Heaven on Earth is an ancient phrase that appears in our lives in the 21st century through human relationships, natural beauty, and frequently the lifestyle we choose with our home being an inherent part of that lifestyle. It is the heartbeat of Heavenly Homes to design and build a home with celestial essence people long for their surroundings.
Rory Caton, Owner of Heavenly Homes, was born with the savvy of an entrepreneur, an eye for the uncommon and perseverance-the kind that inevitably leads to owning a sought after business. Intuitively he set a personal goal and began fulfilling that goal in high school by building decks and patios. Armed with a tenacious spirit and a Construction Science Degree from A&M with a residential design focus and a Minor in Business, he worked for a residential builder in Dallas for several years. His impeccable sense of timing allowed him to wait for the perfect opportunity to start his own company. “A friend of mine at a local church was in need of a custom home built to accommodate his child with special needs,” recalls Rory. His client’s budget was limited, yet Rory was compelled to take on the project and build exactly what the family required. “By building this home, I had the opportunity to start a speculative home. After finishing the second one, I built two more and sold them, too.”
Rory defines a born leader as one who is open to the input of others, yet seeks out the absolute best way to do something, whether it stems from his ideas or that of another. “I want optimum efficiency and I analyze everything to make sure all is running smoothly.” He began his first residential building year with four homes and by the third year he had built in six different neighborhoods in Houston. Upper-end luxury homes and a few commercial projects make up the company’s portfolio. Tripling in size each year translates to exceptional growth he attributes to his maxim of “no fear aggression with everything I do,” in addition to pouring income surplus back into his company. “This company has been a blessing to me and as long as I continue to be a blessing to others we will continue to grow.”
The “we” in Rory’s conversation refers to an office staff member and his wife, Ashley, who operates Heavenly Designs, an Interior Design business. Rory handles the space design, architectural layout and construction while Ashley creates the interiors. The combination of their skills culminates into homes that are instantly recognized as theirs by people driving down the street. The two artists blend a tasteful variety of colors with neutral tones into their homes, which are unique, yet elegant. Rory emphatically credits Ashley with the inborn ability to look at a house in the skeletal stage and know what it takes to make it pleasing. “My wife is a natural at what she does. She’s amazing at matching and mixing colors and textures and is continually honing her gift. She just gets it.”
Ten hours of Ashley’s interior design services are feathered into the cost of a home, along with the set of house plans. They offer these and other allowances at their cost so that a client saves money across the board. “Outside design can be very expensive and it limits the freedom of ongoing change. Our opportunities to alter things are unlimited until the house is done and the client is satisfied.” Although this is not a familiar benefit when buying a new home, Rory articulates the advantage from the builder’s perspective. “The person who designs the home knows better than anyone how the home works. Before I ever step foot on the job site, I’ve got every minut detail of the home memorized. It’s a huge difference from having never seen the plans until the start of construction.” Intimacy with the design establishes fluidity in the building process from inception to completion, creating a smoother, more harmonic process.
A tour of the Heavenly Homes web site reveals spectacular samples of the couple’s exemplary artistry, one of which is a Country Italian style home featuring a massive Californian Coronado stone rotunda. “When you walk into the house, you see that the rotunda with four windows surrounds a spiral wrought iron stair case flanking one side of an informal dining room,” describes Rory. The room also features an exquisite 6-foot chandelier hovering over the dining table. “I wanted a large, open 2-story dining room, but had never seen this particular design before. It came right out of my imagination.” Floating mirrors in the Master Bedroom hang in front of the windows perched above the quaint courtyard below. Hickory hardwood compliments antique furniture, built-in cabinets and a wine rack. “We utilized different types of uncommon flooring you don’t see very often.” Cabinets are antiquated with dove tail joints, hand made and customized to match furniture and other items. In the kitchen, light fixtures made from a clear resin and stained leaves create a surreal effect as the light shines through. “We combined our favorite layouts in this home and in the end, it was very unique and very beautiful.”
Typically there are several house plans on their web site from which a client can choose, either as it stands or tweaked. “I advise people to look at our site, other homes, or pictures and bring those to me so that they can tell me what they want and like. Basically, I create a plan based on that.” He does not believe that a client should have to sacrifice anything they want when there is such a monetary commitment to buying a home. “With me doing the design, I know what everything will cost and how it fits with the client’s budget. We can take care of discrepancies right there and provide updates from the initial layout.” As a gifted professional, he is able to estimate the bottom line of what a home will cost within $5 of the square footage. “Through additions and deletions, I can still account for cost and what each change will translate to. I see lack of communication as the main reason for conflict over expense, problems that arise, or a client being upset with anything during the building process.” He establishes a relationship and maintains a positive experience for both he and the client.
Whether Rory walks into a mall or someone’s home, he actually naturally studies the form and function of how they correlate to one another. He loves building because it intrigues him. “Growing in numbers is not my primary concern. It’s just more that I enjoy the relationships and creating different homes that fit different lifestyles. I look forward to the reaction from clients when they move into their home and I want people to seek me out because of my creativity.” Rory takes what is buried in people’s heads and transforms it into a “tangible object” they can enjoy for the rest of their lives, or as long as they desire. “We must be doing something right with the talents we were given because of what we have been able to achieve for others, but we consider any of our human accomplishments a complete blessing from above.”