Why I Build?

At 50, I Realized The True Value of My Life in Building Homes: Commitment, Renewal and Beauty in the Art of Homecrafting

by Dwight K. Martin, Founder and President of D.K. Martin Custom Homes

The life span of a residential home today, like the many I have built here in the Puget Sound, in places like The Seattle Highlands, or in the tranquil, rural community known as Hidden Pond, or my own home on Lake Samammish, is one that will last for generations.

The fine materials and craftsmanship of our modern era, and how they are combined, can extend beyond the longevity of those pioneering domiciles which were constructed in the early 1900’s, those which the settlers of our region, people with names like Yesler or Denny called home, including those that my great grandfather had a hand in, fed by water pipes he carved out of the trunks of trees.It will not be unusual when, 100 years from now, asthe hands of the century clock advance, our communities and our domiciles “pay it forward” as our homes are passed on from one generation to the next. In the Puget Sound, we are truly building foundations for the future.

Thus,while permanence is the mark of the Master Builder’s end-product, the builder himself islike an artist in a golden age whose work is admired, even celebrated, in the present, but which also gathers heightened appreciation and value as decades pass.

At age 50, I have found myself contemplating such an eventuality, much like I imagine any person at this stage of life would do. The life’s work that each of us masters in our chosen profession, be it advancing technology or health care, or consumer or business products, creates a framework and a legacy for a company and for societythat will exist long after the individual craftsperson or contributor are gone.

When I was a young carpenter intent on honing my skills, the thought of building the most majestic house I could think of was very appealing. Now that I have achieved a kind of mastery,I have greater perspective. I can run my hand down a 100 year old rail and compliment the carpenter long past who built it. His millwork, properly proportioned and installed with care, so many years ago, is a thing of beauty. Excellence in design and construction creates spaces for wonderful memories to be born and live in.

Building is tangible. For me, it is the ultimate hands on experience. There is no greater joy than the daily progress of building a house. The truest measure of success is if the house improves the life of the inhabitants. Then I have done an excellent and worthwhile thing.

The same principle applies to a million dollar home in King County just as it does to a dwelling in a remote village in India where I have had the opportunity of rebuilding for those who lost their homes in the ravages of the Tsunami. My own life finds special purpose in that I need to work for both. I find balance and fulfillment by taking time off several times a year to help those with few resources, and that can be half-way around the world or here at home such as the projects I have been involved with in New Orleans, post-Hurricane Katrina.

As a builder, I am passionate about design. I have studied buildings throughout Europe and the US and compared them with traditional construction in Japan and India. A well built home in any culture is pleasing to the eye and highly functional. This is the gift of the builder. The product of our efforts and those of our associates to create a legacy of attractive, comfortable, and durable homes.

There is something pivotal about turning fifty. Even if you hope to live to a ripe old age of one hundred you realize that you are half way there. Those thoughts of mortality which were academic in your youth become all too real. One might question what they have achieved in life, and consider what they should do with the time they have left.

The profound realization for home builders is that we can improve the lives of the rich and the poor. For me, it can be summarized in a newlife mission statement; To help create, beautiful and well built homesthat improve the life experience of those who inhabit them now andinto the future. A home, well-built, is truly a thing of beauty in thisworld.