Located at the heart of Silicon Valley, Cupertino is one of the most significant technology hubs in the country. Aside from being the home city of Apple Inc.’s new national headquarters, the city also hosts software company SugarCRM, data storage corporation Seagate Technology, and self-driving automobile company, Plus.ai. Aside from being a witness to the evolving technologies of today’s world, the city is also set against a majestic landscape and hillsides that provide some of the most breath-taking views in the region.
This perfect combination of a healthy economy and a picturesque landscape has made the city an attractive destination for young professionals and established individuals who want to enjoy the best of both worlds and call Cupertino home. To keep up with the growing demand for a wide range of residences designed to cater to the modern lifestyle of its homeowners, the city’s residential builders have risen to the challenge, delivering some of the most unforgettable custom homes that the region has ever seen.
The article features the best custom home builders in Cupertino, California. The firms featured here are either based in the city or have done custom residential home construction and remodeling projects in the area. Our editorial team has considered the value and quality of the projects, client reviews, publication features, and the awards that these companies earned through their work. The article presents the background of the principals, the firm’s years of experience, and its major memberships and accreditations from the industry’s biggest institutions.
Keeth Building Contractors
745 Distel Dr. Suite #16, Los Altos, CA 94022
From initial planning through final completion, Keeth Building Contractors offers an extensive range of custom home building, remodeling, and additions to the region’s most sophisticated homeowners. Aside from its projects in Los Altos, it has also delivered works in neighboring Cupertino and other cities across the San Francisco Bay Area. Principal Gary Keeth founded his company in 1988 and since then, has worked with project owners and creative professionals to deliver unforgettable residential structures inspired by the modern, contemporary, Spanish, and Craftsman architectures.
As one of the most successful builders in the region, the firm has established lifelong relationships with top industry architects and engineers, as well as the local Chamber of Commerce. These connections allow it to offer a more comprehensive and reliable practice, from design and building fine homes that represent the individuality and architectural preferences of its owners, to completing additions, remodels, and renovations for residential spaces in need of modern functional and aesthetic upgrades.
Beyond its capabilities as a builder and remodeler, the company takes part in the industry’s emerging green building movement. Through the use of the latest in construction technologies and methodologies, it employs an “Eco-impact” approach to homebuilding and incorporates eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient products into every project. Most importantly, as a GreenPoint-rated firm that produces accredited green homes, the firm’s clients can qualify for an Energy-Efficient Mortgage (EEM), a financing option granted to green-built homes.
Nilsene Builder, Inc.
21060 Homestead Rd. #216, Cupertino, CA 95014
Commended for its custom home construction approach that focuses on “quality, speed, service, and integrity,” Nilsene Builder, Inc. is an emerging company that has helped shape Cupertino’s architectural landscape through its design/build, new construction, remodeling, and additions services. The company currently caters to the South Bay and Bay Area’s lower Peninsula’s residential clientele.
Moe Jalili, the firm’s owner and principal builder, leads the firm’s practice and brings a hands-on approach to every build. Under his leadership, the firm has developed solid relationships with the region’s most preferred subcontractors. The resulting partnerships have produced accolades and stellar reviews from the building community. Many of the firm’s customer testimonials emphasize Jalili’s attention to detail, punctuality, transparency, and respect for the needs of clients and subcontractors.
A look at the firm’s portfolio reveals residential projects that celebrate the balance between the sleek simplicity of modern design and the charm of traditional Spanish architecture. Much of its work is an ideal blend of the classic, transitional, and contemporary home styles. From this wealthy portfolio of mid-range to high-end homes, one factor dominates: the firm’s ability to transform the clients’ most personal and intimate ideas into tangible, functional, and structurally-sound residences that are built to last and evolve with their homeowners.
Perezidential Homes (R.J. Perez Construction, Inc.)
10091 Byrne Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014
Since Perezidential Homes’s inception in 1991, it has developed a construction practice that prioritizes client satisfaction and environmental responsibility. Principal Rich Perez, a licensed general contractor, focuses on building structurally-sound and architecturally-stunning homes. Perez also makes sure that every project adheres to the industry’s green building standards.
As a “green company,” the firm carefully chooses the materials, products, as well as construction and design methodologies that are environmentally responsible and energy-efficient. All of these materials are incorporated into every project without compromising the quality of the structure. Most importantly, this process reaches the most important goal: creating an unforgettable dream home that embodies the individualities of its inhabitants and caters to their modern lifestyle.
Many of the firm’s most iconic residential projects can be found across Lost Gatos, Los Altos, Cupertino, Saratoga, Palo Alto, Atherton, Woodside, and other parts of the Bay Area. These homes are often inspired by a wide range of architectural movements, including the elegant French Country, unique artisan Craftsman homes, the nostalgic Old English Cottage and Colonial, the grand, luxurious Mediterranean and Spanish, and the sleek, minimalist Modern and Contemporary styles.
Progress Builders
508 Quail Bush Ct., San Jose, CA 95117
With its comprehensive services that cover architecture, engineering, permits processing, construction, project management, and interior design, Progress Builders remains one of the most preferred contractors in the region, especially by first-time project owners who want to rely on a one-stop-shop that can expertly handle every aspect of their project. Founded in 2007, the company is led by Ilya Fedulov, a LEED-accredited Professional (LEED-AP) and an engineering graduate.
