The Custom Build 2022 - Caron Custom Homes

DESIGNER ARCHITECT BUILDER

Text: R.J. Weick

Photography: Chris Jeong and Tony Soluri

In the details W

While quality and detail are integral to the end-to-end client experience provided by Caron Custom Homes of Decatur, Michigan, it is truly a passion for building lasting relationships with their clients that is at the heart of every job. Backed by a well-planned creative and informative building process, the Caron Custom Homes team is committed to not only pushing the build envelope, but also guiding clients through a nuanced design-build journey to a final product reflective of personal vision, a collaborative culture, and a high-level of craftsmanship.

To Paul Caron, owner of Caron Custom Homes, the design-build journey can be a life-changing experience for clients as they navigate the challenges of the ups and downs throughout the process, but at the end of the day, it is the personal element of the build that drives him to deliver—and exceed—their expectations.

The company

Caron Custom Homes is a design-build firm specializing in custom homes, general contracting, custom cabinetry, and woodworking services with roughly 20 years of experience. Based in Decatur, Michigan, the company works with clients throughout the Michiana, New Buffalo, Union Pier, St. Joseph, Sawyer, and Lake Michigan region.

The company surrounds itself with a great team, from an office manager and estimator to an inhouse project manager and full-time onsite project management, among others, to ensure their clients’ needs and expectations are met. Caron said they want their clients to expect nothing but the absolute best from them and the firm’s growth throughout the years has led to the company being more successful and collaborating more with other professionals based on their tried-and-proven process.

“It really comes down to creating a team, and that team is not just one person, it is many people. By surrounding yourself with good people, you will be successful in anything you do,” Caron said. “I think architects, interior designers, homeowners—all of them can gravitate toward that type of thinking, and it is a type of culture you are creating. We’ve been able to work with so many talented architects, interior designers, and tradesmen. I feel very good about the process and the team we have created in our company.”

Lakefront modern

For the clients of this modern, lakefront home, defined by its gabled vernacular and open

interior layout, they initially looked to work with the Caron Custom Homes team based on a couple of referrals and for Mike Palmer, AIA, the level of engagement throughout the process was appreciated from his perspective as homeowner-architect.

“Overall, we just had a great experience. What led us to Caron Custom Homes and to Paul really started with word-of-mouth from two different sources—a neighbor and another person we knew—both of whom said they had or knew of somebody that had a good experience with him,” Mike Palmer said.

“From there, we solicited a limited list of three contractors we thought were qualified to build a custom home and after we met Paul, we toured one of his projects under

construction and that was very convincing. We thought, ‘oh, he’s pulling off a really nice project here, I’m sure he could do ours.’ I’m the architect for the house and I really like working in partnership with a contractor during the construction phase, so we could really see ourselves working with Paul,” Mike Palmer added.

For the Palmers, who are residents of the Chicago, Illinois area, the vision was to build a vacation home that would be a welcoming destination within walking distance of Lake Michigan, while also offering an easy commute back-and-forth. The site, which happened to be located next door to another home Caron

Custom Homes had built, was a vacant, corner lot near Lake Michigan in a lakefront community roughly 10 miles from New Buffalo and only 70 miles from downtown Chicago. Caron noted the property is located only a few blocks from the lake within an older association and though it had previously featured an existing home, the structure had been demolished prior to being put up on the market.

Mike Palmer also noted the idea behind the vacation home was to create a welcoming destination that felt comfortable in scale, while also remaining contextual in architectural vernacular to the broader southwest Michigan region.

“We wanted a home that is welcoming to our family for weekends, because we have four, adult-aged children, and we also wanted a comfortable feel when just the two of us are here. We really wanted a home that was modern in feel, but would fit the southwest Michigan, sort of vacation home vibe,” Mike Palmer said.

“We created a modern, rectangular, two-story plan that fits our long site and we created a simple, gable form that is broken down into two volumes, so just a long, straightforward but modern approach. On the interior, we focused on bright, white spaces that really would maximize daylight with larger-than-normal windows and we wanted

a straightforward, modern feel on the interior,” Mike Palmer added.

The design, which also incorporates a single beam, floating staircase in the foyer offering direct sightline to the exterior beyond, is simple, albeit intuitive, where open concept living and modern aesthetic blend an organic materiality and a strong relationship to its surrounding outdoor environment, warming the spaces. White oak flooring, custom cabinetry, and concrete paneling on the fireplace surround, are complemented by a mix of fabrics and an integration of color such as the blue chairs in the three-season room and the bold-hued kitchen island.

Caron noted the clean-lined exterior and open concept interior featuring natural wood tones that warm the design, aligned with their vision of building a home that fit their style and taste and would serve as a comfortable place for the family to get away from the city and unplug.

The roughly 3,500-square-foot home features an open concept kitchen, dining, and living areas complete with a double-sided fireplace with concrete paneling surrounding. Flanking the central gathering and entertaining space, there is a screened-in porch that backs up to the fireplace and a master suite

opposite it, featuring custom-made walnut vanity crafted by Caron Custom Homes in the master bathroom. On the upper level, there are three bedrooms, two full-bathrooms, and a second-floor office space above the master suite. There is also a lower level with laundry and recreational space.

“I feel like it has different places for our family to go when they are here within the house and outside. We have a screened-in porch that everyone loves, our family spends a lot of time out there, and we have a nice big yard that is very accessible. From my perspective, I like that it is not too big, because just

with the upkeep of it, it is easy to manage,” Mary Palmer said.

“Our last house was built in 1893, so this has just been an incredible pleasure to have a brand new house and we come back-andforth from Chicago, so it is really convenient for us. It doesn’t take that long for us to get over here,” Mary Palmer added.

Fine tuning the details

It is a convenience that extends from the commute to other elements like the integrated mechanical and energy systems in the home, which includes a modern Wi-

Fi-based thermostat that allows for climate control at a distance throughout a given season. The clients also noted the team at Caron Custom Homes was committed to finding solutions throughout the process and Caron’s creativity and experience led to other details integrated into the project, such as the product used in the screened-in porch area that made it a three-season space with an outdoor-porch feel.

“He was very creative, because he has such a good process down that allows him to do these things that are a little bit unusual, but he would always have the confidence that we would work it out together and he did a great job with it,” Mike Palmer said.

“As I finished construction drawings, we worked together on what was in the budget and how he would build some of the specialty details and effects that we were looking for to make it modern, and he was very enthusiastic about trying to work out any of those details. Like, we had a stair that has open risers that gives a modern feel, indoor-outdoor space when you first come in and Paul was very interested in working with me and did a great job on the workmanship on trying to make that come out great, just as an example,” Palmer added.

Caron noted it is the high level of detail of the home that stand out as distinctive to him about the project, working in collaboration with the homeowners, from the integration of

energy efficient technology and custom cabinetry to the board-form concrete finish on the exterior of the screened-in porch.

“It is all the fine-tuned details that stand out to me the absolute most. There are a lot of neat concepts that were put into place, but the fine details are what really makes the biggest component of this. All the selections, the colors, the shapes, the sizes: they were exactly what they were looking for,” Caron said. “And I think that is true for all of our projects, that it is the fine tuning, it is the fine details, it is the selection processes and working through all these items together, and making sure that our team works through all of those with them as well, that is how we get to a great finish.”