Couture & Construction
Couture & Construction
From Blueprint to Bliss: The Fauver's Dream Home Build Pt. 1
Welcome back to Season 8 of Couture & Construction! We are an uplifting podcast dedicated to the many different aspects of the luxury building industry.
This week, for our 119th episode of the podcast, we are so excited to have on some of our most exciting guests since the beginning of C&C. We are absolutely delighted to have the chance to sit down with 3 social media powerhouses to discuss the Fauver's real estate process & moving to Nashville! Joining us we have Emily & Dylan Fauver, who are joined by their real estate agent & one of our favorite recurring guests, Kelly Ladwig.
Emily, Dylan & Kelly come into the showroom to have an open table discussion covering everything about their upcoming new build project in Nashville. We get some incredible insight into what made them choose Nashville, how they are building their house to meet their needs & the exact moment that Kelly found the perfect lot for them! Tune in to be motivated & help us continue to dive into our 8th season.
Connect with Emily Fauver:
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Connect with Dylan Fauver:
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Connect with Kelly Ladwig:
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LinkedIn
So
SPEAKER_01:Welcome back to Couture and Construction, episode 119, From Blueprint to Bliss, The Fowler Family Dream Home Build, Part 1, Nashville Beckons. Today's episode is part one of the journey of the Fowler family as they embark on building their dream home in Nashville. Joining us today are Emily and Dylan Fowler, along with their talented realtor and Couture and Construction veteran guest, Kelly Ladwig of Home on a Nashville Hill. Dylan is a dedicated family man and an active member of the U.S. Air Force, where he thrills in flying a T-38 in Missouri. Outside of his exciting career, he's a devoted cheer dad to his daughter Ella and has just welcomed a baby boy, Nash, into the world with his wife, Emily. On his social media, Dylan shares his love for a for family fun, men's fashion, and travel adventures. Emily, a proud military wife and mother to Ella and Nash, juggles her days between styling Ella's hair, enjoying newborn snuggles, walking her dogs, and attending country music concerts with Dylan. With a passion for helping others, she actively raises money for foster families and shares her fitness journey to inspire others. Her online presence is a treasure trove of beauty tutorials, fashion finds, and family fun. The Fowers connect with with over 1.4 million followers on Instagram and 5 million on TikTok. Kelly Ladwig, Nashville luxury realtor, is no stranger to the build process, and she joined us in season one to take us through her own journey building her custom dream home. Kelly is also part of an amazing community on Instagram with over 230,000 followers, and she has been featured in House Beautiful, HGTV, and the New York Times. Today, we'll explore why the Fowers are moving to Nashville, what went into their decision process, how they found the perfect lot, and the key factors that influenced their choice. Alongside their realtor, Kelly Ladwig, Kelly Ladwig will get an insider's look at the planning and excitement behind this incredible build. So whether you're dreaming of your own luxury home or simply fascinated by the behind-the-scenes process, stay tuned as we delve into the Fowler family's path from blueprint to bliss. Welcome, Dylan and Emily and Kelly. Thank you all for being here. So really exciting. You guys are joining us from Missouri, coming to Nashville. Tell us a why and how and how all that's working and who y'all are.
SPEAKER_00:Well, we grew up in Oregon and as a military family, we moved from Oregon to Texas to Louisiana and now in Missouri. And since we moved around a little bit, we hadn't been close to family. We kind of said, well, where do we want to go afterward? And the easy answer is to go home. And for us, going back to Oregon wasn't the right answer. And so we literally took a map and started pointing at states and saying, do we want this one? Started at the top. Alaska, no. Washington, no. Oregon. And we just kind of went through, chose a couple that we liked and visited, and just really Loved everything Tennessee had to offer. And she had been a couple times and then told me how much she loved it. So when I finally came to visit, I loved it. And like, I think this might be home. We tried out a couple other places and it just didn't feel like home.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, we thought for a while we maybe wanted to do Arizona and then it was too hot. And then, you know, I had been here a few times and I just kept telling him, like, you have to go to Tennessee. And it reminds us a little bit of Oregon because of the green and the, you know, I don't know, the hills. It gives that feeling of home for us without being in Oregon. And we just love the people here. Everyone's so nice. And it just feels like where we should be.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome. Well, I welcome you here, and I think you'll really enjoy it. It is a beautiful place. It has elements of Out West, like you share. But the people here are really what make it special, and the fact that there's a creative fabric that just is kind of the underpinning of the community. And off of that, a lot radiates, and it's just a great community. Kids love it. It's a wonderful place. Kelly? Thank you for joining us. Where are you in life right now?
