Written by CLM contributor Ashly Hospodka
Husband-wife duo Stephanie and Russell Ives are the power couple behind the Custom Dwellings, a Marietta-based design-build company that transforms houses into personalized family homes.
Founded by Russell in 2006, the Ives have worked together for 19 years and been married for 26. They have built their business through the housing market crash, the births of their four children and COVID-19 by paying special attention to detail and understanding that each home is as unique as the people who live in it.
“We don’t do a signature style,” Stephanie said. “Every project is unique because every client is unique, and we really try to get at what makes their house their home and what changes benefit their life.” Stephanie’s background in architecture and Russell’s expertise in business and construction have been the foundation of their partnership, but the journey to building Custom Dwellings wasn’t always easy.
Early in his career, Russell’s employer went bankrupt, leaving him jobless in an industry that wasn’t hiring. So, instead of waiting for an opportunity to come along, he created his own.
Initially, Russell was Custom Dwellings. He handled everything from construction to project management to design. But as the projects became more intricate and required detailed design work, he brought Stephanie on board to lend her expertise.
At the time, Stephanie was working part-time at another design-build firm — her hours had been cut back after the housing market crash. Though her employer offered to bring her back full-time, it would have meant laying off another employee.
“I was like ‘Well, maybe I don’t come back full-time and maybe you keep the other person,’ because it was a nudge that I needed to really focus on our business at that point,” Stephanie said.
Since then, the Ives have expanded their business, enlisting a team of hands-on professionals, including interior designer Amy Chu, construction manager Mike Mitchler and junior project manager Rob Hollister.
For the Ives, home design is about more than just aesthetics — it’s about creating spaces that reflect the people who live in them.
One client shared a story about a cherished heirloom: a bowl she used every week to bake cookies, passed down through the family.
“It was her grandmother’s bowl,” Stephanie told Cobb Life. “It needed a special place in the kitchen.”
The Ives used that information to personalize the kitchen redesign around the client’s beloved heirloom.
“When we are working with clients, we want to find out what those special things are, because our clients typically are doing projects because they’re staying in their homes long term,” Stephanie explained.
Custom Dwellings’ client-centered approach also extends to accessibility, taking a client’s mobility needs and accommodation requests into account during the design and buildout of each project.
“It’s very personal, the things you need help with in certain spaces…” Stephanie acknowledged.
For a neighbor struggling to lift heavy casserole dishes from stacked cabinets, the Ives installed additional shelving to make the space more functional and user-friendly.
“We added extra shelving and so she could have multiple shelves of, really, the same thing, but it eased her access to them and made that more functional for her specifically,” Stephanie said. “And that’s just kind of what happens when you’re really planning for an end user instead of any user.”
Custom Dwellings is a repeat sponsor of the annual Marietta Pilgrimage Home Tour benefiting Cobb Landmarks, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and telling the stories of places of significance to the community of Cobb. Recently, the Ives’ company sponsored and added an addition to a home on the corner of Morrison Street and Whitlock Avenue for the 2024 Marietta Pilgrimage Home Tour.
“It’s near and dear to what we do,” Stephanie said. “We love old homes and working on homes in general…so participating in the tour is a perfect fit,” Stephanie said.
Over the years, Custom Dwellings has received multiple accolades, most recently winning four awards at the 2023 Georgia NKBA Designs of Distinction Award Gala for their outstanding home projects.
To explore their custom work or learn more about their services, visit customdwellings.com.