Tag Archives: Lewis Builders

Carmel-based Lewis Builders’ Rebuild of 1960s House by Renowned Architect Takes His Design Esthetics Into 21st Century

Joseph Eichler was a renowned architect in the 1950s and ‘60s who was known for his clean, open, mid-century modern designs.

Carmel, CA, April 29, 2019 — Joseph Eichler was a renowned architect in the 1950s and ‘60s who was known for his clean, open, mid-century modern designs. But even an architect whose work was ahead of his time could use an update in the 21st century.

That was the design-and-rebuild challenge for designer-builder John Lewis of Lewis Builders in Carmel, California. He wanted to keep the design esthetics of Eichler, but update the look, feel and functioning of an Eichler-designed home from the 1960s perched on a hillside in Carmel with views of the ocean.

The challenges were many: the heating and ventilation system was poured into the concrete slab foundation and had pest intrusion. The floor plan was choppy — you had to walk through one bedroom to get to the other. The kitchen was crowded — you couldn’t see from the kitchen to the dining room nor to the ocean. Parts of the house were starved for natural light.

In addition, a crowded kitchen, a misplaced fireplace wall, and overgrown vegetation outside all hindered ocean views from this 1,600-square-foot house located a block and a half from the beach. An old patio arbor blocked natural light and felt crowded.

The challenge was to rebuild the house into a modern, well-equipped and well-lighted home yet still keep as much of Eichler’s design esthetic as possible.

“We pride ourselves on being able to accomplish any kind of architectural design, Victorian, Contemporary, Carmel Cottage, Craftsman, and so on,” said Lewis. “With this house, we wanted to pay homage to Eichler and do something he would do in 2020. He was pretty modern for his time, so we call this an ‘updated’ Eichler.”

Lewis and his team added a hallway, along with a slight bump out to the back that made three bedrooms out of two. Kitchen, living, dining, and foyer were all opened up with windows and skylights to bring the outdoors in.

Some of the solutions included:

•Original heating, and ventilation, system was removed and radiant floor heating installed.

•A hallway was added to make three bedrooms.

•Kitchen, dining and living room were opened up.

•Fireplace was moved, energy efficient windows installed, landscaping rejuvenated, all to maximize ocean views.

•Natural light was optimized in true Eichler style to bring the outdoors in with six skylights, four patio doors, two French doors, and glass transoms on both interior and exterior walls.

•An operable skylight above the shower, including a glass transom, to bring both light and fresh air into the interior master bath.

•Trimless interior windows and doors to enhance the clean, geometric lines, especially prominent in the glass hallway.

Some of the details of the rebuild:

•7.5-inch wide plank European oak hardwood floors

•Natural stacked stone walls flank kitchen walls, fireplace wall, and accented throughout

•Waterfall countertops and TV console in Calcutta quartz

•Caesarstone in raw concrete quartz countertops

•Appliances from Bosch, Bertazzoni, and Fisher & Paykel

•Custom cabinetry

•Radiant floor heating

•Curbless showers

•Six oversized skylights (one operable above the Master shower), four patio doors, two French doors

•Two outdoor living spaces totaling more than 800 square feet

“We wanted to use clean, simple lines and natural elements such as wood and to add a warmth and softness to the space,” said Lewis, who calls the design “organic contemporary.” “We honored Eichler’s design by keeping some of the main esthetics in place.

Lewis said he learned a lot about Eichler’s design sensibilities by working on the house.

“As a student of design, I’m immediately attracted to these types of homes,” he said. “I would do anything to learn from the masters like Eichler. So this was a close, intimate experience to work with this house and its design. It was enhanced with modern conveniences, while being true to Eichler’s Mid-Century Modern design elements. We believe Eichler would be pleased.”

The house is for sale and listed with Doug & Lisa Steiny of Sotheby’s International Realty (http://www.dougsteiny.com).

