The family of six living in this Fenton home is busy with work, school, sports, family gatherings and the hundreds of aspects of daily life in raising four daughters under the age of 14.

As the parents approached the idea of building a new home, they planned long term. They wanted a home their girls would return to as adults with their own families. And both the husband and wife have large extended families that continue to grow, and the couple wanted to host family get-togethers with ease.

This is the tale of two homes. One is designed as an intimately livable space for two empty nesters. The other was built to entertain, a structure frequently hosting large crowds for business gatherings and for extended family and friends.

Sometimes, it pays to wait—especially when hunting down your ultimate dream home. After a two-year search involving multiple options and communities, St. Louis couple Wendy and Mark Gellman still couldn’t find the features and feel they were looking for. But things started to click when they heard about the newly anticipated vision for downtown Chesterfield and saw previews of the Waterfront at Wildhorse Village. “Once we saw the plans, we could not unsee them,” says Mark.

When the sky’s the limit, building a custom home can get overwhelming without the proper guidance and expertise. Decisions become daunting, with endless choices of materials and finishes that might look good on paper but become overpowering or underwhelming in application. But through the marvels of technology, many home buyers can now walk through their new spaces before they’ve even been constructed. Such was the scenario for Jacquelyn and Mike Nolan, a young couple aspiring to build a sprawling ranch home nestled in a quiet cul de sac in south St. Louis County.

For a couple looking to retire in their beloved Sunset Hills neighborhood, there was no better scenario than to have their builder son step in to make it happen. Mike Borzillo, who is now president of the family business, A.J. Borzillo, has been honing his expertise as a custom homebuilder since age 16. Growing up in a family of professional builders, he became an accomplished carpenter and contractor, working alongside his father. Mike's superior craftsmanship and hands-on approach have provided many St. Louis families with the homes of their dreams.