Paul Gifford Custom Construction, has been building custom homes in the Kansas City metropolitan area since 1983. The homes range from the mid-six figures to the mid-seven figures, and are truly unique, custom-built homes.

Paul builds what he refers to as "lifestyle homes," homes that incorporate both the home buyer's quality-of-life objectives and the qualities of the lot. "We do not just develop homes for each home buyer, we develop specifically for them and their site," explains Mr. Gifford.

"Typically, clients will call us when they have a special place in mind. Lakefront, golf course and acreage sites are typical. We like working with our clients on challenging sites; it forces our creative juices to flow. Our team is able to take the lot's characteristics into account from the beginning, and we develop a plan for that site which really maximizes the reasons our client chose it."

He continues: "We build truly custom homes, which means we start the project from scratch. One of the main benefits of building a custom home, as opposed to taking a model and slightly modifying it, is that it takes optimum advantage of a specific site. This means you are controlling costs while giving your client all the design elements he desires instead of some portion of them, which he would have to settle for with a modified model home."

Today, homeowners who want to build a high-end, genuinely custom home seek out Paul Gifford Custom Construction. Paul has built or re-modeled homes in Lakewood, The Bluffs, Riss Lake, Weatherby Lake, Lake Quivira, Loch Lloyd, Lake Winnebago and other prime subdivisions.

Paul initially came to the home building business at a young age. He grew up in Booneville, MO. At age 14 he went to work for a local builder and learned home building from the most basic elements.

He relates: "In a small town, back then anyway, there was no such thing as subcontractors. When you built a house, you literally built the house. We did everything from putting in the footings to putting on the roof, including framing, wiring, plumbing and so on."

He went to Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg where he received his undergraduate degree in psychology with course work emphasis in business management. While attending CMSU, he got work at a lumberyard 35 to 40 hours a week, The business was owned by a married couple who had just started the company nine months before. He not only learned more about building materials, but he learned how to build a business. The owners' honest and straightforward style is something Paul incorporated into his own business.

After his bachelor's degree, he went on to receive a master's degree in industrial management and began his professional career in the human resources department of General Motors. Paul moved around a good deal, and every place he moved he used his talent and training in construction to build and remodel homes for himself. He also found his life's partner, Toni, and while he was courting her, he put together a construction business. These were both good choices to form a rewarding life.

Some home builders with Mr. Gifford's prominence do not want to do remodeling, but Paul does remodel as well as build new homes. Remodel projects range from $25,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. "We are one of the few builders that does remodeling and admits it," Paul jokes.

Most of his company's remodeling projects deal with homes that are located on land that has appreciated significantly because of amenities in their location. "Lakewood is a good example," Gifford explains. "There was a mixture of new construction and some decades-old homes. Our goal in a remodeling project here and elsewhere is to take an existing house in an excellent location and turn it into a today house. Once it's a today house you recapture the appreciated value of the lot. Your clients now have a property that has a much greater value than the investment in the original property and the addition or remodel. It may mean a simple addition and some sprucing up or it may mean taking it down to the sub-floor and starting all over again."

Mr. Gifford enjoys answering the creative challenges posed by remodeling projects. "Many times, when you are forced to be creative by unanticipated conditions, it turns out better than the original idea. It sort of forces you to think outside the box."

Customers can expect integrity and a commitment to communication throughout the process when working with Paul Gifford Custom Construction: whether it is working with Paul in the conceptual stages or working with the project manager in charge of the daily administration of the project.

"When people invest in a home with us, they invest in all of our team. We have an exceptional team with many years of experience and strong construction backgrounds," Mr. Gifford relates. "We deal very openly with people. There are no secrets in our business."

Paul attributes his straightforward business approach to his family orientation and Christian commitment. He emphasizes that everyone involved must have a working relationship based on trust to achieve success. "We do what we say we are going to do, and we expect the same from our subcontractors, our suppliers, and our clients."

The Gifford team fosters pride in workmanship by dealing with subcontractors with integrity. His subs have been known to bring families to the project sites on Saturdays to show them the quality work they have done.

Integrity can be a greater determining factor than price when a home builder selects a supplier or subcontractor. "You can always find cheap," Paul states, "but it is difficult to find people of integrity who have the skill to provide the level of quality that we put in our homes."

He points out that building and remodeling are communication-intensive processes. His team's ability to communicate is an important reason why home buyers choose Paul Gifford Custom Construction. "Our ability to work with people is seen in our ability to help the client take their ideas and transfer them onto a piece of paper and then translate their dream into a place their family can live and enjoy for the rest of their lives."

Mr. Gifford believes in participating in the industry and continuing education. Not only is the company a member of the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City, but Paul is a former president and a life director of the National Association of Home Builders.

When he is not working, Paul pursues hobbies he can enjoy with his family, including snow skiing and boating. Paul Gifford and his wife, Toni, have four grown children: sons Sean, Nate, and Chris, and a daughter, Amy. They also have two grandchildren: Mariah and Dominic.