Dream Home Building

Tatum Brown redefines the Dallas custom homebuilding experience

You may notice that homes in Dallas are selling quickly. Gone-as-soon-as-they-hit-the-market quickly. The city is such a coveted place to live that the inventory of gorgeous existing homes is becoming harder to come by every year, prompting many to opt for a custom build. And when they do, they turn to one of the most sought-after boutique luxury builders, Tatum Brown Custom Homes.

In addition to Tatum Brown’s success stories (trust us, you’ll feel immediate jealousy), what makes this company stand out is how Tatum Brown redefines the term “custom build.” Here, every single variable within the home, as well as in the building process itself, is custom. Whether you already have an architect or interior designer, or need an introduction to one, Tatum Brown will customize the building process to best suit your needs, ensuring the home of your dreams.

You drive the project
Inside its showroom, the Tatum Brown team begins with a presentation to clients on what they can expect. At the top of the list is collaboration. Whether the client comes to the table with finished plans or needs an introduction to a highly recommended architect, the goal is to make sure everyone involved understands the vision, timeline and budget.

If clients need help locating the perfect neighborhood or lot, Tatum Brown’s sales professionals can help. Communication is facilitated with the latest technology, ensuring “everyone is reading from the same playbook,” as owner Mark Danuser puts it.

“Sometimes people are overwhelmed by the thought of building a brand-new custom home. They think it will be an unbelievably time-consuming project that will take over their lives when they’re already so busy,” Danuser explains. “But we are here to make the process streamlined and, ultimately, fun.

“We take a more corporate approach and collaborate with our clients to make the right decisions to get to the ideal home. Our team and process is in place to make things go efficiently and on budget, so it’s an enjoyable experience for our clients.”

Once you’ve settled on the home’s architectural style and size, there are plenty of other exciting steps as you build a custom home. Tatum Brown’s design team can help choose all the finish-out selections that will make your home truly yours. Any aspect of the process — from accounting to helping decide the shape of your swimming pool — can be handled by the team.

“We’re very adaptable, whether it’s an estate project, second home or an extensive renovation. In the end, it’s about the quality of the homes we build. And ensuring our clients can get everything they need taken care of — from project management to interior design — in an efficient manner,” Danuser says.

Online updates
Tatum Brown keeps clients in the know by creating private, personalized project websites, and then posting regular updates and photos to document the home’s progress. The individualized website also serves as a photo journal and reference, and it can be accessed by smartphone.

In one fell swoop, the client can see the architectural plans, colors, finishes and more. This can come in handy for making on-the-fly design decisions, such as shopping for tile or fixtures. Clients stay connected, and everyone can more seamlessly work at creating a one-of-a-kind home.

It’s this detail and focus that has helped to earn Tatum Brown Custom Homes its stellar reputation.

“We’ve thought everything through,” Danuser says. “You tell us what you want. Then let us get to work building a quality home that is perfect for you and your family.”

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Learn more about custom home building by visiting the Tatum Brown Custom Homes website or Facebook.

A French-style custom build in Highland Park.

Photo courtesy of Tatum Brown

A French-style custom build in Highland Park.

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home design trends

Hottest bathroom renovation trends right now are all about self-care

Photo courtesy of Signature Designs Kitchens & Baths

Stone accent walls are a great way to make a bathroom look more natural.

The interior design experts at Houzz are unveiling the hottest renovation trends for Dallas homeowners who are ready to say goodbye their outdated bathrooms and step into updated, self-care retreats.

The "2026 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study" surveyed over 1,600 homeowners who are currently renovating or have recently completed a bathroom renovation to determine the top design choices, features, and the overarching goals for their projects.

"Homeowners want their bathrooms to work harder for them to support both daily routines and self-care," said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz head of economic research. "That's showing up in the numbers, with median spend rebounding to $15,000, and nearly half of homeowners making their showers bigger. Pros are helping their clients to reconfigure layouts and make more room for the features that elevate everyday comfort."

Below are the most sought-after bathroom upgrades in 2026.

Bathrooms stay relatively the same size, but self-care tops the priority list
One of the main highlights in the report was that half of all homeowners surveyed said they spent more time relaxing and "soaking up self care" in their bathrooms after renovations were finished. Fore 28 percent, that's for beauty and pampering routines, and for 23 percent, it's for rest and relaxation.

With this in mind, most homeowners also said they don't want their bathrooms to be larger and take away precious space in the primary bedroom. Instead, homeowners are making strategic improvements like reworking the bathroom layout; increasing the size of the shower area; or updating ventilation, heating, or plumbing.

"The vast majority of bathrooms (82 percent) keep their size after renovation, while just 1 percent shrink," the report said. "When bathroom footprints increase, they tend to be modest."

Additionally, about 90 percent of homeowners said they were hiring a professional to help with their renovation projects rather than doing it themselves. This takes away some of the stress of executing renovations, though it might come at a higher cost than a DIY project.

Top-picked styles and design details
The majority of homeowners (81 percent) update the style of their bathroom when they renovate, the report said, with transitional and contemporary styles leading as the most popular choices.

Specifically, homeowners are most often choosing solid wood (like maple and white oak) for their cabinets, and white or off-white quartzite for countertops, and white or off-white paint across the shower walls and non-shower walls. While this may seem sterile at first, about 34 percent of homeowners are including an accent wall to add a touch of personality to the space.

"Renovating homeowners who include an accent wall in their bathroom projects mostly use patterns to make them stand out (53 percent)," the report said. "Color is the second choice (48 percent), followed by surface material (45 percent) and texture (25 percent)."

Porcelain and ceramic tile are the top two choices for shower flooring and for the flooring outside the shower, Houzz reported.

Specialty features surging in popularity
Recessed lighting, bidet toilet seats, and mirrors with adjustable lighting color temperature are a few of the hottest specialty features being added to bathrooms, the report found.

"[A] third of renovating homeowners add a specialty mirror feature (33 percent), most often LED lighting (26 percent) or an antifog system (21 percent)," Houzz said.

For vanity updates, 61 percent of homeowners upgrade to entirely custom or semi-custom piece, and 21 percent of homeowners opt for stock models. These new vanities are most often wider than what was previously used, and feature soft-close drawers and doors. Built-in features — such as electrical outlets, hair tool organizers, and drawer organizers — are another popular choice for vanity upgrades.

Accessibility features for homeowners planning for the future
Nearly three quarters of homeowners are planning bathroom upgrades to address their future needs.

The top aging-in-place features incorporated by renovating homeowners are grab bars, continuous or nonslip flooring, low-curb or curbless showers, additional lighting, ADA-compliant toilets, and wheelchair-accessible doorways. Four percent of homeowners said they were lowering the height of their vanities, and two percent said they were lowering their shower fixtures.

Several of these ideas were also highlighted in Houzz's 2025 renovation trends report.

Photo courtesy of Signature Designs Kitchens & Baths

Stone accent walls are a great way to make a bathroom look more natural.

home design home design trends houzz bathrooms renovation