In a market that continues to experience a relentless building boom, you can find someone to build your new home in less time than it takes to read this story. But, if you’re in the market for something truly unique that is the manifestation of your vision, you’ll likely want to dig a little deeper.
And that’s the advice you’ll receive from Howington Construction, custom homebuilders with deep ties to the Bellevue area.
“This is your biggest investment, so you have to do your research,” says Samantha “Sam” Howington who, along with her husband, Randy, is the owner of Howington Construction. “Choosing a homebuilder is a lot like a blind date; you’ll know relatively quickly if you are compatible. There are a lot of highs and lows when it comes to building a home, so you owe it to yourself to meet with several builders. Having an honest and trustworthy relationship is critical.”
A native of Estill Springs, Tennessee, Sam attended O’More College of Design in Franklin where she earned a BFA in fashion design and merchandising.
Randy, who was born and raised in Bellevue, left college after his junior year at Tennessee Tech to go to work in the concrete foundation and flatwork space. Eventually that led him into plumbing sales.
The Howington’s opened their business in 2017, shortly after building their personal home. “We were happy with the outcome, talked about going into business for ourselves and thought, ‘Why not?’” recalls Randy. “We began by promoting our own house.”
Today, Howington Construction builds custom homes and remodels around Davidson and Cheatham County. They handle practically everything in-house (Randy is a licensed general contractor, and Sam is a licensed affiliate broker with Benchmark) so they can work with clients on the land purchase and transition to the construction side. Their start-to-finish business model is applied to all builds, whether it’s a $500,000 or a multi-million dollar dream home.
Randy says that transparency is the key to establishing healthy relationships with their clients. “They’re spending a lot of money, so they want to know where their investment is going,” he says. “When expenses rise, it’s important that they know exactly why they did. There should be no gray area when it comes to budgets and expenditures.”
Sam’s creative background provides another layer of added value for Howington customers. “There’s a lot of back-and-forth in the design, layout and color palettes,” she says. “It’s an exciting process but it can be harder than you think. We try to help customers truly visualize what they want.”
Current Howington projects include an 11,000 square-foot home in Pegram. But they’ve also taken on unusual jobs such as a bunker that is 16 feet underground. The space is greater than 800 square feet, sleeps six and includes a fully furnished living room, dining room, and washer/dryer.
“It’s solar powered with a stainless-steel frame that was fabricated piece-by-piece,” says Randy. “It pulls water off a nearby spring for everyday use and can store enough food to last 90 days.”
Howington is also an authorized partner for The Firefly Forts, makers of elaborate treehouses that cost about $30,000.00.
Another project due to open in 2024 is an indoor baseball and softball facility called Swing Zone. The Howington’s mission is to help athletes transform their games from average to extraordinary. Players will be able to practice individually, with their teams, or train one-on-one with a coach, as they prepare to compete at the next level. “It’s in Pegram, right on the Cheatham-Davidson County line so it’ll be easily accessible to Bellevue residents,” says Randy, who also coaches his daughter’s travel softball team.
The Howington’s, whose blended family includes three children (Caroline, 16; Charli Rose, 7; and Cooper, 4) remain closely connected to the local community as well. They provided temporary housing by building a tiny home for a neighboring family whose home was severely damaged. On the civic side, Randy is an Alderman in Pegram and serves on the town planning commission.
“This is your biggest investment, so you have to do your research."
"Having an honest and trustworthy relationship is critical.”
