The Best Custom Home Builders in Dallas

Last updated on June 21st, 2024 at 02:21 am

Dallas, Texas, known for its lively culture and strong economy, boasts a growing real estate scene. Offering various housing options, from city condos to suburban estates, the Dallas-Fort Worth area accommodates around 1.3 million residents. With a median home value of $479,000, there’s a rising demand for custom-built homes tailored to personal preferences.

Embarking on a custom home project in Dallas is both thrilling and daunting. Costs range from $150,000 to $550,000 and up to $900,000 for higher-end projects, some lasting up to 45 weeks. Choosing from the 888 registered contractors in Dallas can be overwhelming.

Choosing the right contractor is important, as it can make all the difference between a seamless, stress-free building process and one fraught with delays and disappointments. With an average cost of $88.24 per square foot for residential construction, finding a reliable partner is essential. Fortunately, a wide list of Dallas custom home builders is known for quality craftsmanship and personalized service.

If you are thinking about building a custom home, we recommend checking each builder’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.

Overview: The Best Custom Home Builders in Dallas

See Ranking Methodology at the bottom of this article to learn more.

Bauhaus Modern Homes

1920 McKinney Ave., 7th Fl., Dallas, TX 75201

Bauhaus Modern Homes is a custom home builder in Dallas that heavily emphasizes the integration of art in their works. Marc Kleinmann, the company’s founder, took inspiration from The Staatliches Bauhaus, an influential art school in Germany that promoted Gesamtkunstwerk, or the use of interdisciplinary disciplines, to create a design. Kleinmann and his work share the same design philosophy. Homes under the hands of Bauhaus are smart, functional, and simple without going overboard on minimalism.

A prime example of this stylistic choice is this mid-century contemporary home located curiously on an elevated plot of land. This symmetrical home is strikingly minimal yet maintains optimal functionality. The open-floor, U-shaped layout provides seclusion and integration, as the home’s opposite ends are function areas connected by the midsection. The flat roofing and prominent use of glass and concrete characterize the minimal exterior of the home. As one of the Dallas custom home builders, the firm was awarded the 2021 ARC Awards Best Interior Entry/Foyer in the $1 Million – $2 Million category.

Phillip Jennings Custom Homes

8604 Turtle Creek Blvd., Suite #25569 Dallas, TX 75225      

Fifteen years ago, Phillip Fristoe founded a custom home company, with its name combining his first name and his grandfather’s. The firm focuses on high-end homes ranging from $2M to $10M in the areas of Preston Hollow, Bluffview Estates, and Park Cities. The company was awarded by D Home Magazine the Best Builder of the Year for 2017 and 2018.

The company’s portfolio offers an interesting collection of contemporary reinterpretations of more established home styles. In the Spanish villa featured above, the company incorporated contemporary elements such as large glass windows. This blends in nicely with the exterior’s tamed cream accent and the merlot roofing. The combination offers a progressive design with a familiar silhouette.

Veranda Designer Homes

1594 Hart St., Suite #200 Southlake, TX 76092

In addition to being one of the two female principals on this list, Betty Baker sets herself apart by being one of the few principals who arrange interior design and architecture. Since 2005, Baker’s Southlake-based firm has built many homes in Dallas.

Veranda Designer Homes has a unique selection of ranch-style homes, often defined by a gabled and hipped roof, fine stonework, and traditional silhouette. The company constructed a 7200-square-foot transitional French ranch home in a Fort Worth Magazine-awarded home. The project featured a compact two-story estate with light yellow stonework and French windows- a straightforward yet highly effective design choice.

Milan Custom Build

5220 Spring Valley Rd., Suite #212, Dallas, TX 75254

Scott Trahan and Eric Mistretta founded Milan Design Build with combined industry experience of more than 30 years and fluency in Chemistry and Engineering. The company specializes in modern and contemporary design in the pursuit of custom homes. The company’s design team is coordinated by Giuliana Bellatin, who oversees new construction projects in Milan, Venice, Padua, Cortina D’Ampezzo, California, and Dallas. The team’s progressive approach is attributed to Bellatin’s experience in Europe and South America. Bellatin has also worked with the Prime Minister of Italy.

Milan Custom Build is fluent in modern and contemporary design. In a featured work that the company describes as Texas modern, the company built an interesting structure with a two-tone exterior texture. The upper portion of the home has a cream tone that matches the chestnut stonework and dark hues of the roof. The most outstanding feature of the house, however, is its shape. Unlike the usual modern home with flat roofing and minimal shape, this home features a sloping roof, and two pillars hinge the front door.

