, his crew won’t work without one.

“It all starts and ends with a design, which provides clear instructions for everyone,” says Addington. “If I know you want to install a pool in a year or two, then we’re not going to put irrigation and a big tree in the middle of your yard because we’d have to tear it all back out. If, however, you plan ahead and start mapping out irrigation and landscaping around that, the process is more seamless.”

Oftentimes homeowners have a hard time visualizing what something will look like so Addington, whose mission is to enhance his clients’ properties while exceeding their expectations to the point of a referral, provides either 2D and 3D design renderings or even fly-through CADs with drones.

The Gill family, who recently built with G&G Custom Homes, has a lot that sits atop a hill with a drop-off, so Addington’s team built mega walls all the way around the backyard and elevated it. Since the family has small children, they created green space and also added steps down to a lower level that houses the golf cart garage and firepit.