SPEAKER_04:First of all, thanks for having me back. Absolutely. Boy, life has changed a little bit since I was first on about three and a half
SPEAKER_02:years
SPEAKER_04:ago. We've been in our house for coming up on three years. Finally finished a backyard project after about four years, so we can walk out of the back of the house, so life is good. But yeah, other than that... jumped into real estate, have been really fortunate to work with people like Dylan and Emily and help them create their dream home. I enjoyed doing it so much when I did it that I've been really fortunate enough to parlay that into helping other people do it as well.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Well, there's no doubt you have your finger on the pulse of Nashville and especially the luxury build community. So we're excited to have you back on. So let's jump into kind of the journey. You guys are in Missouri now. You've been a military family, lots of moving. How did, like, you found Tennessee, love Nashville. I love that you're a country music fan as well. So you'll feel definitely right at home here. What was the start of the process to say, listen, we're going to put down roots and we want to build a really cool home?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, I love custom. I just want something that I Thank you so much. And so that kind of led us to how do we make that happen? And when we were here visiting, we have a friends, they live here and they're big on social media and stuff. And Kelly helped them find a home. And she's like, you got to talk to Kelly. She's, like I said, she's got the pulse on the place. And so I got in touch with her and then she's like, you know, come out to the Parade of Homes. And so, well, that's almost three years ago now, two years.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So we went to the Parade of Homes and just loved what we saw there and loved We're like, how do we build one of these? How can we make this happen? And Kelly helped us find the perfect lot through all that. And we're getting ready. We're getting close to break ground on it.
SPEAKER_01:So at that parade, what was your favorite feature of any of the homes? They were all spectacular in their own right. You guys were building with legend. But what is your favorite? What would you say was your favorite thing there that you hadn't seen or just something that you really enjoyed?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, actually, we were mimicking our home. We got a lot of inspiration from the Legend Home there at the parade. Kind of that courtyard style, U-shape with the pool in the middle. We loved that. We just, I mean, we stood there just looking at it thinking like this could be home. We love being indoor, outdoor, kind of the same time. And they just had the perfect space. We feel like we could entertain. We could see our kids playing in the pool. You can see them from all angles, you know, so it felt safe. It just seemed like the the perfect place. I don't know, the inspiration that that home gave us really is how I started designing this next one. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and I'll share with you, I mean, you're not alone. Like, that was an absolutely spectacular plan. Jack Kerr, I think, designed that home. Correct.
UNKNOWN:And
SPEAKER_01:Legend has a history of being very innovative in these parade concepts, and I think that was our fourth one that we had done. And every time, they're hitting this incredibly cool new vibe. And that one, what really stood out to me was the size of some of the windows and the amount of light that came in. It was just really, really neat. So... Tell me about finding a lot. So you guys were here, we're standing here. How do we make this possible? What is that process like?
SPEAKER_03:For me, it's actually kind of hard because I have a hard time just like seeing it. You know, I just see grass a lot of the times. And we, I mean, bless Dylan. He was so patient with me because we'd go to so many different lots. We'd go to say one over and over. And I actually feel like it was, we were about to give up. It was almost on accident. Not give up, but just be like, okay, we'll come back to this later because we came to visit. And was it you, Kelly, that texted us and was like, you guys need to go check out this lot? Well, and I think the reason is we had gone into a house in Rosebrook and I went upstairs and went on the deck and I was like this to the backyard and I was like this is the most beautiful backyard I've ever seen like there's nothing behind it there's just trees again it kind of felt like home back in Oregon and we were about to leave town I think we were probably on our way out and Kelly's like go buy this it backs up to the same like area that Emily fell in love with I just saw Emily light up when you know she got on that deck and we went and I was like this is it I actually was like I can't believe this is available We made a decision, I think, that day. And I was like, who do I call? Because I know this
SPEAKER_00:is going to be gone. We didn't want it to be on the market any longer. I mean, I came to Nashville knowing we were looking for a property. And I think I sent Kelly a map of like 10 places, super organized, laid out. I was like, I got to check out all these things. I want to be in a cul-de-sac. No one backing up to me. I had like all these specific things that I had to have. So, you know, if I'm going to build this home, I've got to have this. And this one happened. Somehow, in a weird way, it didn't meet the stuff that I had. But once we stood there and looked at it, we're like, well, this really actually does kind of meet the specs. But on paper, it doesn't look like it. Like Emily said, we kind of checked it out. We're like, well, it does back up to all this common space. There will be no one behind us. And if we build that home the way that we want to, we will have kind of our own little secluded area. And then there's a tree line on one side. And like I said, it was a totally last-minute thing after looking at it. I think it had to be close to a dozen different communities to look for places.
