The Best Prairie Home Builders in the U.S.

The prairie home style emerged in Chicago around 1900 from the work of a group of young architects. This group includes Frank Lloyd Wright, who is most famous for designing revolutionary homes and forming ground-breaking theories about architecture. Among the many prairie homes most commonly seen in Chicago, Wright’s Robie House and George W. Maher’s Pleasant Home are exemplars. Residences that stay close to the ground, prairie homes spread out horizontally over lots, and feature flat or shallow hipped rooflines, rows of windows, overhanging eaves, and bands of stone, wood, or brick across the surface.

In this list, we highlight firms managed by some of the finest craftsmen in the U.S. Aside from the honed abilities to craft various other home styles, some of these firms have completed projects that gained them recognition in publications such as Luxe, Luxury Home Quarterly, and The News Journal. Some of these companies are also associated with industry organizations such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). With such advantages, these professionals can be trusted to finish with fantastic results.

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.

Argue Custom Homes

14666 N 74th St., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

A firm that has been featured in Luxe, Epic Places, Phoenix Home and Garden, Arizona Foothills, and Luxury Home Quarterly, Argue Custom Homes is known for working with the best partners in the valley. This partnership has helped the firm craft hundreds of homes in some of the valley’s most desired locations. In the last 25 years, Argue Custom Homes has built up a portfolio of beautiful residences that come in various styles including Mediterranean, Prairie, and Contemporary. One of the firm’s most notable projects is the Desert Prairie home located near the base of Scottsdale’s landmark Pinnacle Peak. It’s elegant open floor plan weaves among the boulders, allowing for great views and a connection to nature.

Beautiful homes like these have helped the firm gain numerous awards, such as the title of Top Silverleaf Home Builder from Arizona Foothills. In 2019, the firm was also named the Largest Custom Home Builder by Phoenix Business Journal while the NAHB recognized it with the Best In American Living Award. Such achievements were attained through the team’s professionalism and the guidance of founder Tom Argue. From acquisition to completion, Argue Custom Homes takes clients through the exciting process from Land & Lot Acquisition, to Home Design, to Specifications Development, to Budgeting and Schedule Development, to Project Management & Home Construction, to Project Completion and beyond. That’s why their firm so uniquely surpasses client’s expectations – even after they’ve moved into their dream house.

Brio Design Homes

701 E. Washington Ave. #103, Madison, WI 53703

Brio Design Homes is the new home building division of JG Development—a well-respected and highly awarded family of construction companies. Over time, this new division has become known for building various home styles around the greater Madison area and has put up offices in Blue Mounds and downtown Madison. With its wide reach, it has met with various clients and has built up a portfolio of homes that carry numerous styles. These include the modern, bungalow, cape cod, colonial, contemporary, Craftsman, prairie, and ranch styles. Among these projects, its most notable one is a Blanchardville prairie home which can be most noted for its simple and earthy palette facade. Homes like these have gained the firm recognition from Madison Magazine which gave it the 2019 Best of the Best award; it also won the ABC’s No Lost Time Accidents awards in both 2018 and 2019.

Concorde Custom Homes and Renovations

222 W Roosevelt Rd., Wheaton, IL 60187

Founded and managed by James Pesavento, Concorde Custom Homes and Renovations was established after the Pesavento family started renovating a home that highlighted their skill in paying attention to details. Since its establishment in 2001, the firm quickly built a reputation throughout the western suburbs as one of the area’s finest home builders. With such a reputation, the firm has been able to win many awards, such as the 2017 Best of Wheaton Award for Construction Management, the Innovation and Excellence Award, and the Pulse of the City Award. Its most notable project is the Prairiestone. A residence that captures the prairie style, its most notable feature is a three-car side load garage and a split entry design with a timeless feel. The firm has also crafted homes in the Craftsman, Georgian, and ranch styles.

Garrison Homes

19413 Jingle Shell Way, Lewes, DE 19958

Garrison Homes was established back in 1999 but even so, it offers more than 75 years of combined experience in building semi-custom, custom residential, and commercial buildings. The firm currently has a team of trusted and experienced subcontractors. With this trusted team, Garrison Homes has built over 450 homes that range from waterfront homes to beach home cottages for the neighborhood communities in the Kent and Sussex counties. This large portfolio has gained the firm recognition from Luxe Interiors + Design, Beach Life, the Washington Post, The News Journal, and Cape Gazette. Over time, its portfolio has been filled with numerous homes in styles such as Mediterranean, farmhouse, modern, traditional, Cape Cod, prairie, and New England.