About Lewis Builders

Lewis Builders is the design/build firm that can make your dream home a reality. Located in Carmel, CA, we create beautifully designed homes specifically tailored to complement your lifestyle and increase your home’s value.

At Lewis Builders we believe in approaching design/build projects with honesty, integrity, and transparency by doing what we say we will do. We are committed to constant innovation, so that we can provide our customers with state-of-the-art products, exceptional service and distinctive designs.

Lewis Builders

3706 The Barnyard

Suite G-11

Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923

831-250-7168

Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain

Chatterbox PR

Salinas, CA 93901

(831) 747-7455

https://lewisbuilder.com/

Lewis Builders is excited to announce that Rich Morf has accepted a promotion to Design/Build Manager

Rich has a tremendous amount of expertise with custom remodeling and residential construction and has an eye for quality design and quality craftsmanship.

Carmel, CA, April 28, 2019 – ‘Rich has a tremendous amount of expertise with custom remodeling and residential construction and has an eye for quality design and quality craftsmanship.” – John Lewis, Lewis Builders CEO.

A native of Modesto, California, Rich spent time as a project manager in the Bay Area for several years, but he must have known he would eventually end up here when he purchased a home in Carmel in 2010.

Rich, a licensed real estate salesperson and certified real estate appraiser, worked as a senior project manager with Jones Lang LaSalle in San Francisco in 2016-2017, and prior to that for eight years as Project Asset Manager, Real Estate Owned Division of Wells Fargo Bank in Oakland.

He also spent four years as Regional Appraisal Manager for World Savings Bank in Modesto, as well as stints as an executive recruiter and Regional Chief Appraiser in the Bay Area.

“Rich’s ‘Get-It-Done’ attitude combined with a knack for bringing to life the vision of our clients and designers make him an exceptional asset to Lewis Builders.” -Scott Julian, Lewis Builders COO

Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain

Chatterbox PR

Salinas, CA 93901

(831) 747-7455

https://lewisbuilder.com/

Lewis Builders of Carmel Wins Five Prestigious Design/Build Awards from Remodeling Industry Publications

Lewis Builders of Carmel, one of the premier design/builders in Monterey County, has won five design/build awards from remodeling industry publications, including a gold, two silvers, a bronze and a Chrysalis Award for Remodeling Excellence.

Carmel, CA, September 19, 2018 — Lewis Builders of Carmel, one of the premier design/builders in Monterey County, has won five design/build awards from remodeling industry publications, including a gold, two silvers, a bronze and a Chrysalis Award for Remodeling Excellence.

The awards include:

>2018 Gold Award Winner, Professional Remodeler Magazine, Whole-House over $750,000. This flip of a 1960s home resulted in a “Sold” sign after only 10 days on the market, thanks to the complete floorplan makeover and design updates that take advantage of the beautiful ocean views and natural light. The ocean views accessible from the side of the house were maximized by three corner windows (in the kitchen and two master bedrooms) and three extra large patio doors. Five oversize skylights allowed natural light to fill the spaces not overlooking the water.

Professional Remodeler’s Design Awards recognize outstanding remodeling projects in 23 categories. Entries submitted by U.S. residential remodeling companies are judged on quality, design expertise, material choices, problem solving and creativity. Award winners are determined by a panel of 10 expert judges from the remodeling industry.

Link: https://www.proremodeler.com/lewis-builders

>2018 Master Design Awards, Silver Award Winner from Qualified Remodeler Magazine • Outdoor Living. The 40th annual Master Design Awards highlight innovative design solutions that helped to produce exceptional remodeling projects.

Link: http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/207832/2018-master-design-awards-outdoor-living-2/

>2018 Master Design Awards, Silver Award Winner, Qualified Remodeler Magazine • Universal Design. The 40th annual Master Design Awards highlight innovative design solutions that helped to produce exceptional remodeling projects.

Link: http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/207887/2018-master-design-awards-universal-design-2/

>2018 Bronze Award Winner from Professional Remodeler Magazine, Outdoor Living over $100,000. The award was for an addition or significant remodel that extends living space into the outdoors. Projects may include landscaping, covered or uncovered patios, outdoor kitchens; etc.