SPEAKER_04:We started big, right? I believe you had like a very big shotgun approach and then you start to narrow down because as you're working with people and Dylan and Emily, Dylan especially, they're super organized, right? And it's really helpful because they at least give me a place to start. But I'm a big feeler, like how does something feel? Can you see yourself, you know, with the kids playing in the yard? And so we went to different neighborhoods with different feelings. You know, and this is they knew they wanted a little bit of land. They knew they wanted, you know, about an acre and they knew they wanted Williamson County. And so you just start narrowing things down and you start feeling what you want. And the cul-de-sac thing was really big for them. And we found a lot, except a builder owned it and there was no opportunity to do any custom. And we really just said, OK, maybe we take a breath. We wait for the next phase, see if we can snag it. And I took a walk through the neighborhood just to kind of clear my brain and kind of strategize. And I found myself walking past a lot that we had driven past probably, what, like five times? And I'm like... Wait, it doesn't say sold. I called Legend up. I'm like, hey, is this still available? And they're like, yeah. And I went and shot video. And I think we were under contract in like five hours. Wow. Yeah. And I'm a firm believer. When you know, you know. Something just feels right. Emily, you got out there and you got a little teary when you saw it. And then,
SPEAKER_03:you know, I got goosebumps. I just got chills when you said that. Yeah, I did too. Because I am a feeler too. Like, I don't think Dylan is as much. So sometimes I'm like, I don't know how to explain it. It just doesn't feel like home. Or it does, you know. And when I walked out there, I was like, this is it. This is what I want to look at every day. Because I do spend– I work from home. I'm at home all day, every day. I love being at home. So, like, I have to love everything about it.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and I would think the actual physical space, the earth,
SPEAKER_03:I
SPEAKER_01:mean, that's a huge part of it. You can have the coolest house in the world, but if it's– not feeling, you know, if you're super close to the neighbors or whatever, there's a million things that go into that. And yeah, I commend your patience. And to your point, it does seem like it unfolds as it should. But that's funny that that happened on a walk. You were just like, hey, let me figure this out.
SPEAKER_04:Usually you have, sometimes you try too hard, right? And you're squeezing too hard and you just need to open your hands up and give it all room to happen. And one thing that I love about it is that I'm a big believer in let's find a lot that opens up into HOA common areas so you get to enjoy it, but you don't have to take care of it. And this has it on two sides. It's
SPEAKER_03:crazy. Whenever I show people pictures, they're like, oh my gosh, how much property is that? And I'm like, that's what's great about it is we don't have to mow it and we can still use it. We love that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's a bonus. Definite bonus points. And it can never really be developed. So it's complete protection.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, 100%.
SPEAKER_01:That's awesome. So we talked about kind of how you found the lot, but you guys were introduced through a mutual friend. And I find what Kelly does amazing because it feels like she's very much with you through the process of the build. It would be easy. Okay, we found a lot. See you. Look for my Christmas card. And that's it. But what has that been like working together with Kelly?
SPEAKER_00:Unbelievable. I mean, for me, a realtor is someone that finds you the lot or gets you hooked up with a builder or finds you the house. And then it's like you said, see you later. Maybe we'll be in touch in another life. I mean, we've developed a friendship. We'll text and chat through Instagram and all sorts of stuff. And having her there every step of the way to answer any question, I'm always like, oh, I didn't want to bother you with that. She's like, you're not bothering me. That's what I love doing. And especially getting on the design calls. We have a designer on our team. And she's like, well, I want to be on those calls. Those are the fun ones. And I'm like, well, I don't want to waste your time. But she just really wants to be so involved in the process. And I mean, we'll never forget it. She's going to be a huge part of us being in our dream home, which is super cool.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it's kind of like having an advocate, like somebody outside. One of the things we've talked about on Couture and Construction, like religiously, is the importance of team throughout this process. Like it is just the most critical part, and especially for somebody that appears to be very organized like you, like having those different aspects of the team together. And with you guys living out of state, just having somebody that can give feedback that is is not part of everything, but, you know, and has the experience. I think that's pretty neat. I've got to back up to one thing. So you work from home. You have some very specific needs. I'd like to understand, like, what were the absolute must-haves each of you had to have in the design of this home?
SPEAKER_03:I think for me... It was lots of windows and because we have that in our current home and it's what I love about it the most. Like I have to have natural light or else I'm not going to, you know, I'm going to be sad. So I love all the windows that was necessary, the light colors. And then like we had said, having the pool was going to be a huge thing for us because our daughter would swim every second of every day if she could. And, you know, I would love to just, I can just picture myself out there with them, watching them swim all day. And I've never had that. I didn't have that as a kid either. So I'm like being able to have that for them is just the coolest thing. So I think those are probably the things that were like a non-negotiable, like a great outside space. And then, because I mean, Dylan and Kelly both know I don't like being outside much. So I have to find a way to like it. And then just... Well, and I
SPEAKER_04:think we pushed you to think bigger beyond that, too. What would make your work life easier? And, you know, how do we make your closet something really special? And how do we make that work for your work and for what you do with try-ons and products and things like that? And then also something like, how do we create a package receiving room where companies can deliver, it's covered, it's taken care of, she can open, she can, you know, pack things up and send it out? Again, little things that, you know, You may not have now, but once you have it, it makes your life completely different. Yeah,
SPEAKER_01:yeah.
