Artisan Builders

We hired Justin Stratman of Artisan Builders to build our dream home, and we feel our dreams came true. We bought 35 acres of undeveloped ranchland six miles outside of Telluride, Colorado, and sought to build a farmhouse-style home that respected and reflected the history and aesthetics of the region. We wanted a timeless home, not trendy, and we wanted it to be big enough to accommodate kids and future grandkids, but warm and intimate-feeling. From the day we hired him, Justin cared about our project as if it were “his baby” meaning he focused primarily on it, always making it his priority and always being available and on site throughout the lifespan of the project. Working with Justin and Justin’s architect, we refined plans and settled on a two-story, 3-bedroom, 2.5 bath home approximately 3600 square feet with a great room, loft and other “plus” spaces the square footage does not include an enclosed sunroom and a wrap-around covered deck. Justin meticulously picked out our materials, traveling to Canada to hand select several truckloads of century-old hand-hewn beams and other reclaimed wood for the home’s timber framing, trusses and siding. He guided us through choices for every detail, from the pattern and type of stone for the masonry, to the distressed-wood and stone-tile flooring, to the cabinetry and lighting, bathroom fixtures and finishes, the windows and roof—everything. He assembled a team of subcontractors and laborers, all of whom we trusted and felt comfortable being around. A true craftsman himself, specializing in ironwork, Justin did much of the hands-on work for custom details, such as crafting and welding a chimney top, creating patinas for the metal wainscoting on the exterior’s siding, building our powder room’s vanity, designing and building an entranceway gate, and working with his crew to design and hand-make a beautiful wood dining table using leftover reclaimed wood from the construction. For much of the year during construction, we lived out of state and thus trusted Justin to handle everything while we communicated remotely, which he did. Then we moved onsite and live in a trailer next to the construction, and Justin and his crew did their utmost to make our living arrangement and the transition with the move relatively easy and calm. He was well organized and always so thoughtful, never cutting corners. The end result is a stunning custom home with one-of-a-kind wood and metal details, such as a “floating” I-beam under the loft (suspended by a cable), a guest bed above the second-story bathroom accessed by a pop-out ladder, an indoor-outdoor sunporch that brings in the views while blocking the strong weather; and old, special repurposed hardware throughout, for style as well as function, that makes the home feel historic. Justin’s organizational skills and dedication to the project meant the home finished on time, approximately 14 months after he and his crew started digging the foundation. We highly recommend Justin Stratman and Artisan Builders.

Artisan is an amazing company. I have known Stephen Yeonas for many years. Iv seen and toured and walked through many of his projects. I have several friends who own Artisan homes. Their design and craftsmanship is second to none in NOVA. They are true craftsmen and true Artisans. Not many other new home builders comes close to the Artisan quality in this area. I saw someone commented about their Falls Farm project and the trees they had to cut down. Not really sure why he/she is giving them 1 star for doing what builders do. Toll brothers chopped down 123 acres of trees when building the Arden community just a few miles away. All builders chop down trees when building homes, roads, highways, or practically anything. It does not make them bad. And in fact after each home goes up they end up planting new trees in the front and back yards. These are county issues not builder issues but I fully understand the passion many of the older long term residents of these communities have for their communities and they do not want more homes or more roads. A few years back Chevy chase Maryland residents blocked the tearing down of old homes and the building of new homes. None of this is a reflection of the builder or their quality or their integrity or their ethics. This is a Forrest and growth comes at the expense of tree removal. It always has. All of Great Falls was built this way. All of it. But I fully believe in Stephen Yeonas and Artisan and they are a 5 star company.

It goes without saying that we absolutely adore our new house. From our very first encounter with Stephen, it became apparent to us that Artisan builds some of the most unique and timeless homes in McLean and that it does so by having many well-established processes and reliable and creative groups of professionals, vendors, and resources. We admire your attention to details, the time and effort you put throughout the process, and the level of integrity exercised when facing challenges. The team’s patience, assistance, and responsiveness were gifts to keep our excitement alive during this 14-month marathon as we went through multiple floor plans, items selection, and change orders. We are very pleased with the quality of the build and the warranty services. You proved over and over that the horror stories of building custom homes would not apply to your clients and it was an immense value to us. We repeatedly receive compliments on our home and our response has always been that having Artisan as our builder, with their fine taste of design and the professional crew they brought onboard, made it easy to manifest elegance and craftsmanship in every corner of the house. A beautiful piece of art, we’ve named it Chateau Blanc and continue to nominate Artisan as our choice of home builder. Thank you Rich, Stephen, Mitch, Sonia, Minh, and the rest of the team. ~Nahid & Esmael

We interviewed several contractors before deciding to hire Justin and artisan builders to build an addition onto our home. Ours was a relatively small but very challenging project that we knew would require broad vision as well as day-to-day ingenuity and problem-solving. Justin is exceptionally creative and efficient which is a rare combination. He listens carefully to his clients dreams and needs, and always offers thoughtful options to fit within the general plan. He is open, friendly and approachable, and leads a very honest competent and hard working crew. Justin has been working in the Telluride region for over 20 years now and we feel this is an important piece of the puzzle. He has a remarkable network of relationships in the area and he is clearly liked and trusted this is one of the key reasons he is able to get work done so efficiently and effectively. We will hire Justin again for any future projects, and we recommend that anyone considering building in the Telluride area at least meet him to discuss their dream plans. - Corinne and Mark, Telluride

Regarding their Falls Farm construction, Artisan cut down 30 acres of trees and does not have plans to replant many of the trees that were taken down. It is building 14 homes on the land. They cut down all of the trees on the land the homes they construct look beautiful but without a significant amount of trees like the rest of the homes in our community have, the land that their homes are on will lack a lot of character, beauty, privacy, and discretion. Although they seem to be a good construction company, I have to wonder about their values as related to the greater community. Many friends and family were very distressed as we all watched them cut down a beautiful wooded ecosystem connected to the Potomac river and stream system. It was horrible for my family to drive by each day on Georgetown road and to see an entire woods reduced down to a pile of dirt and to see all the trees they took down and shredded into nothing. A few of our neighbors cried, in seeing the destruction. My children also were very saddened. I feel sorry for the people who purchase homes here, who are unaware of the destruction that they will have participated in, in creating the economic demand that resulted in the death of an entire ecosystem. By purchasing a home here, it will have led to the destruction. Trees provide important health benefits to all of us in the community, not just animals and insects, but to all humans. In my opinion, Artisan is lacking in values as a company; prioritizing their own benefit over the needs of the community. Artisan should replant 30 acres of trees to compensate the greater community for the destruction and to show that they care about the greater community and ecosystem.