Link: https://www.proremodeler.com/2018-pro-remodeler-design-awards-silver-bronze-winners

>2018 Regional Outdoor Living over $75,000 at the 2018 Chrysalis Awards for Remodeling Excellence. The Chrysalis Awards program, begun in 1994, recognizes the nation’s best work in 15 general categories of residential and commercial remodeling. The Chrysalis Awards are open to any professional remodeler and design professional in the United States.

Link: http://www.chrysalisawards.com/remodeler/Lewis/index.html

About Lewis Builders

Lewis Builders is an award-winning design/build firm that can make your dream home a reality. Located in Carmel, CA, we create beautifully designed homes specifically tailored to complement your lifestyle and increase your home’s value.

At Lewis Builders we believe in approaching design/build projects with honesty, integrity, and transparency by doing what we say we will do. We are committed to constant innovation, so that we can provide our customers with state-of-the-art products, exceptional service and distinctive designs.

Lewis Builders

3706 The Barnyard

Suite G-11

Carmel, CA 93923

831-250-7168

Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain

Chatterbox PR

Salinas, CA 93901

(831) 747-7455

https://www.lewisbuilder.com/

Lewis Builders of Carmel, the Premier Design/Build and Aging-in-Place Specialists on the Monterey Peninsula, Wins Remodeling Award

Lewis Builders of Carmel has announced it has won an award at the 2018 Chrysalis Awards for Remodeling Excellence.

Carmel, CA, June 27, 2018 — Lewis Builders of Carmel has announced it has won an award at the 2018 Chrysalis Awards for Remodeling Excellence.

Lewis Builders won in the category Outdoor Living over $75,000, one of more than 90 remodeling companies from across the United States named winners. The entries were judged on overall design, the creative use of space and materials, and the degree to which the project enhanced the original structure.

The Chrysalis Awards program, begun in 1994, recognizes the nation’s best work in 15 general categories of residential and commercial remodeling. The Chrysalis Awards are open to any professional remodeler and design professional in the United States.

“We are honored to be recognized for the quality of our work and design from such a prestigious company,” said John Lewis, founder and owner of Lewis Builders.

“In 1977, a developer built this house on top of a hillside with 360-degree city and mountain views, without any regard to how to enjoy those views,” wrote Lewis about the award-winning remodel. “Thirty-nine years later, the home finally blossomed with this new outdoor living space.

“The interior floor plan was adjusted to take advantage of the best views; kitchen/dining rooms now open to the outdoors. The new outdoor living space is complete with kitchen, bar, kegerator, and diamond-shaped cement patio with firepit. Both sunrises and sunsets can be now be seen from the sitting areas on the wraparound deck.”

Winning entries will be featured in July’s issue of Qualified Remodeler magazine.

Pictures of the 2018 award-winning projects can be seen on Chrysalis website www.chrysalisawards.com and on www.porch.com beginning in late June. For more information about the Chrysalis Awards, contact Ken Kanline at 888-263-5687 or at info@chrysalisawards.com.

About The Chrysalis Awards

Since 1993, the Chrysalis Awards have honored the finest remodeling projects in the country. Our goal is to provide consumers, remodelers, designers, architects and editors with a resource for remodeling ideas and to identify those companies that produce award-winning work. On this site, you can find remodeling ideas from all over the country, and also find the award-winning remodelers closest to you. Most of these award winners are capable of turning your ideas into reality, regardless of the region in which you find the idea.

The awards cover almost every category and price range of remodeling, so regardless of what kind of project you are contemplating, you will find projects that fit any budget.

Judging

Chrysalis judges are editors and writers of consumer publications such as Better Homes & Gardens, Woman’s Day’s Home Remodeling & Makeovers, Southern Living Magazine and Sunset Magazine. The projects are judged on design, use of materials, use of space and integration into the existing space. What makes these projects so relevant to you is that these judges apply their training to select projects they want the public to see just as they would do in their publications.