SPEAKER_00:What about you? I just wanted a place to be able to entertain and a place that my kids can have their own space. I mean, if you have kids, you kind of end up living for your kids. At our current house, we built it before we had a kid, and we had an office, which is now a playroom. So lesson learned. I just built the playroom. Go ahead into this home. So I definitely wanted it to have our own area, their own area, and then we wanted it to be a place that All the kids want to come over. I want her friends at our house. I want it to be a good entertainment space. Bunk rooms, playrooms, all that sort of stuff was non-negotiable for me. I just want them to feel like it's the fun house to be at.
SPEAKER_04:And what I love is he, I mean, both of them, you can see how focused they are on both of their kids. But it was, you know, let's take a moment and what's going to bring joy to your life as an adult also, right? And for Dylan, he loves to golf. So let's build a golf sim and a gym. Oh, nice. That's yours. Oh, I know. Because he's like, well. I'd like a rack in the closet. I'm like, no, we can get you your own closet.
SPEAKER_00:That's also non-negotiable. I said, I'm getting my own closet this time around. His and hers sides of the bathroom, his and hers closets. That was 100% non-negotiable.
SPEAKER_01:But that's the beauty of building custom, right?
SPEAKER_00:Right. We couldn't find everything we wanted in a regular home. So being able to make all those decisions has been awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and I think with the inspiration from that floor plan, you know, I have young kids as well, and I'm with you. And I don't want to speak for all males, but I feel like having, like, own space for– because we like to entertain and this and that, and it's very, very important. But the openness of that floor plan where you really do have a perspective and– it lives bigger than maybe it even is, just because of the way it's been designed. So there's plenty of space for everybody to enjoy, but then there's some spaces where you can do work. And Whether the kids are doing work or the parents are doing work, it's just really well designed.
SPEAKER_04:And I think what you're going to see, they took all of their favorite things about that home and then added all the things that will make that home perfect for their family. So it's not a copy. Jack designed that house, but then you're going to see so many fun things that they added that are just so uniquely Dylan and Emily.
SPEAKER_01:One question I have for you is, did you keep the arches or are there still some arches in the home? No. I
SPEAKER_00:don't think we've gotten that far as far as like the interior design spec part yet. We're mostly just finished up with the floor plan and getting into really the selection phase. And then we're going to leave that to Lori to kind of really create that We just trust her now to the point where I'm like, we're just going to let you loose and tell us what looks good. So I don't know entirely yet.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. Well, that's one thing that always stood out to me with that house was the arch. I think the front door. Is the front door arched on that? Yeah. The scale. The scale was really, really cool in that home. And again, it felt bigger than it, I think, actually was. And obviously a big home. But just the volume of the rooms, everything about it. The way it flowed, it was fantastic. So... Talk about how you picked Williamson County. I know Tennessee, but what did you know about this area before? Because you have a young family. That was probably the most important consideration in deciding of where to move. And you guys are unique because you're getting to choose a place to go. And I guess maybe since the pandemic, there's a lot more people that can work remote and have made these decisions. And we've seen people from really all over the country kind of migrate south But what were some of the considerations that you took into account because you have young kids?
SPEAKER_03:Good schools, which we were, I feel like that's almost the first thing everyone says to us about this area. Oh, they have the best schools. So that was a non-negotiable for us.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we ultimately, when we were choosing just in general where to live, I mean, down to like the States was we wanted to be close to a city that had everything you could ever want, all the entertainment.
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:but we didn't want to live in the city. So we want to live just outside of it in a nice place that was close enough. And a lot of places don't have that. Once you start getting out of the city, it's just not really the vibe that we wanted. But having everything available to us in Nashville and then having this beautiful suburb that's got top schools, great restaurants, lots of entertainment. I mean, anywhere you go out to dinner, there's just people playing live music and stuff. And so we just were like, this is perfect. We're just far enough away from a city and still get all the the great benefits of it. And then we had quite a few friends that lived in Williamson County and had nothing but good things to say about it.
SPEAKER_01:It's really a nice place. Have you guys been able to explore like some of the Williamson County, like right down from you all is an incredible library. Have y'all been able to go to the, so I would encourage you to check out the library. Then across from that, they have a sports complex for like competitive swimming. It has maybe three like Olympic size swimming pools that are open year round. And it's all within a stone's throw from where you are. But the library, that library in particular has an amazing children's section. It's just an unbelievable resource for people in the community. And of course, like you said, you're 20 minutes. You can be in town in 20 minutes from there. And in between there, there's places you would want to go. And if you want to go further out 20 minutes, there's great places to go, whether it be Franklin or out to Leaper's Fork or taking a drive on the There's so much to do in this area that is very family-friendly and just conducive to enjoying time together. Have you all been to Radnor Lake yet? Mm-mm. Okay, you'll enjoy that. That's a beautiful, urban, and it's, what would you say, 15 minutes from?