Ellen Grasso & Sons

8150 N Central Expy, Suite M-1090 Dallas, TX 75206

Ellen Grasso & Sons is among the many Dallas custom home builders that specialize in custom homes. Grasso is one of the two female principals on this list, and the company is also one of the few family-run firms. Her sons Clay and Rob oversee the management and design business aspects, respectively.

The company’s signature touch is the use of different shades of white. Cream, off-white, and ivory hues dominate their portfolio in both interior and exterior works. The firm engages in different home styles. The company created a compact home with a complex mixture of contemporary and French eclectic styles in a particular work pictured above. The home has a unique asymmetry compared to the common French design and sports an off-white tone. Gray accents pair the distinctive tone of the home in a subtle manner.

Platinum Homes by Mark Molthan

7001 Preston Rd., Suite #230 Dallas, TX 75205

Platinum Homes by Mark Molthan is a luxury custom home builder based in Dallas. For 12 straight years, D-Home Magazine has recognized the company as the Dallas Best Builder and included it in the Builder 20 by NAHB. Platinum Homes has also been featured in several publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Luxury Real Estate, and Dallas Modern Luxury. These achievements are more impressive since the company has only existed for 16 years.

Mark Molthan’s portfolio is an astounding collection of luxury homes in different styles. The company specializes in massive homes with elaborate design features. The company created a modern home in wooden ensembles in the featured work. This multi-level home is a creative project that perfectly fits in suburban Dallas. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows and thin wooden bezels create a luxurious feeling. The same design element seamlessly integrates the home’s interior and the outside environment. As one of the leading Dallas custom home builders, it was featured in D Home’s Best of 2022.

Coats Homes

3100 Monticello Ave., Dallas, TX 75201

Coats Homes is a custom home builder serving the Park Cities and Preston Hollow areas. A second-generation builder, Ben Coats, leads the company. Coats Homes was awarded The Dallas 100 award—presented to 100 of Dallas’ fastest-growing companies—by Coat’s alma mater, Southern Methodist University. The company offers many styles in its portfolio, including a modern home with a simple yet brilliant structure and facade.

The project’s impressive use of different shades of brown is due to its singular and versatile use of beige and other earth tones, which evokes a feeling of luxury and uniqueness. The home’s silhouette is symmetrical, with three boxed accents on the top right and a ripple of strands in the left middle section.

Tim Jackson Custom Homes

650 Maple Creek Dr., Fairview, TX 75069-0138

Over 22 years, Tim Jackson Custom Homes has built over 100 homes, specializing in the classical style. Founder Tim Jackson served as the President of the Dallas Builders Association in 2009 and currently serves as the Life Director of the association.

This massive English manor perfectly illustrates the team’s expertise in traditional and detailed work. It is an impressive combination of intricate stonework and unique planning. The home has a hipped roof that is bent in at an obtuse angle. Another important detail is using a natural wash of the stones, which blends with the dark blue shade of the roofing. This combination highlights the sense of luxury that the manor already poses.

Thomas Signature Homes

5622 Del Roy Dr., Dallas, TX 75230

D Home Magazine’s Best Builder in Dallas for nine consecutive years, Thomas Signature Homes, is one of Dallas’ most decorated home builders. The company has won eight DBA Associate, Remodeler, and Contractor awards, including Best New Home for $2M – $2.5M. Thomas London, the company’s founder, is one of only 497 builders in the U.S. to be accredited as a Graduate Master Builder (GMB) by the National Association of Home Builders.

The company has a taste for colonial, Tudor, and French styles. In one notable property, the company combined French and Tudor elements. The silhouette of the home is symmetrical, with various layers of indention. The details of the home are as intricate as the silhouette: arches in the doorways and petite French windows pair the hipped roof. This particular combination of French and Tudor styles creates a sophisticated atmosphere.

Alford Homes

17480 Dallas Pkwy., Suite #217 Dallas, TX 75287

Family-run, Alford Homes is a custom home builder catering to the luxury market. The company’s principal, Greg Alford, is an industry veteran of almost 40 years. His leadership led the company to earn the ON TOP Builder Award from On Magazine, a direct mail local magazine about Dallas homebuilders, and other local awards and features.

The firm specializes in full-scale villas and mansions, the majority of which have grand facades and are characterized by high elevations and pyramidic roofs. In its featured work, the company did a modern take on a stone ranch home. This modern ranch has a confident and warm design. The facade is filled with a light-wash floor-to-ceiling wall tapestry that is complemented by dark floor tiles and wooden accents. The front porch and the balcony add volume to the house’s overall structure.

