Where design meets daily life – Harth Builders creates flow-focused interiors built to be lived in
Family comes first for Greater Philadelphia based construction and renovation company, Harth Builders. With a strong focus on what makes a house a home, the company crafts contemporary spaces suited to the individual needs of its clients. Over the past 28 years, the Harth family has built an enduring reputation for quality and consistency, as President Gregory Harth begins: “Our business is built upon the values of craftsmanship and family history. Founded in 1996 by Allyn Harth, Harth Builders represents over two decades of seasoned experience in remodeling and residential, light commercial, and heavy civil construction.
“From architectural design and remodeling to additions and custom finishing work, we have an award-winning reputation. Our people are known for their expertise and acute attention to detail, which helps us carefully interpret every customer’s unique vision to make their ideal home renovation come to life.”
Specializing in bespoke renovation and rebuild projects, Harth Builders offers a unique blend of design and architecture expertise. “At Harth Builders, our mission is to make your home your favorite place. That is why every project we design and build incorporates each client’s own ideas, personalities and dreams. It is the crucial difference between creating a house and creating a home with heart. It’s these values that make up the foundation on which our company continues to build its reputation.
Renovation excellence
“We work with clients in the Greater Philadelphia area who are frustrated with their current home layout. We support clients with renovation projects, often working on properties that are falling apart due to deferred maintenance or age. Most of our clients have looked around at alternatives, but can’t replace their neighborhood, commute, or relatively low taxes compared to new construction, and elect to invest in their current home instead. We work with them to evaluate three to five conceptual options, then refine all the fit and finish, selections, value engineer, then proceed into permitting and construction.
“Occasionally, some of the renovations are so large and intense, or the clients want a significantly different style to their existing home, that we suggest considering a ground up new construction approach. While the entire process of design, permitting and construction can take 30 to 36 months, the clients get exactly what they want stylistically and love the end product,” Gregory asserts.
As a family business, Harth Builders knows the importance of relationships. By working closely with clients, Harth Builders ensures a product everyone can be proud of. As Gregory discusses: “We have developed a streamlined, tried and true operation that helps organize the chaotic design-build process and makes it easier for clients to make step by step decisions.
Architectural trends
“We ask a lot of questions to identify the problems with their current space. For example, we’ll ask, “What frustrates you about the current layout?”. Most of our clients have a hard time stating what they want, but a much easier time explaining what frustrates them about their home. As we go through our design process, we explain the pros and cons of each of the decisions that a client can make. From the location of a shower entry or valves, to the lack of a steamy hot shower in a zero-threshold bathroom. Whatever the budget, we are helping the clients invest in their homes and we want to ensure the finished product meets or exceeds their expectations.
“We also excel at presenting functional conceptual layouts, following the theory of ‘form follows function,’ a phrase coined by Louis H. Sullivan in 1896 and expanded by Frank Lloyd Wright in the mid 1950’s. We believe in designing spaces from the interior outwards, considering how one uses the spaces and designing homes around that. The exterior will be spectacular, but the inside space should feel intuitive and designed with universal concepts of flow. As we have renovated so many first floors of homes over our 28-year history, we have trademarked the First Floor FlowTM concept. Our work has also been instrumental in rethinking how kitchens and outdoor living spaces interact with the great room and mudroom entry to the home.”
Working at the cutting edge of contemporary home design has helped Harth Builders attract a new generation of clients. The company’s projects include the latest architectural trends, as Gregory reveals: “We have recently been working with younger clients on much more modern designs, similar to the Oregon home seen in the Twilight movie series. They are characterized by large expanses of windows and glass, which really open the space up. We include a lot of ocular skylights and all-glass solariums in these kinds of designs.
“As we’re seeing increased demand for modern features like thermally modified siding, engineered quartz, waterfall edges, matte countertops, and elegant lighting, it’s really exciting for our team to work on new ideas and redefine the limits of what a home can be.
“In the future, we will continue to push the edge of creative design. The company currently has eight custom home lots just inside the NW Philadelphia limits of Chestnut Hill that we look forward to partnering with clients to build their dream homes. Additionally, we have larger and more complicated projects being presented to us all the time. We are on our eighth and ninth projects for some of our repeat clients, and those often started out with much smaller-scale renovations. We’ve been on a journey together, which I think really shows that the foundation of our company is client experience,” he concludes.
All photos credited to Linda McManus Images