How a strategic merger propelled Ellen Grasso & Sons to new heights in the luxury custom home market 

For Ellen Grasso & Sons, a luxury custom homebuilder in the Dallas, Texas area, family truly runs through the company’s core, with mother, Ellen Grasso, and her two sons, Clay and Rob, as equal Principals. From site selection to move-in day, the team strives to offer a refreshing, efficient, and seamless homebuilding experience tailored to each client’s individual tastes and lifestyles.  

Founded officially in 2012, the journey behind Ellen Grasso & Sons is particularly unique, as Clay explains: “My mom started a construction company in the late 1990s, which grew organically from decorating and interior upgrades into remodeling and whole-house renovations,” he opens. “For me and my brother Rob, we grew up within our mom’s business; our childhood consisted of moving house several times and helping mom with remodels. We worked for her during the school holidays, and after college, we both eventually started our own separate building companies. 

“When the housing crisis hit in 2008, we began to share resources like offices, but as the market recovered, we realized we were competing with one another. In January 2012, we made the decision to merge our three separate companies and form Ellen Grasso & Sons, and since then, our business has simply exploded in growth. We’ve got an extensive range of combined resources, including in-house project managers, interior designers, and office staff.” 

Offering both high-end new construction and entire-home renovation, Clay elaborates on the company’s portfolio. “Around 20 percent of our work is remodels or major additions, but the majority of our work is new construction homes in the price range of $5-million-to-$8-million, with a few projects estimated above $12 million,” he says. “For both custom homes and remodels, our focused markets are University Park and Highland Park, a small inner-city-type bubble in the middle of Dallas, and Preston Hollow, an affluent neighborhood of estates and other large properties.” 

Rather than specializing in a certain style, the company offers something for everyone, approaching client relationships by aligning the best principal, designer, and project manager based on each customer’s style preference and personality. “Between Ellen, Rob, and I, we have unique tastes, different personalities, and varying skill sets,” Clay explains. “The current market is seeing an increase in transitional homes that blend traditional style with modern functionality, but we’re also continuing to build ultra-modern homes. However, we spend plenty of time with our clients during preliminary meetings to understand their style and requirements, and we then try to create a team of people who are best aligned with the client’s vision.  

“From a customer service perspective, we strive to offer a seamless homebuilding experience. The schedule and costs tend to be the most important aspects of any project, and we educate our customers along the way, as well as maintaining constant communication with our clients to provide them with updates about both the schedule and budget. When it comes to decision making and style selections, the process can be overwhelming, but we break it down into smaller chunks to minimize decision fatigue.” 

Characterful and creative

On the topic of style and unusual designs, Clay reflects on some of the company’s most unique projects. “We’ve worked on a few historical houses, which have been some of my favorite projects, as although these homes are mostly in a state of disrepair, I love imagining what they would have been like back in the day,” he reflects. “You never know what you’re going to find behind the walls, so these projects tend to grow in magnitude and scope. In most cases, the layout of older homes doesn’t work for modern lifestyles, and our job is to find ways to marry the original feel of the house with more contemporary requirements like larger kitchens and the addition of a family room. We create custom moldings and features that match the original details, for instance, making the space feel modern and current, yet also retaining its character.  

“One of these projects was the newly constructed home on Westway in Highland Park, which we began in mid-2020 and completed in 2022. Many of the homes in the area were built in the 1920s and retain original features, but our client wanted a 1920s-style home with modern foundations, plumbing, and electrics to minimize the problems associated with aging houses. We worked with an architect in Nashville, Catherine Sloane, to create an entire home that was so unique people thought it was a remodel as opposed to new construction! 

“Detail was absolutely key to this home, and we did extensive research to ensure every detail was period correct,” Clay adds. “We added a mix of high and low ceilings, making it seem like parts of the house had been added over time, as well as lots of curves and a screened sunroom typical of the South during that period. We built a two-car garage from stone and designed it like a carriage house. For the floors, we painted several layers of different colors, so that the different layers of paint will be revealed as it wears.” 

Investment and growth 

To round up our conversation, Clay shares details about the company’s current projects before turning his attention to its long-term strategy. “We’re working on two large estate properties, one of which is a custom home, and the other is a 12,000-square-foot spec home,” he reveals. “We’re really looking forward to progressing with the spec home, as we’re not constrained by budgets or clients’ selections and instead have more freedom over the design and materials.  

“While we’re happy with our current size, we never want to stagnate, so we’ll continue to invest and add resources to grow the business,” Clay concludes. “As we grow, I’d like to increase the share of remodeling we offer from 20 percent to around 30 percent, and we’ll also explore expansion into new markets outside of Dallas. As we grow, we’ll stay in the high-end market, but I’d like to be tackling projects from the most highly customized angle.”  

www.ellengrasso.com