SPEAKER_04:15 minutes. Easy hiking for the kids. They've been all focused on the house, right? So now they get to start to relax and enjoy.
SPEAKER_00:But everything is so close. Like you said, 15, 20 minutes is nothing, really. And
SPEAKER_03:we haven't had this. I mean, we have been stationed at the smallest towns ever for the last however many years. Like, I'm telling just Walmarts. Really? And a Chili's or something, if we're lucky.
SPEAKER_00:When Starbucks opened, our first duty station, it was a big deal. It was like, oh my gosh, there's a Starbucks here, you know?
SPEAKER_03:It feels so weird to be able to be like, to have something to do on a Saturday. That's so fun. I know. We don't have that. I think people especially see us on social media. They're like, oh, of course. People actually always think we live in California. I'm like, oh, I'm glad we get that impression. We live next to the cornfield. But we make the most of it.
SPEAKER_01:Well, Halloween would
SPEAKER_03:be
SPEAKER_01:fun.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:We literally drive through
SPEAKER_03:cornfields. They do that. Like
SPEAKER_00:you said, then you have Franklin that's just down the road. And that does feel like your small hometown feel. Wait
SPEAKER_01:until you go to the Greek festival down there. I mean, there is... There's events 365 days a year. As a matter of fact, I've been sharing with people, Nashville is very unique in the sense that New Orleans, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, LA, maybe Chicago, there's only a handful of cities in the country that have a very specific vibe, but that have a party vibe 365, 24-7. And that's, to me, a very positive thing. I mean, we've had vendors, for example, come in. They're like, man, we got to the hotel last night at 2 a.m., and you wouldn't believe. This is like on a Sunday night, Monday morning. Right. And they're like, you wouldn't believe. And it's a good time. That radiates. It's a happy place. And that doesn't mean that people here are partying all the time, and you guys will be like every other local and go downtown a handful of times a year. But when you do, and that's an option, and when you have friends and family in, it's so much fun to be able to enjoy. But the creative energy that is given off, the entrepreneurial spirit, in this city is palpable. And I truly believe it is the engine that is making the city go and so attractive to others. So it's really fun. So that new adventure, you've got the house on one hand. That's going to be its own project. But then you have the assimilation to a complete change in lifestyle. Like... What is the plan for that? Just kind of let it unfold. You guys are obviously no stranger to moving, but it sounds like this will be one of the more drastic because base life, right?
SPEAKER_03:It's a little scary. We actually talk about it. I'm like, how do you live? I always make a joke. I'm like, Dylan, what are you going to do? I've only known you as a pilot. Are you going to be a chiropractor or something? I can't see him as anything else but being in the military. We're looking forward, I think, to the freedom for sure, just being able to get up and go whenever we want and not have to ask for leave. I think the next goal for this is getting our family here. Would you agree? We're trying. Yeah, we're trying to get some of our family to move this way. They're talking about it. I
SPEAKER_04:think one of the things that was important, at least to me, because I always feel a really big sense of responsibility when I'm working with somebody, especially a family that is picking up and moving here and they don't know anybody. I mean, these guys have some friends here, so that helps. But when we were looking at neighborhoods and choosing neighborhoods, where could we find a place where they could be with people who are in the situation just like them. And fortunately, especially in Williamson County, there are so many families that have moved here without families. So these neighborhoods very quickly become families, and everybody becomes very close. And that was something I know that was at the top of my list for them as we were looking. You know, where could we get them where they could very quickly, you know, the kids have friends, they have friends, and then they can at least feel a little settled.
SPEAKER_00:So there were some communities that only had like eight homes in it. Kelly's like, well, you know, it's a beautiful property. It's great land. You could do a custom build. It's on a cul-de-sac. It checks all those boxes. But the people that already live in those homes, they don't have kids. You're not going to just let your kid go out and play by themselves. There's no one else there. And so finding the community that we did, I think it's just going to make friends so fast within that area. Because everyone's like, you're moving to Tennessee. Why didn't you go buy all this land? I'm like, that's just not really... our vibe. We just want to be close to people and build that sense of community around our home.
