Building a Custom Home

Building a Custom Home in the Village at Willow Grove: Part 2

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Welcome to our second installment following an in-depth, behind the scenes look at building a custom home with Bardwell Homes in Willow Grove. In Part 1, we explored the inspiration, excitement, and challenge of the initial planning phase as prospective homeowners collaborate with architects and builders to settle on a plan that captures the ideal vision within the desired budget. Now, we take a closer look at the design details and personal choices available when you build a custom home.

1. Can you describe the inspiration behind the home’s style and layout?

My husband and I have traveled all over Europe, and we’re very drawn to timeless, old-world design. As we were looking through exterior images, we kept coming back to this modern Tudor look, which blends the classical elements of a Tudor home with contemporary design features and materials, creating a look that feels both historic and modern. This defines what we were hoping to achieve, so we’re continuing the blend of historic and current through the new house and landscaping.

2. What elements of your custom home are you most excited about?

We chose to go the custom route because there are a few things in our current house that don’t work well with how we live. First, we have an open concept living area with no place other than a bedroom to visit or watch a movie. So, we are bringing back the family den, which is going to be a comfortable place the family can be in the evenings (or if my husband and I need to get away from a house full of kids).

building a custom home - family den

Second, we currently have our sink in our island. And, with a husband who is always cooking for people, it makes it difficult to host gatherings when there’s stacks of pots and pans on the island, where people naturally want to congregate. So, we have added a scullery to our new house, which has a second sink and dishwasher, double ovens, the pantry, and plenty of countertop space to prep food and/or stash dishes. There’s a door on it too, so it can all truly be out of sight, out of mind, until we’re ready to tackle it. Many people didn’t know what this was at first, but I’ve seen a few articles saying sculleries are making a comeback, so we may start to see more of these!

3. How has Bardwell guided you through the design and materials selection process?

It can be very tempting when looking online at pictures to want a specific look, but unless we can source it locally AND can find a trade to install it, it’s going to be tricky to achieve certain looks we see on the internet. So I looked through many of Bardwell’s pictures of past jobs to see what’s been done before.

building a custom home - scullery

Even though we are building a fully custom home, I’ve learned it’s best to stick with the builder’s trade and vendor base as much as possible, which helps alleviate hiccups and unknown costs that may arise by going too far out of the sandbox.

4. What personalized features or unique details did you prioritize in your home design?

We had limited space to work with for the master bath, so the architect presented an option for barrel arches above the vanity and tub to give some architectural interest to the room, which is one of my favorite details in the house. 

Sometimes limitations can produce beautiful results.

custom home building process in baton rouge - primary bathroom progress and design

5. Do you have any reflections you’d like to share about the journey of building a custom home?

Building a custom home is a big undertaking, whether you’re in the business or not. Even though I’ve been in the industry for over 12 years, when it’s your home, you want to make sure you’re making the right decision. So, I have spent many late nights researching, scanning Pinterest, and sketching out ideas. It’s a lot of work, but it is incredibly rewarding.

Build for the Long Run with Bardwell 

From notable architectural features to uncommon practical spaces like family dens and scullery kitchens, this custom build reflects the family’s vision for a timeless yet functional space that offers a sense of retreat, space to connect, and the freedom to entertain well. Thoughtful design and attention to detail are what transform a house into a home you could have only imagined.

Custom Home Building Process in baton rouge

Parade of Homes 2025 

Every year, Bardwell Homes is proud to participate in the Home Builders Association of Greater Baton Rouge for the Parade of Homes. Come and tour Emily’s completed custom home in Willow Grove and learn about the thoughtful design and innovative home building that makes Bardwell a Baton Rouge pillar.  Whether you’re a first-time home buyer, scoping out local vendors for your custom home, or just looking for inspiration, it’s an unique event that offers variety, style, and community.

April 26-27 and May 3-4 
1:00-5:00 pm

In the meantime, stay tuned for our final installment, where we’ll share insights from the construction phase and celebrate the most exciting milestone yet: moving into the new home. 

Building a Custom Home in the Village at Willow Grove: Part 1 The Inspiration and Process

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What is it like to create a custom home?

It’s a culmination of countless decisions, intensive planning, and personal expression. While every custom home journey presents challenges, it’s an incredible process that yields exceptional results. And, it all begins with a spark of inspiration.

For Emily, building a custom home with Bardwell was no debate, as she and her family have loved living in their current Bardwell home for nearly a decade. Not to mention, she’s part of the family business. In this series, Emily will take us behind the scenes to share her insights, influences, and experiences, offering a rare look at what it takes to build a custom home in Baton Rouge from the ground up.

1. What inspired you to build a custom home?

We have lived in our current Bardwell home for almost 10 years and we absolutely love it. But we needed to be closer to my daughter’s school, we needed more space, and there were a few particular changes we wanted to make to our floorplan that may not be considered “standard,” so we knew the custom route was the right one for us.

2. How has the process been so far? Can you share a moment that felt particularly significant or rewarding?

This was a completely custom home, from choosing the lot, creating the house design, and picking every single finish.

It’s been a slow and steady marathon, but having professionals help us along the way has been invaluable.

Even though I used an outside architect, I was able to bounce ideas off of the Bardwell team to make sure I was on the right track with budget, buildability, and available materials. We are still early in construction, so I would say the most significant moment I’ve felt so far was when the architect presented “the” plan to us. As I walked through the house, room by room, in my mind, I knew this was it. And, it was such an exciting and rewarding feeling to have created our home.

3. What role did the Bardwell team play in balancing your vision with practicality?

By having Bardwell partner with me as we were developing the plans, I was able to review preliminary plans with them so they could provide insight on costs before we got to the final plan set. It’s a check and balance to have the builder involved, because vision and practicality (a.k.a. cost) often conflict when it comes to custom homes. People can get to the finish line with the architect and find out the plan they thought they could build is out of range. In our case, we used JDE Designs, which is one of the trusted architects Bardwell often works with, so it was an efficient feedback loop as we worked toward the final plan set.

4. How does this build reflect your long-term goals and vision?

We wanted to make sure we built a home with longevity in terms of style, materials, and overall value, so that has played a key role in many of our decisions. Being close to our daughter’s school, I also wanted this house to have an open-door policy to all her friends as they make their way through middle and high school. So we kept that in mind as we created different spaces to eat, visit or play.

5. This home will be in the Willow Grove neighborhood… What drew you to this location for your custom home?

First, its central location in Baton Rouge. I’ll be within 15 minutes of work, family, and school. And second, we love the amenities of the neighborhood – from the pool and nature preserve to the commercial district with pizza, coffee and cocktail places – we will have so many options at our fingertips.

6. How do you think this home will grow with you and your family over the years?

We thought about different spaces we could host people and that our daughter and her friends could enjoy as they got older. With the layout of the home, we will have opportunities to sit and visit in intimate settings, both inside and out, and also have opportunities to open everything up to host large parties. I’m so thankful to be building a home that can do this, and we’re all so excited to grow in this home together.

7. What are you most looking forward to about living in your new custom home?

Hosting friends and family!

Build for the Long Run with Bardwell

Building a custom home is a test of endurance, and it requires meticulous planning, creativity, and collaboration. For Emily, it’s been an opportunity to bring her family’s vision to life while leveraging her expertise in homebuilding and new construction with the guidance of the Bardwell team. As construction progresses on this beautiful home in the Village at Willow Grove, stay tuned for the next chapter, where we’ll explore more details of the build and discover how this vision transforms into a home built for the long run.