When he started building homes Alex said it was clear he wouldn't be able to run both businesses. So he turned the cabinetry business over to one of his brothers and officially started Designer's Choice Custom Homes, Inc.
However, as Cindy, Alex's wife, is quick to point out, the home with Don was not the very first home he built. With a laugh Alex admitted that there was another "first house" that he built.
"After we were married, I decided we needed something that was paid for. My family had some land and I came out here and built a 14 by 20 house. Every payday I would buy some more material and work on the house in my spare time," Alex quietly stated.
"That was 14 feet by 20 feet," Cindy interjected with a large smile on her face.
When Alex was paid at the end of the week he would go down and buy the materials necessary and with his free time built the little home.
"I built a sleeping loft over the kitchen and every night we would bring a ladder in from outside to go up to the loft," offered Alex with a broad smile.
"Yes, and when I was eight months pregnant I couldn't get my belly up the ladder and started sleeping on the couch," Cindy said laughing at the memory. "So I had the couch, the love seat, the TV, a dresser and our oldest son's crib downstairs. And you know somebody has lived in that little house to this day. It has never been unoccupied," she added.
Cindy and Alex along with their five children now share a 3,000-square-foot home and guesthouse, but it is obvious that fond memories still remain for their first home and humble beginnings. It's also obvious, as his many home buyers will attest to, that Alex loves his work and builds each home as if it were indeed his own.