About Lewis Builders

Lewis Builders is the design/build firm that can make your dream home a reality. Located in Carmel, CA, we create beautifully designed homes specifically tailored to complement your lifestyle and increase your home’s value.

At Lewis Builders we believe in approaching design/build projects with honesty, integrity, and transparency by doing what we say we will do. We are committed to constant innovation, so that we can provide our customers with state-of-the-art products, exceptional service and distinctive designs.

Lewis Builders

3706 The Barnyard

Suite G-11

Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923

831-250-7168

Home

Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain

Chatterbox PR

Salinas, CA 93901

(831) 747-7455

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Lewis Builders of Carmel Specializes in Designing and Building Custom Homes, Remodels and “Aging-in-Place” Renovations

John Lewis found his calling as a college student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, though it wasn’t how you might expect a career path to unfold.

Carmel, CA, May 18, 2017 — John Lewis found his calling as a college student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, though it wasn’t how you might expect a career path to unfold.

Flash forward to 2017, as Lewis is now the founder of Lewis Builders, which specializes in designing and building custom homes, doing design/build remodels and “aging-in-place” renovations for retirees, older people and those with health concerns. His firm employs 15 people and moved into new offices in The Barnyard Shopping Center in Carmel.

“We have a passion for helping those who are aging and just want to keep their dignity and independence in their own homes,” says Lewis, who recently added two partners to the firm, Kenny Boyd as Chief Financial Officer and Scott Julian as Chief Operations Officer. “We’re trying to educate the public on design/build and aging-in-place.”

Design/build, simply put, is the same company doing the design and construction, from conception to completion, of a custom home or remodel. Design/builders have a better conception of the real costs of a project and how to fit that into a client’s budget; it saves significant time in the overall project; and the construction team works collaboratively with the design team.

Aging-in-place is customizing homes with innovative, aesthetically pleasing solutions that alleviate the physical challenges of aging or injury.

It’s not just a specialty, Lewis Builders is a credentialed expert in CAPS (Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist). A program of the National Association of Home Builders, the Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation program teaches the technical, business management, and customer service skills essential to competing in the fastest growing segment of the residential remodeling industry: home modifications for the aging-in-place.

“When people discover that cost of living in an assisted-living facility can be $10,000 or $20,000 a month, making modifications to their own homes becomes a no-brainer,” he says. “The ultimate result is that people are able to live comfortably and safely in their homes into their later years, rather than moving into costly assisted-living facilities.”

Born and raised in Monterey County, the youngest of five children, Lewis’s passion for the creative process of designing and building custom homes and remodels that started with small repair jobs in college, has now become his life’s work.

He realized that his passion and talents were for the entire creative process, seeing what others couldn’t, taking on challenging design and construction issues, and developing his expertise at flipping homes successfully.

Lewis’ first construction job was in 1995 in Salinas, but his first significant project, one that launched him on the “entrepreneurial side of the business,” was in 2002 when he built a small, two-bedroom bed and breakfast unit for the owner of the winery where he worked in Templeton, California.

That project resulted in a referral for another job. It also got him rethinking his career path.

“For the first time I was making more money in construction, than making wine,” he says. But he kept at his viticulture studies and in time he moved to Napa to work at a winery. But he also became a licensed contractor and incorporated as owner of his own firm, JL Home Solutions.

In Napa, he worked by day at the winery and vineyards and on construction on nights and weekends. Once again, he found he was making more money doing construction on nights and weekends than his winery job.

He moved back to Monterey County in 2008, but the recession was hitting the country hard and construction jobs were few and far between, so Lewis started a business as a property inspector.

And in order to establish himself in the community and build a foundation for his construction business that was temporarily dormant, Lewis dove into the business community, taking leadership courses and joining the boards of such agencies as the Central Coast Builders Exchange, Charitable Trust Committee for Monterey County Association of Realtors, Planning Commissioner, Rotarian, and Salinas Chamber of Commerce.