SPEAKER_01:I applaud you for that. Being a transplant here, easy to make friends. These neighborhoods have been great. Of course, there's different seasons. There may be a time in 10 years that you're like yeah that big piece of land right that's the next season right or it may be hey the condo downtown may be the next season uh but between kids school you know church uh events you there's so many transplants here it's hard not to make friends right fast uh and uh Nashville, I feel like, is a very, very friendly place. It is a unique combination of Southern and Midwest. So you have this just like folksy type people here. And it's really an enjoyable place. And you're in the middle of a career transition. So are you retiring from the military or like reserve or
SPEAKER_00:like how does that work? It depends a little bit. My active duty service commitment is coming to an end, and so I definitely will be separating from active duty, but likely right now I'm in the process of finding either like a guard or reserve job, which is, for people that don't know, it's kind of like you do your weekends, you know, and your drill weeks occasionally throughout the year, but very much part-time, um, no matter which way you do it. And I definitely don't want to go back to a full-time thing, um, just cause our lifestyle right now, we don't need that. We're doing a lot of stuff on the side and through social media. And then I sort of be around more for the kids to be able to just kind of, like you said, get up and go. There's a lot of opportunities that we've had to turn down because I can't just get up and go whatever I want. So it's going to be weird. Uh, You know, I don't want to be like stay-at-home dad kind of type. I will get extremely bored, so I'll find something to keep me busy. Yeah, she's like, you need to get out of the house. I
SPEAKER_01:don't want you to be a stay-at-home dad. No. My wife would not like me as a stay-at-home dad.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:I keep sending Dylan ideas.
SPEAKER_01:Like,
SPEAKER_04:hey, have you thought about this?
SPEAKER_01:Hey. Yeah, I mean, there's tons of neat opportunities. And you work from home pretty much exclusively. Yeah. So, like, yeah, that's a lot of, yeah. A lot of
SPEAKER_00:togetherness. Kelly thinks I should work for the airline that flies your dogs with you. Oh, yeah. She's trying to get me on board over there. I think you
SPEAKER_04:need to start your own because they don't service Nashville. And I've found, like, probably 25 clients for you already.
SPEAKER_01:For those that you're in the Air Force, that's the branch of furniture. And I don't know that Nashville. I know we have an Air National Guard. Right. But I don't know if that's the same thing as Air Force.
SPEAKER_00:So that's the guard side of it. So you can do kind of the part time there. So if they're listening, you know, maybe they'll give me a call and give me a job over
SPEAKER_01:there. Do that. So let's talk about social media and public sharing. You guys are going to document this entire process and share with your followers. What kind of like connection does that create with the people that you're engaged with?
SPEAKER_03:I mean, I think anytime you can share a really important aspect of your life, it just makes people feel like they get the insider information and that helps them feel more connected to you. But I think a lot of our followers have been there since... when we lived in Del Rio, Texas, like with nothing on base housing. So I think it's really cool for them to see just how far we've come. I mean, I have people message me all the time like, I've been here since before kids and it's just so cool to see where guys' lives have... what it's turned into. So that's what I'm excited about is just to share the entire journey from, like, I will probably share where we started when we first got married, you know, and then this home. I would have never guessed this is where we would end up. But I think people feel connected to that and maybe a little bit inspired, I hope, to see, you know, what's possible.
SPEAKER_01:Do people give you advice? Like, hey, you know, at Framing, this is going to happen or whatever. Oh,
SPEAKER_03:the internet's full of advice.
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Good to know. I didn't even think about it. Yeah. Tons
SPEAKER_01:of advice. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
SPEAKER_03:It's good because there are things that we don't think about. I get stuff all the time like, hey, this is where you should put an outlet. Don't forget a light switch in this spot. You're like, oh my gosh, I would have never thought of that. It is nice. It's appreciated for the most part. There's some that you're
SPEAKER_01:like, okay.
SPEAKER_03:No thanks.
SPEAKER_01:We like it. And how does that work with you being so organized and everything else? Like, do you share that and seek advice or do you just have it, you know what you want?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, I definitely take advice, but when it comes from strangers on the internet, I usually just leave that to the experts. So we have a good team on board and I'll just, I'll trust them, you know, and there are some great advice we get online and everything, but you just don't know the source. So I tend to not listen to that quite as much. It sounds bad. I mean, I love it. I love that people are very engaged in stuff and everyone is good intent to try to help out.
SPEAKER_01:But without being in the exact situation, everything varies.
SPEAKER_00:It's so unique. It's hard to know exactly what we're looking for. I think
SPEAKER_03:he's too much of a perfectionist. He wants the professional opinion where I'm like... Did you like, you know, look at this idea that this random person sent me on TikTok, you know, like stuff like that. I'm open to, but Dylan's more, he wants it.
SPEAKER_00:I need the facts with everything. Emily will tell me something, and I'm like, well, what was their name? She said, why do you know their name in the story? Source.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's my favorite thing
SPEAKER_00:on the internet
SPEAKER_03:right now. Source. I saw it on TikTok, and you'll be like, oh, my gosh, you can't believe everything you see on TikTok. I'm like, there's some good stuff on there.
