Article originally on Sarasota Magazine. Score one for historic preservation this week, as a 1936 pecky cypress cottage that stood on the Siesta Key bayfront for 82 years is being …
A Dream Home Built on a Private Water Access Only Island
DAYS OF HEAVEN Home Tour: A Dream Retreat on Jewfish Key A dream retreat on Jewfish Key provides blissful family weekends. By Ilene Denton – Originally Published in the January …
THE CLASSIC COLLECTION at GRANADA PARK WINS AWARDS
MGB Fine Custom Homes Wins Best Overall & Green Award for Buttonwood Model at Granada Park MGB Fine Custom Homes is proud to have been awarded a Best Overall for …
Homeownership is Key to Household Wealth
BY: JANN SWANSON How Homeownership Affects Household Wealth Mar 26 2018, 10:45AM It is conventional wisdom that homeownership is key to household wealth, and the National Association of Home Builders makes a …
Hurricane Irma – Why Sarasota Was Spared…Again.
Those fortunate to live through a hurricane in a fortified house got an opportunity to experience the benefit of their investment this week. Many of us who live in Sarasota …
MGB Fine Custom Homes Honored as “Best Luxury Home Builder”
BUILD Magazine Names MGB Fine Custom Homes “Best Luxury Home Builder” BUILD magazine, a popular property and construction publication, annually recognizes leading industry businesses focused on sustainable living projects. This …
SCENE Magazine Dishes with Steve Ellis of MGB Fine Custom Homes
Sarasota’s SCENE Magazine featured Steve Ellis, co-founder of MGB Fine Custom Homes, who shared information on the Florida housing market, green home certification, and the driving philosophy he and his …
Beware These 9 Real Estate Code Words – from Trulia
By Meaghan Agnew from Trulia.com Before you get your hopes up about that home-viewing appointment, study up on these key listing phrases so you’ll have a better idea of what to …
The Latest Residents of Granada Park
A warm welcome to the newest residents of one of our Classic Collection homes in the exclusive gated community of Granada Park. These Classic homes are built on smaller lots …
Designing Your Kitchen: How to Choose a Sink Size
Bigger isn’t always better. Here’s how to pick the right size sink for your kitchen, needs and budget by Jennifer Ott (Original Post on Houzz) San Francisco-based interior designer, architectural color …
10 Tips on Buying Waterfront Property
by Liz Moore For many people, buying waterfront property is the ultimate real estate experience. Perhaps more than any other type of purchase, buying a waterfront home or home site …
New Recyclable Carpet – Promises and Challenges
Environmentally-motivated consumers have been dissatisfied with the state of the carpet industry for years – and with good reason. Modern carpeting has been one of the most difficult building materials …
On Building A Strong Foundation
Reinforced concrete construction? Impact-resistant doors and windows? In Florida, as anywhere, what goes into storm-proofing a home—whether new home construction or a painstaking renovation— is the deciding factor about what …
What to Look for in Energy-Efficient Wine Storage
A luxury home isn’t truly complete without luxury gadgets and amenities. One of the amenities that are most sought after by our clients is top-of-the-line wine storage, and one of …
Considering a Water Feature in Your Home? Here’s What You Need to Know
If there’s one thing we love about our location here in Florida, it is being surrounded by all of this breathtaking scenery (particularly, the beautiful blue water). So, when thinking …
Serene West of Trail – SRQ Magazine
This article BY SHANE DONGLASAN first appeared in SRQ Magazine A Sarasota couple transforms a spec home into a customized modern gem. Your two most crucial allies when building a …
Real Exclusive Properties Writes About Granada Park
Ed Bertha wrote this article about Granada Park in REAL Exclusive Properties magazine. Granada Park, Sarasota’s Best Kept Secret. Not For Long! Located on four plus acres near the corner …
Features We Love in Coastal Craftsman Style Homes
Here at MGB, we build and design custom homes with you in mind. We take great pride and care in what we do, because at the end of the day, when …
Building a Guest House Your Friends and Family Will Love
When it comes to building your home away from home, within your home, design is key. Our philosophy at MGB is that a guest house is an extension of your …
An Overview of the LEED Accreditation System
In today’s growing, Green-minded society, buildings are designed to maximize energy efficiency, making the most of renewable and sustainable resources – all key elements that MGB is proud to incorporate …
Must-Have Features for Luxury Homes in 2016
