Noah and Amy Taylor were getting tired of their cramped living arrangement in Saskatoon, and they needed to find the perfect compromise that met their growing family’s needs.

Noah grew up on a farm. Amy is a city girl. After they fell in love and later married, finding precisely the right home for their family — including Aiden, their young son — became extremely important.

“Noah always wanted an acreage,” Amy said. “Once we got together, we talked about what we wanted to do together. We wanted our place.”

They didn’t realize it would take a considerable amount of time to find the right location, and the right builder.

“We had made the decision to build about three years ago,” Amy continued. “We did the Parade of Homes to see what was out there in terms of design, but also builders.

“We found a floor plan that we liked online and showed it to a few builders who said they could do that, but they were telling us where we should build and what we should build.”

Then they discovered Vinland Homes. Noah and Amy felt that they connected with the Vinland team almost immediately.

“It was nice; the owners are around our age and very easy-going. It wasn’t super formal; you didn’t feel you were talking to a suit,” Amy said. “We connected with them right away because we’re a young family, Vinland was a young family, and Brandon Moore, Vinland’s Sales Manager, had a young family as well.

“They helped us make our home the way it is but we were in control. We had a lot of say in the whole process.”

It began with finding the location, which is close to Saskatoon but still offers the peace and quiet of country living. That required a lot of effort, because lots near the city are rare. Brandon finally found a property owner willing to sever part of his land.

“We were looking for land for the last two and a half years,” Amy said. “We were eventually able to find this place, and Brandon helped us get it.”

Vinland then embarked on building a custom two-storey craftsman-style house, exactly what Amy had been hoping for.

“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted a wraparound porch. That was something we both wanted. We have that. We wanted laundry upstairs. Our previous home was a bilevel and the laundry was downstairs; we were going up and down stairs all the time.

“Having a walk-in pantry was something we wanted as well. That’s probably my favourite room in the house.

Noah was also able to source and preserve three register vents from his grandparents’ old house, which were incorporated into the interior design.

“Now we have our family home,” Noah said. “This is what we’re growing into. It’s the first step to planting deep roots, I guess.

“It’s fantastic,” he added. “I love people, but I like quiet, too. This is the perfect compromise.”

Noah loves the heated garage, the master bedroom, the home’s fireplace and a dining area that works for regular family meals but also for entertaining.

Vinland provided a client relationship manager throughout the custom build process, right from the beginning through to choosing the finishes, and all the support services.

“It was very convenient. We don’t have a lot of spare time during the week to attend multiple appointments. They were very accommodating about meeting us on the times that worked for our schedule,” said Amy.

“It was very convenient for us to have a REALTOR® (Brandon), lawyer, draftsman, custom build care specialist, & everyone needed in the process from building to buying. The Vinland team was very well-rounded. We didn’t have to outsource anything. On top of helping us source our acreage land close to the city, Brandon even marketed and sold our existing home within a few days from listing it. It was very efficient. Everything was in-house. We always knew what was going on and didn’t have to worry about relaying information from one person to another.”

“We were very happy,” Noah added.

Acreages in today’s market are more affordable than they have been in the recent past. There is always a premium to buying a new home; but presently, the gap between new and slightly older homes is narrower than it has been.

While it took the Taylors a while to find their land, “now is a great time to buy an acreage property,” said Brandon Moore. “There’s a lot of inventory around the city and prices are very good.”

In-depth knowledge of the market is needed to acquire raw land and service it with electrical, sewer and water, and Vinland had the expertise to find and develop such lots.

“We build homes to suit the families,” said Vinland co-owner Graham Klassen. “These are truly custom homes, designed to represent our clients’ tastes, needs and desires.”

“We are passionate about custom builds, they are by far the most fun for us,” says CEO Graham, “and we believe that our passion for collaborating with our clients, to design a truly tailored home, is what allows us to take the time to carefully listen and ultimately make our client’s vision a reality.”

If you would like to book a custom build consultation, Vinland Homes encourages you to reach out. 306.380.7931 or info@vinlandhomes.com

*Noah, Amy, and Aiden Taylor are pseudonyms, used to protect their privacy.