Custom homes sized at 15,000 square feet. Clients used to the best of everything. Project teams well-versed in hand-holding and complex projects. We spoke with father-and-son team Matt and Whit Matthews, owners of Significant Homes in New Canaan, Connecticut, about the process of building luxury homes and meeting high expectations all around. 

What sets luxury homes apart?
Matt: A true luxury home starts from the time you dig the hole. You’re going to have a higher-rated concrete, more steel reinforcing, more drainage around the thing — it just keeps going through the entire house. It’s not any one thing; it’s all the things. It’s not just a fancier stove; it really is a thicker project with a higher level of design, engineering and craftsmanship.

How do you work with high-end clients?
Matt: First of all, with a custom house, we don’t get involved in the architecture or specs. Most of the choices are made between the architect, the owner and the designer. We’re just given the info to execute. But the number-one thing is to make sure everything is open-book. There’s lots of money changing hands; it’s important to track everything and keep it available to the team from an information standpoint. We have meetings once a week with the whole team.  

And process management?
Whit: We ensure that the project teams are the best in the business. We get all kinds of clients: some who want nothing to do with the process, and some who are micromanagers and require a lot in terms of info and decision lists and regular updated job schedules, RFIs, budget reviews, and on and on. So having a top-notch project manager that can handle that workload and manage the day-to-day is important.   

Any favorite materials you’ve recently started using?
Whit: In terms of mechanical, 85% of our clients are doing geothermal heating and cooling these days, and we’re doing almost all spray-foam insulation. And with upgrades in tech, we’re doing simplified A/V systems; people no longer need a whole-house giant rack audio system. I also really like tape-in recessed lighting so you don’t see the flange around the light — everything is taped and compounded into the ceiling; it provides a very clean look. Same with floor registers and grilles in the same species as the floor.

Have you seen styles change over the past couple of years?
Matt: Things are definitely getting more contemporary around here. Even if the house has a traditional exterior, inside it’ll have waterfall countertops, floating stairs with a central stringer, cable or glass railings, steel windows. Though some people still do relatively traditional interiors, they’ll have a little modern flavor. Gone are the days of egg-and-dart moldings.

Advice to others trying to break into the luxury market?
Whit: Start small and slow and build a reputation, because word of mouth and referrals are important. A lot of networking is required — knowing the right architects, designers, landscape architects, town officials, engineers. You need to have a foothold in the crowd of people typically driving the high-end market. Relationships are crucial. 

Matt: Welcome to the market, but don’t take any of our customers.