The personification of a truly luxurious home is not just a well furnished home. When imagining your luxury home, the obvious conveniences may come to mind, such as the picturesque, …
Granada Park, a New Community
Big things are happening within the real estate community in Sarasota, as leading-edge trends and concepts make way for new ways of community living. Granada Park, MGB’s latest development, is …
Smart Glass
The future is here! With the latest developments in high-tech materials, smart glass takes consumer control to a whole new level. In the past, the options we, as homebuilders, had …
Photovoltaic Solar Panels: Then and Now
When it comes to solar technology, in the industry, we’ve seen a lot of change, or shall we say improvement, in the past several years. Today, the demand for solar …
What We Can Learn From the Design Practices of Carl Abbott
When it comes to architectural design, Sarasota native (and Sarasota School of Architecture graduate), Carl Abbott has definitely made his mark in the modernist world. Abbott, who has been designing …
Principles to Keep in Mind When Planning Your Green Building Project
Key factors to consider for green building projects According to a report by the EPA, “Green building continues to gain momentum as it demonstrates numerous opportunities to improve the impacts …
Green Buildings Equal Greater Workplace Productivity
A Harvard study shows that green building practices enhance workplace productivity. For decades, experts have been brainstorming for ways to boost productivity in the workplace. There is an overall consensus that a healthy, cheerful employee …
Your Green Home Renovation: Radiant Floor Heating
Radiant floor heating is just one of those luxuries that everyone should experience at least once. This method of warming a home is considered to be environmentally friendly, and as …
Features to Look for in An Outdoor Kitchen
One of our favorite things about our Granada Park model home is its outdoor greatroom. The popularity of this type of outdoor living space continues to skyrocket, especially in areas …
MGB Homes Takes Best of Houzz 2016 Award for Customer Service
Each year, The Best of Houzz is awarded to the top to the top home design and remodeling businesses in three categories: design, customer service and photography. In the design and photography categories, …
MGB and The Art of Corporate Philanthropy
Last week, our team had the pleasure of participating in The Art of Corporate Philanthropy, a breakfast hosted by SRQ | The Magazine. The purpose of the event was to …
Find Us in LEEDing the Way: Domestic Architecture for the Future
MGB Fine Custom Homes was recently selected to be in the book, LEEDing the Way: Domestic Architecture for the Future, a unique and engaging study of LEED houses today. Respectful of nature and its …
The Granada Park Model Home is Now Open!
We’re happy to announce that our model home in Granada Park is now complete and open for viewing. Congratulations to our team, led by Grant Castilow, on finishing this beautiful home in …
Announcing New Homes in Granada Park!
Granada Park by MGB Homes The plans are complete and the first model home is nearly finished. We are proud to announce our latest project– 15 beautiful new homes in …
Love the detailed painting on this Longboat Key bayfront home
I‘m so proud of the paint quality at our clients new Longboat Key Bayfront home that I had to share. Check out one of the crew getting coverage where the refrigerator will be installed. Love it!
On Giving Thanks in a Painting
As earnest as we are at this time of year about giving thanks, there’s always the self-imposed pressure to climb inside a Norman Rockwell painting and do it from there. But the danger in accepting nothing shy of poetic standards for ourselves comes from the age-old cliché about perfectionism. In short, without the sparkling white tablecloth, perfectly browned bird, ultra-crisp…
New Construction on Osprey Ave
One of our current projects, a beautiful new home on Osprey Avenue, is really starting to come alive for our newlyweds.
The Importance of Continuity
In 1972, my father, a Boston-based developer and contractor, got to renovate Boston’s historic Chickering & Sons Piano factory. Among the most prolific piano manufacturers of the 19th century, Chickering was the company responsible for the piano PT Barnum used for world-renowned Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind’s 1850, 93-city concert tour. Transforming the Tremont Street structure into one of Boston’s …
A Meticulously Handcrafted Home
This new, custom home is nearing completion on Longboat Key at Marker 29. It has been meticulously handcrafted for a terrific couple that chose a simple and fortified design with an abundance of covered outdoor living areas for their home on the bay. Stay tuned for more updates on this project!
