CUSTOM HOME COLLABORATIONS
MEETING BRAD SMITH …
By Janet Day / Photos by Carter Photographics

Brad Smith of Terra Firma Custom Homes in Winter Park.

Creating a custom home requires collaboration.

Owners decide what they want. Architects put it on paper. Builders make it real. But unless they’re talking with each other about each element, the process can be frustrating or difficult. That’s why builder Brad Smith of Terra Firma Custom Homes in Winter Park makes sure there are on-going conversations as a home is taking shape.

“A custom home is a collaboration of many people – from architect and engineer to the electrician and plumber – all working to create something,” Smith said. “The builder is the one artfully directing all of that, bringing creativity out of people, motivating them. It’s a collaborative process that can last for a year and a relationship that can last longer.”

His approach is to assemble a team including the owner and architect, talk regularly to understand the owner’s values, and then set goals.

“We provide a support system for the owner, ensuring quality, timeliness and integrity,” Smith said. “It’s value engineering.”

Brad Smith of Terra Firma Custom Homes stresses communication and collaboration as the key to success in creating homes that the owners will love for generations.

Skill and Reputation Grow from Necessity
Smith’s professional values come from his personal values, not from training or early career planning. In 1981, he was a biology major at the University of Colorado in Boulder with no job prospects who ended up working as a carpenter. He gravitated toward, and had a talent for, fine woodworking in high-end construction.

In 1994, Smith had a general contracting opportunity to design, build and sell duplexes in Summit County. That increased his skill level and reputation, and led him to start his own company and build his first custom spec house in Niwot in 1997. He then had an opportunity to build a luxury multi-family building in Winter Park: Ponderosa at Timber Run.

Focus on Custom Construction
As the market for multi-family units started to slide around 2000, Smith focused his energy on custom homes. He built his first Grand County custom home in Grand Lake in 2001.

Brad worked with New Mountain Design to achieve a mountain modern kitchen that is timeless.

“I found that very rewarding, working directly with the owner,” Smith said. “Part of the joy of it is never doing the same thing.” Thus far, Terra Firma has built 26 custom homes in Grand County. His company’s name – Terra Firma – reflects his mountain location, materials and philosophy. “Terra Firma means solid ground, mother earth, the idea of being grounded and also working with natural materials and resources.”

Mountain Modern
Most of Smith’s work has been constructing homes in what he calls the “mountain rustic” style with some park- or lodge-style houses in Grand Lake. But he sees mountain architecture changing.

“There’s a move toward what I call ‘mountain modern’ – a stylistic style toward smaller, cleaner-lined homes,” Smith said. “It’s the same type of materials, but using them differently. We’re still using wood, stone and steel, but with sharper lines. The fundamentals are timeless, with rustic appeal, but with a more modern look.”

Barn-board wainscoting, for example, adds an aged feel to a room, but the straight-edged metal cap along the top of it makes it contemporary. A granitetopped table may have two thin metal pedestal legs rather than thick rustic wood legs at each corner.

Fractured Inventory
The economic free fall has taken its toll on the home-building industry, but Smith expects to see a rebound late this year or next.

Most of Smith’s work has been constructing homes in what he calls the “mountain rustic” style, which often accentuates great mountain views.

“Grand County’s inventory is pretty fractured,” he said. “A lot of homes were built in or before the 1980s or just recently. There’s not much in-between and those older homes are starting to look pretty dated. There’s a push for more modern homes – modern but still with a mountain look and feel. And the Baby Boom generation is realizing it’s now or never for building their mountain dream home,” Smith said. “They want a mountain get-away while they have plenty of years left to use it.”

Ensuring Energy Efficiency
Terra Firma’s focus on natural elements and resources makes building green a priority, but Smith acknowledges that large custom homes, by their very nature, are resource intensive. “We’ve always been focused on using resources respectfully – not wasting materials – and being energy efficient,” he said. “We don’t do the design work, but in our collaborative process we can educate, suggest and push people toward more energy efficiency.

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