SPEAKER_01:There is some good stuff. Well, I have one request for you to post, and you may already have done it. If you can post the house plans. that were in Excel format. Oh, my gosh. I would absolutely love to see that. Oh, we should. Because that is... Where we started and now... That is... And that just... you have a special skill in Excel because you know how to work that. You can do some pivot tables and whatnot.
SPEAKER_00:That wasn't this house. That was the one we're currently in. I did it on Excel.
SPEAKER_01:I don't care if it was a dog house. Drawing plans in through Excel, that's...
SPEAKER_03:Didn't you start it with this and then someone called you out and someone was like,
SPEAKER_00:don't waste your time. When we were in the hospital, because Emily was basically on bed rest for a month before we had our son Nash, and I was like, what am I going to do to stay busy? I was teleworking a bit in the hospital and And I went to the store, and I bought a graph paper book. And I was drawing out how I did on Excel. It was essentially Excel in paper form. And I was like, this is how I want this, and this is the size. And it was kind of funny. And Kelly's like, oh, man.
SPEAKER_04:Because I have been guilty of doing the same. And it's just, this is great. We can share this. Keep an open mind. I think what I'm excited for you guys with all of the people following you is just what it's going to open you up to a whole different group of people also And people love the building process. And there's so much design stuff out there that there just isn't as much about the actual nuts and bolts of building. And people are hungry for that.
SPEAKER_00:But I think a lot of people think that they can't do it too. And that's a lot of social. Like what Emily said is she's inspiring some people that... you know, we started here and now we're here sort of thing. And, you know, building a dream custom home, people don't think it's possible. And like, I don't have the skills to do it. And that's why you build that team around you that can. So I think it'll be fun for them to watch that process happen for people that have been interested in it. And even if they're not, it's, there's just something about, and I mean, that's why Kelly's page is so awesome. There's something about just looking at homes and it's just inspiration, you know, just like one day, like, how could I do that? And it makes people dream bigger. And, you know, hopefully it inspires them to go do something else to live out that dream.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. Okay, well, I think that about covers how you guys got here. We're just all anxiously awaiting the groundbreaking, right? And do we have any idea on when that's going to be? Sooner
SPEAKER_00:the better, but I think we're slightly delayed right now. And
SPEAKER_01:it
SPEAKER_04:starts
SPEAKER_01:soon. Which is the number one thing in building a custom home. That is a common refrain. We're slightly delayed. I
SPEAKER_00:guess I couldn't even use the word delayed because it's nobody's fault. And it's delayed in my mind just because I said I wanted to be here before Ella, our daughter, started first grade. So it's not delayed. I never got a timeline that said I would be. So we're not delayed. It's just taking longer than you would like. It's perfectionism. I mean, it's entirely, you know, on us. We're making sure that the house is designed exactly how we want. And, you know, we're doing all that work out front so there's no changes later. And it's just going to take time. And, you know, a couple months is nothing in the scope of how long we're going to be in there to get the right product.
SPEAKER_04:We're looking at probably breaking ground end of September.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_04:You know, and then probably about 12 months. They may be living at my house for about a month and a half, which is fine. I'll do it. Perfect.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:I like you.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. That would work just fine. It'll
SPEAKER_04:go really
SPEAKER_03:fast. Hey, it's kind of like how we started, though, because when we got married, we were supposed to move with the military right away. We got married in July. We were supposed to move in September. And your orders got delayed how many months? So we lived with his parents.
SPEAKER_00:Freshly married, lived with my parents. With
SPEAKER_03:a new puppy.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and then with our current house, it was supposed to be done. And then we lived in a temp apartment on an air mattress while she was nine months pregnant and then had the baby. Our first
SPEAKER_03:coffee table was cardboard. I mean, we have a lot of stories, but yeah, this seems like the theme.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my gosh, yeah. The best of times. We're very used to it. But it all ends up being
SPEAKER_03:really
SPEAKER_01:working out. Have fun. Have fun. Well, you guys have been great. I'm excited to follow along. Our listeners will be super excited to follow along. And congratulations. It is wonderful. And one thing I always like to add, and... Home building is really an engine that gives so many people jobs. There's a stat, and it's an old stat, but we live in the healthcare capital of the world. And this is no knock on those folks because they build homes. But for every$100 spent in healthcare, it puts a dollar down. into the economy. For every$1 spent in building, it puts$100 into the economy. So it is really like you provide a lot of jobs through building. It's a really neat process. And yeah, hang in there because it's not for the faint of heart. And you've got an incredible team, but still not for the faint of heart. Okay, let's move into rapid fire. And Kelly, why don't I start with you? And we've got three questions. So if each of y'all would take a crack at this. Favorite current design trend?
SPEAKER_04:I'm making this design trend up, and it's called right-sizing. And downsizing gets such a bad rap. And sometimes in life, you want less space. Sometimes in life, like Dylan and Emily, you need more space. It's designing and living where you live for where you are in your life.
