MAKING HOMES

A conversation with Brit Portrey, founder and creative director of James Grey Homes and Rentals

BY KATI HANNA PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATALIE CARTWRIGHT

Upon meeting Brit Portrey, one is instantly impressed by her extraordinary talent for asking thought-provoking questions that might help one gain a deeper insight into themselves. She is an accomplished dream maker, and her clients highly value her genuine interest in learning and understanding their unique stories. This is what makes Brit such a gifted builder; she never embarks on any project until she has a thorough comprehension of each client’s story, hopes and motivations.

Brit, tell us a little about yourself and why you wanted to be a homebuilder.

I knew I wanted to build since college, but it was tough trying to tap into the local building community. Since starting in the industry in 2015, I have considered giving up multiple times because I never found a role that was quite the right fit. I didn’t realize what I wanted my role to be until I had my own family. It was at this point in my life that I understood the importance of the home and creating a joyful, safe place for families, where a lifetime of memories can be made. The only way to do this is by listening deeply to the stories our clients share with us and knowing what is important in their lives and in their homes.

You shared a unique client experience that was the genesis for starting James Grey Homes. Tell us about that.

There’s just no one like Faizah [Bhatti]. A successful doctor from Pakistan whose five-foot-tall frame is stuffed to the brim with compassion, Faizah is someone who will bake you a gingerbread cake because you mentioned it once in passing; she’s also the person who will call you out for making excuses or failing to live up to your potential. She’s fiery, all passion and heart — and when we met to discuss her home, she had a clear vision for what would make her happy. She had always dreamed of having cobalt blue countertops.

At the time of this project, I was working for another company and learned so much about the power in asking the client questions and truly knowing who the client is. I spent time with Faizah, listening and learning, respecting her vision and showing her I cared. She shared with me her journey of leaving her religion, finding a home and love in America and, most importantly, finding herself and a renewed love of her culture during it all. This wasn’t a remodel of her 100-year-old home, it was an homage to her traditions and a celebration of her identity. This was her “why,” and the countertops were at the center of it all. That is where I believe I am uniquely different — by taking this time with Faizah, I understood why the blue cobalt color was so important.

So much of the root of a client’s emotion toward a remodel or build can be found in the tension of what’s happening inside and outside of the client’s home. Faizah’s two-week-on/twoweek-off schedule as a neonatologist at OU Children’s dictated much of the temperament throughout the remodel. Being on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and working specifically with newborns, took an emotional toll on Faizah, and I could see her carrying it with her each time she’d arrive at her home.

I advocated for, and got, all nine feet of those cobalt blue countertops for Faizah. When the countertops were finally installed, I was the only one there. I stayed and waited for Faizah to return home from a grueling overnight shift. Around 10 a.m., she walked through the doors and saw her cobalt blue countertops, and she cried. Composing herself, Faizah hugged me and said, “It’s because of what you do — allowing me to obsess over hardware, finding solutions for my funky Turkish light fixtures and advocating for these countertops — that I can fill my cup up, and do what I do.”

That’s when I knew I had to form James Grey Homes. I wanted to do more of this, for more people just like Faizah, who just needed to be heard, who needed someone to advocate for their vision, and to be there along the way to make sure things got done right.

There are many homebuilders in the area; what makes James Grey Homes different?

I believe the secret sauce of James Grey Homes is that we consider ourselves homemakers. It’s why the first thing we do in a new client relationship is ask our clients their “why,” and listen hard and lean in when they answer. We see homes not as four walls and a roof, but as the space you will spend your most vulnerable moments. We believe there is a reverence to what we do, and that belief shows up in every part of our work.

The other way we distinguish ourselves is through the James Grey client experience; we have built a very intentional client experience from the first to the last meeting. At any time during the building or renovation, our clients have access to all the details of their project. Our clients know every member of the team that will work on their home. We focus on building trust in the first client meeting, and work hard to maintain it throughout the life of the project.

You also own James Grey Rentals. Tell us why this company makes a perfect sister company for James Grey Homes.

When COVID began, many people were affected financially and looking for ways to diversify their income sources. We knew there was a need in the Oklahoma City market and started James Grey Rentals in 2020. Our goal with this company was to create Airbnb rentals and provide top-notch rental management services for families in the Oklahoma City metro.

The two connect by providing a solution to one another. Usually, two factors that stand in the way of people starting a large remodel are cash and the need for a temporary home. James Grey Rentals helps clients with both because it gives clients a place to stay during their remodel and an avenue for passive income in the future.

Who is your ideal client?

Our clients are wanting a new home built or a remodel or repairs for their current home, and they are also looking for a team that has a strong desire to know them and their dreams. Our team will listen, find your why and advocate for our clients’ best interests from start to finish.

For our rental company, our ideal clients are looking for a property management company that — while providing the operational and janitorial management services — also wants to form a unique visitor experience rooted in the client’s story, history and personality. If that’s also important to you, we’re a great fit.

As a business owner, what has been your greatest success to date?

I was visiting home recently and attending my parents’ church when one of the elders, Sister Sandra, struck up a conversation with me telling me all there was to know about my business. Coming from a little mill town in Louisiana, you know you’ve made it when your parents tell their church friends about your company. We get to do some amazing things at James Grey, but nothing beats making your parents proud.

Where do you see James Grey Homes in 5 years?

We want to be uniquely positioned as the alternative to the typical frustrating, procrastinating, dictatorial builders who apply their vision to your home, rather than taking the time to discover and value your vision for your home. We want to create so much demand for empathetic and thoughtful builders that we simply can’t do it all ourselves, and thus a spectrum of other nontraditional builders and companies begins to grow in our market to meet the rising demand for something better than what we’ve always had. For our company, I want the young women on my team to confidently be running their projects from start to finish, slowly working me out of a job.

Yet most of all, I want more families in my city to have spaces that look and feel like their very own definition of home — a definition that has always been there, but just needed a little help getting to the surface.

We all enjoy life’s luxuries; what do you consider to be your favorite “luxiere” in life?

Working with Justin, my husband and business partner, and being able to bring our children along from time to time, is a real luxury. In truth, there is no such thing as “work/life balance.” It’s all just life, so having the opportunity to include my family in my work really does feel like a gift. Turns out, you can be a homemaker and a homemaker all at once, and it’s great. I’ll never take it for granted. •

Kati Hanna has established an outstanding record of success as a partner with The Mettise Group, providing over two decades of consulting services to businesses in their growth stages. She has made a significant impact on hundreds of firms through her effective coaching, consulting and leadership development strategies. Her direct and innovative approach to problem solving has earned her a solid reputation as a reliable and valued advisor.