In their words, not mine.
Three owners talking through what it was actually like to build a home on Lake Texoma.
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About these films
Everything on this page was filmed by Ceci Bates rather than by me. They’re long, unhurried conversations with owners about building their homes — the whole experience, start to finish — and because Ceci Bates clients are my clients, these are people I spent a year or more of decisions with.
I’m one thread in those stories rather than the whole of them, and I’d rather be straight about that. The architecture is Roberth Jordan’s. The
building is the Ceci Bates crew’s. My part is the color, the materials, the finishes, and being on site while all of it goes in. So if you’re trying to work out what I would be like to work with, listen for that part — the selections, the small decisions, and what it was like having somebody alongside them while they made a few thousand of them.
I’d rather you heard it from them than from me. There are more of these films, and the homes they belong to, over on the Ceci Bates side.
I’d rather
you see it for yourself.
The Grandiose Lakehouse
This is the home in Rock Creek we built around one Taj Mahal quartzite slab — warm neutrals nearly everywhere, one darker and swankier bar, and a screened outdoor kitchen I still think about. Listen for the part where they describe how the house handles a crowd. That was the brief from the first conversation, and most of my decisions came back to it.
Filmed and produced by Ceci Bates Custom Homes
You can also read how this home came together, or see it from the builder’s side.
Stone Retreat by the Lake
The owners here wanted modern lines without a cold house, so we warmed everything we could reach — the finishes, and a few deliberate pops of color, including a black geometric-tile fireplace that was a genuine first for me. Listen for the moment they describe changing direction partway through. That was the surprise I ran with rather than talked them out of.
Filmed and produced by Ceci Bates Custom Homes
You can also read how this home came together.
Thinking about building?
If what you’ve just heard sounds like the kind of experience you want — someone alongside you for the color, the materials, and the thousand small decisions — I’d love to hear what you’re planning. No pressure, just a conversation.
Tell me about your vision