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Making a home their own

DB Atlanta partners with savvy homeowners for a remarkable renovation

Ly Bui and Robert Nguyen are Sandy Springs homeowners with taste, design acumen and vision. They have traveled extensively, staying at luxury hotels and developing an eye for quality and design. When they decided to hire DB Atlanta to renovate their home, working directly with the company owners (father and son, Robert Hames and Andre Hames), maintaining daily communication and using sustainable materials were key.

They started with the kitchen and Ly cooked lunch every day for the crew and contractors and helped with design so the location and distance between the sink, stove and refrigerator suited her perfectly. “I knew exactly how much counter and space I needed and decided everything, down to where an appetizer fork should be stored!  We used to own a Vietnamese restaurant on Holcomb Bridge Road back in 2001 - 2003, so I do have professional cooking environment experience, and I have cooked for 2 to 400,” she says. This kitchen makes me look forward to cooking and it serves as my sanctuary.  I am never tired in my kitchen.  It is my happy place.”

The couple owns a software consulting company and purchased the home in 2019, immediately partnering with DB Atlanta for a major renovation after Ly’s sister made a referral. “Very quickly, we met the rest of the crew and we felt the same ~ that everyone will help us to go from vision to reality, to our dream home.  I’ve often thought about this question as it has been suggested that I should start a blog about embarking on a major home renovation project - the message is, be realistic,” says Ly.

Realistic, but also forward-thinking.

Throughout the process, the couple depended on DB Atlanta to suggest alternatives, looking at price, quality, availability and durability. “It was very important to us that everything last at least up to 15 years through normal wear and tear,” says Robert.

She and Robert understood that things always cost more (25% at least) than you budget for, and will take longer (time-wise) than you think.  “Our mantra to our customers is 'under promise and over deliver,’ and I believe this is also true when it comes to home renovations.  When all said and done, we would highly recommend and would not hesitate to recommend DB Atlanta to anyone especially as DB Atlanta did the hard work to make our dream home come true.”

Meet Robert Hames, CEO, Architect, Designer

Robert is the founder and president of dBAtlanta (Direct Build) and is the driving force behind our popularity and success. His influence is evident in everything we do, from the way we treat every customer with respect, to our innovative Design-Build Approach we take on every renovation and remodeling project and custom home build.

Robert graduated from Georgia Tech in 1976 with a degree in Architecture and was inspired to begin a custom home building business. During his 30-year career, Robert has built over two hundred homes, including small starter homes to custom homes of 15,000 square feet. He's built several award-winning homes throughout the Atlanta area, including many in sought-after neighborhoods such as St. Marlo, Edinburgh, The Manor, Stone Pond, Deer Lake, St. Regis, Windermere, Governors Towne Club, and many others.

Meet Andre Hames, President, Production Manager

Andre a second-generation family member at dBAtlanta (Direct Build). He began working for his father, Robert, in 2003 while still in high school, and learned the business shadowing his father and several of dBAtlanta's most qualified contractors and project managers. Andre grew up in the home of an architect, so the construction industry came naturally to Andre. He has been an integral part of dozens of custom home builds from start to finish, has also inspired the vision for dBAtlanta's growth in metro Atlanta, and is now one of our most experienced project managers.

DBAtlanta.com

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