SPEAKER_01:Love that. Love that. Dylan, favorite design trend?
SPEAKER_00:Whatever my wife wants, man. Happy life, happy life. I'm a floor plan guy. Design is all on her.
SPEAKER_03:I don't even know if this is a design trend, but I love the double island in the kitchen. I love that. That's a good
SPEAKER_01:one. I love that. And that kind of falls right in with right sizing because, like, it's perfect for young families. Okay, if you could visit any country tomorrow, where would you go?
SPEAKER_04:Maldives.
SPEAKER_01:Maldives. You've been there.
SPEAKER_04:I've been there three times, and I'm going again. Oh,
SPEAKER_01:geez, tomorrow.
SPEAKER_04:January.
SPEAKER_01:Dylan?
SPEAKER_00:I would say Africa. Oh, my
SPEAKER_03:gosh. That's what I was going to say.
SPEAKER_00:Let's go. So cool. So different.
SPEAKER_03:Let's
SPEAKER_00:go.
SPEAKER_03:I want to go on a safari.
SPEAKER_00:All right. Let's do it. There you go. That's literally what I was going to say.
SPEAKER_04:Next year, August, right? You can just be there while you're finishing up the house.
SPEAKER_00:It would have been Australia, but we just said Australia. I was
SPEAKER_03:literally going to say that. That was my other, yeah. We just did Australia. That was awesome. Oh, how was it? It was
SPEAKER_00:great. It was so cool. It was hot.
SPEAKER_03:Very, very cool. It was
SPEAKER_00:very hot. We were there in our winter, their summer. Christmas. We were there during Christmas, and it was hot.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_00:It's really
SPEAKER_01:weird. How did you do with the flight? I know you're a pilot, so you were probably
SPEAKER_03:fine. I snuggled my little six-week-old the whole time, so we just slept.
SPEAKER_01:You are adventurous. A six-week-old on that flight?
SPEAKER_03:Yep, our little baby.
SPEAKER_01:That's impressive.
SPEAKER_03:He was great. We kept saying he was easier than our five-year-old.
SPEAKER_01:That is great. Impressive. Good for you. Good for you. That's awesome. Okay, what is one skill you wish you had?
SPEAKER_04:I wish I could sing. That
SPEAKER_01:would be good.
SPEAKER_04:I don't know if that's a skill, but it's a talent. I think it
SPEAKER_01:is, yeah. Skill and
SPEAKER_00:talent, yeah. That's tough.
SPEAKER_04:Don't say
SPEAKER_00:mine again. Don't say yours again? Oh, man. Well, I do wish I could golf.
SPEAKER_02:We were
SPEAKER_00:talking about golf earlier. Man, I could use some work there. That
SPEAKER_03:took a second for him because he's good at everything. I wish I could dance.
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Me too.
SPEAKER_01:Me
SPEAKER_03:too.
SPEAKER_01:Me too. I wish I could do that. Sing, dance, and golf better, right? You're living a good life. You're living a good life. They just
SPEAKER_03:impress me. I'm like, I watch someone dance. I'm like, that is, it's such an art.
SPEAKER_01:It is. Like, when you see these, I was actually showing, so I have nine-year-old girls, and my girls have no idea who Michael Jackson was, but they recently heard of the moonwalk. So I was showing them, like, just the dancing, and I'm like... Their mind is blown, and my mind's blown still by the moves. I wish I had that skill, but I'm a big boy. I can't move like
SPEAKER_00:that. I got some good dance moves there. You can find them on your TikTok.
SPEAKER_04:I've seen them, Dylan. You can't unsee
SPEAKER_02:them.
SPEAKER_00:You can't
SPEAKER_04:unsee what
SPEAKER_02:you see. I'll have to check those
SPEAKER_01:out. They come out after a few cocktails. That's good, though. That's good. Well, Emily, Dylan, and Kelly, thank you for joining us in part one of your journey in building your dream home and sharing more with us on why you chose Nashville. We're excited to hear more about the interior design and the build process as you continue. Listeners, stay tuned. We'll be back with Fowers as their build progresses. In the meantime, we'll include links to follow everyone in our show notes. But thank you all so much. It was an absolute pleasure to have you on and to get to spend some time with you. I know you all have a busy schedule. To our listeners, thank you for joining us for another episode of Couture and Construction. Stay tuned for more captivating episodes. And if you loved today's episode, please share with your friends or write a review on your preferred podcast platform. Couture and Construction is proudly presented by Textures Nashville, where creativity and craftsmanship converge. Produced by Davis Osborne and Chelsea Rand. Recorded live at the Textures Nashville showroom within the Nashville Design Collective. Until next time, keep cultivating creativity.
UNKNOWN:Bye.