It was as a property inspector that he met one of his partners, Kenny Boyd. Lewis met Boyd when he was tasked to inspect a duplex Boyd had purchased. The two, who both attended Cal Poly and were both majoring in ag business, not only hit it off, they partnered in a real estate project, which lead to more projects, and to eventually becoming partners in Lewis Builders.

Lewis met Julian, who at the time owned his own medical equipment company, through his involvement in aging-in-place design and construction. Julian also recently became a partner in Lewis Builders.

Lewis closest and most intimate partnership was the result of an almost chance meeting at a three-day financial seminar in San Diego. That’s where Lewis and his future wife Tammy met when they were involved in a group exercise together.

“We both discovered we had found the one,” says Lewis about the encounter. “We went there to find out about financials and instead we found love.”

John and Tammy were married six months later and they now have two sons, 2 1/2 years old and six months old. And, Tammy, in addition to her primary duties as a mother, is now also Lewis Builders’ Creative Director.

Lewis Builders

3706 The Barnyard

Suite G-11

Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93923

831-250-7168

http://lewisbuilder.com

Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain

Chatterbox PR

Salinas, CA 93901

(831) 747-7455

marci@chatterboxpublicrelations.com

http://lewisbuilder.com

New Partners, a new location, and Cutting-edge technology Propel Lewis Builders to reshape the Local Home Building and Remodeling industry for Monterey County Residents

L to R: Scott Julian, Chief Operations Officer, Kenny Boyd, Chief Financial Officer and John Lewis, Chief Executive Officer

Carmel, California, February 22, 2017 – John Lewis, founder of Lewis Builders, has wasted no time starting the new year off with positive change for Monterey County residents. Along with an office move into retail space in The Barnyard of Carmel, he recently announced the addition of two key business partners, Kenny Boyd and Scott Julian. This means the local home building industry will not only be adding resources, but will also see a fresh approach integrating technology into the project management and design process.

As industry professionals, Boyd and Julian bring their expertise, diverse background and enthusiasm to the vision of growing the company to meet the extreme demand for local remodeling, home building, and Aging-in-Place needs.

Following a passionate career in real estate investing and being a client of Lewis Builders for years, Kenny Boyd has officially become a partner of Lewis Builders. Boyd says, “Lewis Builders made themselves indispensable to my business so it only made sense to invest into the company and help John, not only grow the business, but more importantly take care of the financial side of the business so he can spend more time doing what he is good at – designing and building homes.”

Boyd is passionate about leveraging his intelligence and knowledge in real estate and business management to keep the talent in the field doing what they love and enabling them to create a bigger impact on our community.

“Kenny is the guy that will keep your project on budget and make sure money is being spent efficiently. He takes pride in being a steward of your funds and creating financial clarity for your project,” says Lewis.

Scott Julian also joined Lewis to continue the customer centric vision while leading the implementation of a custom client-focused software and mobile app solution, giving clients day-to-day transparency to the project progress, material selections and financials.

“Scott brings unique experience and credentials to the Aging-in-Place focus of our business, lending additional insight and expertise to help our clients build the home of their dreams with the comfort of knowing it is built to be aging friendly, without compromising beauty or design,” says Lewis.

About Lewis Builders

Since 1999, Lewis Builders has brought client’s dream homes and visions to life by delivering exceptional quality and maximizing value. John Lewis’ niche is bringing together a client’s style, preferences and dreams into a concept and then a reality.

Newly redesigned website at: www.lewisbuilder.com

New address: 3706 The Barnyard, Suite G-11, Carmel, CA 93923

Contact: Lewis Builders (831) 758-6391 | Email: john@johnlewisgroup.com

For Media Interviews Contact: Marci Bracco Cain (831) 747-7455 or marci@chatterboxpublicrelations.com

Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain

Chatterbox PR

Salinas, CA 93901

(831) 747-7455

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