Sometimes it can be difficult to find people you truly enjoy and look forward to working with, no matter what industry you may be in. Our team is blessed to have a continuous working relationship with Chris and Fallon, the husband and wife duo behind Gather Projects, a homebuilder and interior designer here in Arizona. We stage several of their properties in the Phoenix area and it’s always so exciting to see the end results. We truly get each other’s aesthetics!!

In this blog post, we wanted to interview them about their professional and personal lives, since the two intersect so often for them. They give us some insight into their build and design processes, parenthood with their four boys and so much more!!

How did you get into home design and build?

Chris learned a lot about building growing up with a Dad who owned a kitchen cabinet company. He learned trim carpentry skills and basics in most trades through his experience working in the family business starting at 16. After we we’re married, Lexi’s husband Chris actually had the idea that they should start a handyman company together. Over time, that grew into them taking on larger remodel projects and eventually flipping their own properties. FUN FACT- Lexi and Fallon got their start in the design world by creating a staging company together to stage their husband’s houses, along with a few other home flippers. Fallon started getting into the design aspect of homes through her and Lexi offering plenty of unsolicited advice on how to make their husband’s beige flips cuter.

To make a long story short, we’ve both grown a lot over the years and learned plenty of hard lessons on the journey that eventually led Chris to become a General contractor, while Fallon continued to grow her experience in designing homes.

Were you both always entrepreneurs and when did you decide to start Gather Projects?

We’ve always joked that Fallon is the “dreamer” and Chris is the “do-er.” Neither of us would likely describe ourselves as entrepreneurs, but combined we share more of the entrepreneur spirit with our passion for being creative and a strong desire to work for ourselves.

Starting Gather Projects really evolved from our experience in the housing industry. Through years of learning about who we are and how we work best, we ultimately learned that we wanted to partner together to build a company that worked for our life and family.

What’s the story behind the name?

Our heart and passion in building/designing is truly about the gathering that takes place in a home. We’ve realized our sweet spot is centered in creating spaces for friends/family to be together- to design thoughtful layouts that create the foundation for community, entertaining, conversations, shared meals and the safe refuge a home can provide.

Describe how it’s been being in business together as husband and wife?

Working together hasn’t been all rainbows, but it is definitely a gift. Ultimately, being in a business partnership with your spouse has the added bonus of knowing the other person is for you even when things are difficult. It’s a constant juggle to balance work and family and the different roles we both play.

We have learned that we work very differently and have unique strengths. When we both give each other the freedom to run with what we do best, it works well. We’ve also learned that we share some similar weaknesses that are best navigated by outsourcing help when we are able, rather than assuming the other person should be capable of taking it on- ie accounting! :)

How do you break up the work for each project? Chris, what do you primarily handle? And Fallon, what do you primarily handle?

There is a pretty clear divide between design and build with our projects, but there is a lot of communication that happens to make sure everything runs as planned. With spec house projects, we work together to create the floor plan and elevation alongside an architect. Fallon does the cabinetry design and specifies all the materials- lighting, flooring, hardware, trim, paint colors, etc. Chris is the General Contractor of the projects, so he schedules and oversees the entire build, as well as the landscape design details. Even though our roles are divided, we collaborate through the entire process, finding inspiration and brainstorming ideas together along the way. Additionally, we both take on projects independently of one another. Chris has actually done a few remodels that Lexi Grace designed in this past year and Fallon took on some solo design jobs as well. It’s fun for us to work alongside other designers/builders! It gets us outside of our own box and having some separate work is quite healthy for our relationship!

Every project is very different with their unique challenges, but what do you find is a consistent obstacle you run into?

There are so many obstacles and variables in design/builds. Budgets, schedules, materials... Honestly, every project has unknowns and we just have to prepare the best we can and then keep moving forward. When we work with homeowners, their changes along the way are probably the largest obstacle, at least as it relates to timeframe and budget. Even a small change can cause a ripple effect with delayed scheduling and change orders.

When designing and building the homes you create, what are some things you always keep in mind for the selling process?

Our design style stays more neutral and we try to appeal to a wide range of clients when we are building a home for sale. A well thought out floor plan is a huge consideration when planning our projects. We strive to build homes that live well, with intentionally designed spaces and functional square footage. Through the years, we’ve received feedback on the floor plans of our projects working really well for our buyers and we just love that!! You can swap out finishes over time as trends change, but getting the floor plan right is SO important.

According to you, what are buyers looking for in today’s market?

Well... we generally build houses that we would want to live in so our answer is probably quite biased. Being a family of 6, we build with storage and function at the forefront. We tend to be minimalists ourselves and are finding that simplicity and thoughtful organization is appealing to buyers as well. Emphasizing the indoor/outdoor living flow and maximizing the usability of the combined spaces is also very desirable in today’s market.

How important is staging when it comes to selling the homes you design and build?

Staging a home is so important! I can’t imagine we would ever list a property without first having it staged. It is such a worthwhile investment and allows us to offer our full vision of the home we’ve built to a future buyer. Many homebuyers struggle visualizing spaces when walking through an empty home, so having it staged defines the floor plan while adding warmth and beauty!

We love working with you as your home stager and we have a great working relationship. How do you source and choose outside vendors that you go into business with?

Awe we LOVE working Lexi Grace Design! This relationship was an obvious choice for us as their work is so beautiful, their finishes perfectly compliment our homes and their team is a delight to work alongside!

As for other business relationships, we love working with honest people that communicate well and follow through with that they say they will do. There are so many different trades involved in a home project that it is also very important to find people who work well with each other, are respectful and have a great attitude. Fortunately, we’ve been doing this so long that we have made some great relationships with different vendors/subcontractors over the years, but we are always happy to make new relationships as well!

Do your four boys show any interest in the work you do, and do you anticipate they will follow in your footsteps?

As of now, they are pretty young and most of their ambitions are not super business minded! :) We try to encourage them to be active learners and give them experiences to see many different career/life possibilities. Hopefully, they find something they love to do, but for now, I can’t say Its looking like any of them will choose to take over the family business.

What’s next for Gather Projects!?

Currently, we are finding inspiration on the road while traveling for the year in an RV with our boys. We are working with a few clients from the road and planning to launch a short term Airbnb concept we are really excited about next fall. When we return, we hope to dive more into short term rentals and real estate, in addition to continuing to build spec homes. For now, we are just trying to soak up this special time we have with our kids and be present through this journey.

Gather Projects