New Urban Home Builders

6883 Cascade Rd., SE Suite B, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

New Urban Home Builders is a boutique residential builder specializing in design-focused custom homes, additions, and renovations. Since its establishment in 2003, the firm has collaborated with some of Michigan’s elite architects, interior designers, and craftspersons. Because of this, it has been recognized around the Grand Rapids and Lakeshore areas for wonderful designs, excellent craftsmanship, and calculated value engineering. So far, the firm has crafted homes in various styles including the modern, prairie, cottage, ranch, transitional, European cottage, and Craftsman among many other styles. Its most notable work on a modern prairie home designed by J Visser Design. A 4,400 square foot residence, it integrates the traditional prairie design with modern aesthetics. The home has several impressive features, but its most notable ones are rift and quarter-sawn white oak floors that zigzag through the house, and abundant windows that allow for as much natural light as possible to fill the house.

Aside from a team of skilled craftsmen, this firm also has owner Scott Branc under its wing. A former engineer, Branc serves on the board of directors of the Home Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids (HBAGCR) and is currently the president of his NAHB 20 Club chapter. This team of talented professionals has been recognized with the 2018 Best in American Living Award, and is associated with the NAHB and the HBA of Michigan.

Old Town Design Homes

1132 South Rangeline Rd. Ste. #200, Carmel, IN 46032

Old Town Homes is a luxury home builder known by clients around the northern Indianapolis suburbs of Carmel, Westfield, and Zionsville. Merging strengths in urban styles, community development, and award-winning luxury home construction, this firm has clients who recommend building with the firm to a family member or a friend. Alongside a team of craftsmen with great work ethics, the firm is also managed by owner Jeff Langston. Aside from being a professional with over a decade of construction management experience, Langston also currently serves on the board of directors for the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis (BAGI). With their combined efforts, the firm has been recognized by Business Journal as the Number One Custom Builder.

Olson Defendorf

3355 Bee Cave Rd. Ste. #501, Austin, TX 78746

Olson Defendorf was established in 2007. Since then, it has built single-family homes while following a work ethic that revolves around outstanding quality and superior service. With such principles, the firm was able to grow to be an award-winning company that has thrived on referrals within just a few years of its establishment. Among its many achievements, Olson Defendorf was awarded the Home Builders Association (HBA)’s 2018 Best One of a Kind Home and Best Outdoor Living Space awards. The firm is also associated with industry organizations like the National Association of Home Builder (NAHB), the Texas Association of Builders, and the HBA of Greater Austin.

This firm’s inception was the result of Eric Olson and Troy Defendorf’s partnership. Eric Olson serves as the firm’s president. Prior to the firm, Olson worked for two major builders in Austin and worked as the sales manager of a multi-million dollar custom division. He was also the former president of the Custom Builder Council of Austin and was a former member of the board of directors of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin. Defendorf, meanwhile, is the firm’s detail-oriented engineer. Prior to the firm, he lived in New York, where his career in construction began at the tender age of 16. With such guidance, the firm is able to create beautiful homes, such as the Texas Prairie Home, which is a 5,829 square foot residence designed by Geschke Group Architecture.

Salvesen Homes

2693 NW Crossing Dr., Bend, OR 97703

Salvesen Homes was founded in 2010 by Aaron Salvesen. A third-generation contractor, Salvesen has two decades of experience in residential construction with this experience, Salvesen is known for being sensitive to his client’s needs while investing in providing clients with necessary information. Aside from the firm’s exceptional customer service, Salvesen Homes is also known for crafting homes that are beautiful, functional, and energy-efficient. Over time, it has built homes in the mid century, modern, prairie, colonial, Craftsman, victorian farmhouse, and bungalow styles. These projects have earned the company awards such as the Central Oregon Builders Association (COBA)’s 2019 Best Kitchen Award for the Tour of Homes. Two years prior, the firm also won the 2017 COBA Tour of Home awards for Best Architecture Design, Best Feature, Best Interior Finish, Best Kitchen, and Best of Show.

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.