Under Fedulov’s leadership, the firm completes custom residential projects and remodels by relying on its team of designers, builders, and managers to lead every project, regardless of size or complexity. One of the firm’s biggest custom home projects in Cupertino is for the redesign and construction of a single-story ranch home. The goal of the redesign was to expand the space and accommodate the homeowners’ growing family. From the originally small 1,600-square-feet of living space, the company delivered a new, two-story, four-bedroom, three-bathroom home, that houses a spacious kitchen, a living room, and a dining room.
Aside from producing a thoughtful architectural plan that followed the zoning district’s stringent building codes, this transformation also presented the firm’s ability to answer the client’s need for a complete redesign. From its ranch-home inspiration, the new home now features interior and exterior spaces that celebrate the American domestic architectural style known for its artisan elements and natural materials, Craftsman architecture.
Picetti Construction
11557 Upland Ct., Cupertino, CA 95014
Established in 1981, Picetti Construction plays a significant role in transforming the region’s residential architectural scene through quality, enduring, and unforgettable homes. A majority of the firm’s works come from the high-end residential sector. That demographic presents a challenge and an opportunity—answering the most demanding issues of constructing contemporary and traditional spaces to cater to modern lifestyles while keeping in mind the design and architectural aspirations of its project owners.
To make sure that every build is a success, principal Mike Picetti personally manages every project and meets with clients to listen and understand their goals—to help them make informed decisions from the initial planning, design, material selection, through completion. With customer satisfaction and quality construction as the firm’s primary focus, Picetti has established a building practice repeatedly commended for its consistency, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail.
As a custom home builder, the firm has completed luxury residential projects in Cupertino and nearby upscale communities. We think you might like this example in Los Altos Hills: the construction of this 4,400-square-foot Tuscan home was meticulously designed, from the selection of materials to the final structural and architectural details. These details were faithful to the client’s aesthetic preferences and the architecture’s signature terracotta tile rooftops, expansive, rustic window shutters, and its imposing façade of bold stone elements. The resulting work is a spacious, comfortable living space that exudes luxury, warmth, and sophistication.
Smart Lily Builder
11566 Fallcreek Spring Ct. Cupertino, CA 95014
With many clients in Cupertino and other Bay Area cities such as Saratoga, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, and San Jose, Smart Lily Builder is extremely passionate about building the dream home. Ken Zhai, the firm’s owner and principal builder, leads the firm using high-tech industry innovations to dramatically reduce the cost of building new homes and maximize the value returned to the homeowner. One of the keys to reducing the cost is more efficient management, getting more jobs done each day with an overall delivery time that is one of the quickest in the market.
This traditional Spanish exterior home on Culbertson Drive opens to a lot of modern features in the interior. Smart Lily Builder incorporated the finest materials, including the 12-foot-wide and eight-foot-tall folding door to the patio which is a favorite piece in the home.
Timeline Design + Build
14401 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA 95070
With over 30 years of custom home building experience, Timeline Design+Build is one of the region’s most established companies that has earned multiple accolades from the building and design community. NKBA, NARI, and institutions have highlighted the firm’s excellence in remodeling, interior design, construction, and architecture, especially for its work for the residential sector.
As a design/build company, the firm has a dedicated team of designers, architects, and craftsmen that can help project owners transform their ideas into a residential space that fits their definition of a “dream home” while making sure that the resulting design and architecture is not only structurally sound and enduring but adheres to local housing standards and local building codes. One project that represents these aspects of the firm’s services is for a Craftsman home in nearby Cupertino.
In 2015, the firm completed the construction of a custom home for a family that decided to move into a new neighborhood. This home now sits among a residential community dominated by ranch style homes. Its Craftsman-style inspiration allows it to seamlessly blend with the surrounding architectures while still imposing its distinct exterior elements common to this architectural style: wide wood trims for its large windows, signature large porch, and wood columns with brick bases, among others. For the home’s interiors, one of the highlights of the design is a large skylight set above the kitchen area, a structural and design choice that lets in abundant, natural daylight that easily sets a warm and homey atmosphere.
WM. H. Fry Construction Company
10351 San Fernando Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014
Since Bill Fry established WM. H. Fry Construction Company in 1987, he has completed a long list of custom homes for residential clients across the Bay Area and other cities on the Peninsula. Fry’s extensive background in construction has helped it take on some of the most structurally challenging projects out there, many of which are located in complex topographies and unique terrains. For instance, a huge part of its portfolio includes over a hundred hillside homes supported by the stable pier and grade beam foundation method.
Using the same construction technique, the firm partnered with Menlo Park-based designer Victor H. Lee, AIA, to complete the new construction project for the architect’s own custom, Mediterranean-inspired home. Lee’s residence, set on a hillside, is a three-story building that sits across a flowing creek. Included in the project’s scope is a new modern Italian-Tuscan guest house. Additionally, as a nod to California’s growing green construction and architecture movement, the designer and the builder also incorporated sustainable and low-maintenance features into the home.
As a member of the US Green Building Council and the Build It Green organization, many of the company’s works in the residential sector have been commended for their healthy, eco-friendly, and energy-efficient characteristics. Beyond constructing architecturally-impressive buildings and unique homes, the company leads the movement’s advocacy through its Net-Zero Energy and Net-Positive Energy options for residential remodeling and home construction.
