Builder Ben Coats Invites Us Inside of His Wonderful Loved ones Home in Bluffview

This story is portion of The Very best Builders in Dallas 2021 function. Simply click here to see the 2021 winners.

A several summers back, Jen and Ben Coats and their five children set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Packed in an Airstream motor home, the spouse and children of 7 clocked 4,000 miles as they cruised the expanse of the American West. But when the epic road excursion ultimately arrived to an conclusion and the family headed back again to the Park Cities—an area recognised for great deal measurements that are the correct opposite of expansive—they begun to glimpse at their home in a entire new mild. “We were being just like, person, these tons are so tiny,” says Ben, “and you’re so sandwiched up against your neighbors.”

But the Coatses would not feel cramped for lengthy. As the owner of Coats Residences, Ben has an within line on accessible tons in Dallas, and when he laid eyes on a selected fifty percent-acre natural beauty in Bluffview, the veteran homebuilder understood he’d identified just what his outdoor-loving household necessary. “It had the most experienced 40-foot-tall magnolias bordering pretty much the total assets, front and back again, and we just fell in adore,” he states. Consequently began a new type of experience for Ben and Jen: generating their individual customized home. “I establish customized properties all the time—that’s what we do—but under no circumstances for ourselves,” suggests Ben. “We have performed various total intestine remodels, but this was our 1st new develop.”

Fabricated by Orona Steel Creations, the suspended steel fireplace separating the loved ones room from the dining room is Ben’s beloved element in the property. Completely open on all four sides, it appears to float in between the spaces.

Nathan Schroder

With the tables turned and Ben sitting down in the shopper seat for a transform, he last but not least had the liberty to establish the home that he and his family always wanted—and that intended using a just-say-no tactic to just about anything stylish. “We needed our residence to adhere out in a way that was super considerate, super artistic, and super custom,” he states. “We needed folks to drive by and sluggish down and say, ‘Wait a minute. I’ve never seen that just before.’ ”

As a consequence, the Coatses’ 6,800-square-foot household teems with fantastic options, from the exterior clad wholly in cedar shingles (much more prevalent in Cape Cod than Dallas, Texas) to the household room’s entirely open hearth (“It’s like you have a campfire going,” Ben says). But the family’s desire home would not have been possible devoid of the suitable workforce in place, which is why they enlisted longtime collaborator David Stocker of SHM Architects and inside designer Erin Sander. “It’s fun performing with Ben,” suggests Stocker. “He’s possibly viewed as a great deal as we have, so he’s hoping to look for some new points. Which is generally inspiring.”

Also inspiring is Ben and Jen’s commitment to clean up dwelling, from the food they try to eat and the bathtub solutions they use to the setting up components preferred for their home. Within and out, the pair avoided chemicals every time possible and employed water-based mostly sealants during, which limited the selection of harmful toxins coming into the house. From the exterior shingles and diamond-polished concrete flooring to the white oak kitchen cabinetry and white oak ceiling, pretty much every single element was left in its normal point out. “It was a get-win to keep a whole lot of things unstained and unfinished since we preferred how they seemed, much too,” Ben states.

1 of the home’s most putting attributes is the glass-walled shower in the key bathroom.

Nathan Schroder

Fabricated by Orona Metallic Creations, the suspended metal fire separating the spouse and children room from the dining room is Ben’s favorite attribute in the property. Absolutely open up on all 4 sides, it seems to float among the areas.

Nathan Schroder

Speaking of appears to be like, the home’s interiors necessary to strike the best stability concerning loved ones-pleasant consolation and elevated up to date. Throughout the working day, the hardworking property serves as an off-web site conference location for Ben, as very well as a homeschooling zone for Jen and the young children, who assortment in age from 4 to 11. Then, at night time, it is a place for the loved ones to entertain mates or unwind with a home-cooked meal and a motion picture. “They adore the richness and organic and natural attributes of a great deal of wood tones on the inside,” says Sander, “but then balancing it with a minor bit of that edgy, modern sensibility in some of the fixtures and lighting.” Cozy and chic appear alongside one another most notably in the office environment, the place Sander combined a shapely felt pendant and tree root coffee desk with a tailor made sofa in a sturdy, neutral material. That includes ridged walnut cubes, the room’s wall-sized metallic shelves, an additional personalized structure by Sander, pop in opposition to the polished plaster walls and ceiling.

These innovative tailor made touches paired with the home’s bold architectural moves and unexpected materials alternatives make the Coats household a shining illustration of the magic that can occur when talent and fearlessness blend. “At the conclude of the day we got to force the envelope,” claims Ben. “And we were not afraid to go massive or go home.”

Combining operate and play, the gameroom is the place Jen homeschools all 5 children.

Nathan Schroder

Home Faculty

Taking into consideration creating your personal desire residence? Primarily based on his professional—and, now, personal—experience, Ben Coats has some lessons to train you.

Be legitimate to you. “Specializing a home for your family members is critical. That’s the rationale you’re constructing a customized home, to make it uniquely yours,” Ben says. “Sometimes it is correct to toss resale out the window if you know you are likely to dwell in your home permanently. So do what’s very best for you and your loved ones and how you want your family to stay, not what’s best for the marketplace.”

Decide what areas you truly want. “The largest thing that we’ve realized is that we do not use various of our bedrooms,” he claims. “So as you are considering about designing a home, definitely just take a fantastic challenging appear at what spaces you are going to use on a each day foundation. And if you aren’t heading to use it on a day by day foundation, look at combining two rooms that are not likely to be used frequently into a single room so that you’re having additional utilization out of that place.”

Get your group built early. “The sooner the better,” says Ben. “You can get far more out of a undertaking when you hire your designer day a person. I brought on my landscape architect [Paper Kites Studio] a very little little bit afterwards in the challenge, and I assume there are points she could have accomplished with the genuine architecture to intensify some of the landscape architecture features—because the house parameters and basis had been presently set on the plans—so which is a person that I didn’t consider my individual tips.”

And be sure to create the ideal workforce. “We always convey to clientele when you’re choosing an architect or designer, you want to glimpse for 3 matters,” he claims. “You want to get together with them and appreciate them as individuals. You want to make absolutely sure that their finances is aligned with your funds and that they can attain your money plans. And that your designs are aligned.”

Interior Design by Erin Sander Design

Created by Coats Households

Architecture by SHM Architects

Landscape Architecture by Paper Kites Studio

Florals by Haile Wossen