Shaddock Custom Builders

105 E. Main St., Richardson, TX 75081

Five-time Best of D Home Magazine awardee Shaddock Caldwell is a product of progressive thinking and friendship between Todd Shaddock and Ben Caldwell. This Dallas custom home builder carries over 50 years of homebuilding experience from his family’s homebuilding company. At the same time, Caldwell was directly involved in the disposition of $85M worth of real estate before the establishment of Shaddock Custom Builders.

The two made a name for themselves through their outstanding portfolio featuring ranch and contemporary home styles. In the project featured above, the company completed an interesting contemporary piece. The home elevates progressively to the right and has a cascading indention. Large windows with French-like window panes invoke a sophisticated touch, matched with a cinnamon front door. The house maintains its elegance by only revealing certain portions of the home without being too intrusive to the passersby outside.

Caprock Custom Homes

307 Terry Ln., Heath, TX 75032, USA

Rockwall County-based Caprock Custom Homes is operated by U.S. Marine veteran Joe Chamberlain, who has more than 40 years in the construction business. The Dallas Builders Association has recognized the company’s efforts, as reflected by its five ARC awards.

The company specializes in French and Victorian colonial villas and often uses beige and light-colored stonework. In the featured work pictured above, the company did a gabled-roof  Victorian home with a massive porch that connects the home sideways in the home’s bent layout. The irregular roofing of the room adds character and an element of unpredictability. The home is built to appear to be staged with the low elevation of the front courtyard, eliciting an atmosphere of distinction and elegance.

Drees Homes

6225 State Hwy. 161, Suite #100, Irving, TX 75038

For over 90 years, Drees Custom Homes Dallas has been building homes. This multi-generational family business offers a full-scale service to homeowners—from design to custom home build. Drees has received several awards, including 30th place on Builder Magazine’s Builder 100 list, and is recognized as the 12th largest private builder in the country.

The company specializes in traditional, colonial, and French home styles. This featured project displays the company’s expertise in blending Ranch with modern home elements. The uneven yet nearly symmetrical silhouette is the home’s most prominent feature. Its owners are welcomed with an open floor plan, a spacious family room, and cozy spaces to entertain guests. Its large bay windows blur the line between indoor and outdoor living. 

Ranking Methodology

To evaluate the performance of builders, our methodology employs a systematic approach that considers various factors contributing to customer experience and satisfaction. We focused on assessing the custom home builders in the Dallas area. The methodology involves assigning weightings to specific categories based on their significance in determining customer service quality. Here’s the breakdown of the categories and their respective weightings:

• Average Customer Satisfaction (35%): This metric represents the average rating given by customers across the same review platforms as the Average Customer Satisfaction Score. A higher average rating indicates greater overall satisfaction with the service provided.
• Service Rating Score (25%): We analyze the ratio of high (4-5 stars) to low (1-2 stars) ratings for each business across multiple review platforms: Google, Houzz, and Yelp. A higher percentage of positive reviews contributes to a higher score, reflecting better customer satisfaction.
• Complaint Percentage (25%): We analyze the ratio of complaints to total reviews for each business. A lower complaints ratio indicates better service quality and results in a higher score.
• Business Hours and Availability (10%): The operating hours of each business are assessed to gauge accessibility. Companies with extended operating hours are awarded a higher score, as they offer greater convenience to customers.
• License Status (5%): We verify the licensing status of each contractor with their local licensing board to ensure legal compliance. Companies with valid licenses receive a higher score, reflecting professionalism and adherence to regulations.
• Total Score: We determined the overall rating for every contractor by calculating a weighted average, with the category weight determining the amount the subscore contributed to the total score 

Additional Note: Service Rating Score, Average Customer Satisfaction, and Complaint Percentage are calculated with a Bayesian estimate to account for if the contractor has a low number of total reviews. A Bayesian average is a statistical method used to calculate the average of a set of data points while taking into account prior information or beliefs about the distribution of the data. It combines the observed data with a prior distribution to generate a more accurate estimate of the true average.

How can I find home builders near me?

Read our latest articles on the best custom home builders across Texas. If you don’t see your city below, just let us know – we are happy to create a tailored recommendation list just for you.

Custom home builders in Arlington

Custom home builders in Fort Worth

Custom home builders in Irving

Custom home builders in Texas

About Our Rankings

This list takes a range of ranking criteria into consideration, including but not limited to: work history, customer satisfaction, awards and recognition, geographic area of work, cost, building permits, and clientele. We spent over 40 hours researching local contractors before calculating the final ranking for this post. If there is additional information about your business that could affect these rankings, please fill out this form and we will take it into consideration

Get Bids For Your Build

If you are thinking about building a custom home, we recommend checking each builder’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.