Almost Finished
Some of the “close to finish” shots of this gorgeous home. We are so grateful to Bambi and Jeff, the proud owners of their new west-of-trail home!
The Eastbrook Project
The original structure was gutted to the studs and blocks walls, reimagined to open up the living room, kitchen and great room, and to emphatically open the master suite to an expansive, screened-in outdoor living area with pool and patio. Check out this project in our portfolio for more information.
Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Recognizes MGB for Customer Service
The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce has chosen MGB (MyGreenBuildings LLC) as the Insignia Award Winner for the month of November 2014. This award recognizes the achievement of quality customer …
Lovely, Rich Mahogany
The Osprey Ave House will receive this very tight grained mahogany wood on and around the garage door, front entry and the cantilevered window bump-out. Mahogany has been used for over 100 years in the construction of yachts – both for structural applications and finish details. Back in Boston, during college, I was known on the waterfront as one of …
Pilots, Sailors and the Building Process
My business partner, Grant Castilow, is an avid pilot. I am a lifelong sailor. Sailing and Flying both rely on the principle of lift — which has to do with airspeed, angle of attack and many other technical factors. Without careful attention to lift, and flexible, strategic decisions made to facilitate and maintain it, goals will not be met. Additionally, …
Giving more and Giving back – MGB recognized by Edward Lowe Foundation
Giving more — and giving back — is MGB’s blueprint for growth Green construction and luxury homes might sound like an oxymoron — but not to Stephen Ellis and …
Have you seen this one on Osprey?
You may have seen this home going up on Osprey Ave next to Morton’s. The home will be one-story and was designed to wrap around a 40 foot lap pool …
Aurora Award Winners
The 2012 Aurora Awards were presented at the Southeast Building Conference in Orlando a week ago, and several of the winning houses had a look of familiarity to Herald-Tribune readers. These houses have been featured in the newspaper, either for their green credentials or for winning architectural awards. Or both. Here’s a look …
Small Business of the Year: MyGreenBuildings, LLC
Sarasota Observer by: Maria Amodio | Observer Intern MyGreenBuildings, LLC has a new location on Orange Avenue, but nearly everything in the office, from the sliding-glass doors to the chair …
Best Green Businesses
Our seven contest winners show you can be good to the planet and successful in business. – by SUSAN BURNS (Photography by GENE POLLUX) Homes Green Homes hat started out …
Natural Awakenings Magazine – Community Spotlight
By Linda Sechrist A Passion for Green Building elatively few people on the planet lay awake at night thinking about the amount of energy imbedded in lumber. Stephen Ellis, co-owner …
Florida Homes and Lifestyle Magazine – The Goldenrod Project
Florida’s first certified “green” remodel is a prototype for sustainable design. STORY BY CANDICE MUTSCHLER PHOTOGRAPHY BY GENE POLLUX STYLING BY ANA TODD hen business partners Grant Castilow and Steve …
The Zen of Home Building
Asian influenced home is the greenest renovation in the state of Florida t was difficult to decide whether to tear the house down and start over or renovate. The Owner of the …
Welcome to the Digital Spec Home
Using 3-D modeling and Google Earth, luxury home builder MyGreenBuildings tweaks designs and gives clients virtual site tours. By Michael Pollick, Sarasota Herald-Tribune rom his desk at Michael Carlson …
A Living Roof at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens transforms the top of a cistern into an educational tool. By Pam Langan t was a labor of love for the green at Marie Selby Botanical …
The Anti-McMansion
MyGreenBuildings’ prototype “green rebuild.” ired of tear-down homes replaced by McMansions, the two-story, boxy structures that tower over more modest, older homes? Steve Ellis and Grant Castilow are. The two …
MyGreenBuildings to save older homes
We’re seeing many baby boomer consumers who are educated, monied and equipped with a social conscience. Sarasota’s Grant Castilow and Steve Ellis recently launched MyGreenBuildings to save older homes and …