Custom Homes, Composed Around the Life Inside Them
Ground-up homes designed and directed from the very first idea, where land, architecture, interiors and craft are conceived as one.
A custom home is the rare opportunity to begin with almost nothing, a piece of land, your story, and a blank set of plans, and to shape every line in service of how you truly want to live. Martire enters at that earliest moment, before the architect and before the first drawing, to read the site, the lifestyle and the quiet preferences that a brief rarely captures. From there, Courtenay Martire carries a single artistic vision through every decision that follows, so the finished home is not assembled from finishes and trends but genuinely composed: cohesive, deeply personal, and built to endure. Drawing on years spent building alongside her builder husband, her direction is grounded equally in design and in the realities of ground-up construction.
Begin before the first line is drawn
The most consequential decisions in a custom home are made at the very beginning, orientation and scale, the rhythm from room to room, where the morning light falls, and how the house meets its land. Engaged in the pre-architect, pre-construction phase, Martire shapes those decisions from the outset rather than decorating around them once the structure is set.
The work starts with listening: to the site, to how you move through an ordinary day, to the things you love and the way you want a home to feel. That understanding becomes the foundation of the plan, so the architecture and the interior life of the home are working toward the same idea from the first sketch onward.
Architect selection and collaboration
Choosing the right architect is among the first and most defining steps, and Martire helps you make it well, recommending a fit suited to your home and sensibility, or working seamlessly alongside an architect you already trust. Throughout, Courtenay holds the through-line, ensuring the plans serve how you live and that the interiors are never an afterthought bolted on at the end.
Because Courtenay and her builder husband have built million-dollar spec and custom homes together, the design direction is anchored in real construction, what is buildable, what endures, and where investment is best placed. That perspective keeps the vision intact as it travels from drawings to delivery.
One vision, from foundation to finishes
A custom home succeeds when every layer agrees: floor plans, millwork, cabinetry, lighting, materials, drapery, textiles, art and final styling. Martire carries full artistic direction across all of it, so nothing is left to chance and no element quietly works against the rest.
With long-standing artisan and trade partnerships, the studio develops bespoke joinery, cabinetry and millwork, resolves lighting and material palettes, and directs the home through its finishes and styling. The aim is a home that feels inevitable, as though it could only ever have belonged to you, and to this particular place.
A complete, considered scope.
Engaged as your design lead, Martire carries the work across disciplines so nothing falls between trades.
- Pre-construction design direction and site reading
- Architect selection and ongoing collaboration
- Floor plan guidance and spatial planning
- Custom millwork, joinery and cabinetry design
- Lighting plans, materials and finish selection
- Drapery, textiles, art and final styling
- Full artistic direction through construction
- Long-standing artisan and trade partnerships
Good to know.
When is the best time to bring Martire into a custom home project?
As early as possible, ideally before an architect is engaged. The earliest decisions shape everything that follows, and the studio's greatest value lies in guiding those choices from the start. Engaging at the pre-construction stage tends to save cost, time and later regret, because the design intent is built in rather than corrected after the fact.
Do you work with our architect, or recommend one?
Either. If you have an architect you trust, Martire collaborates alongside them and holds the design vision through the build. If you are still choosing, the studio helps you select an architect suited to your home and sensibility. In both cases, Courtenay carries the artistic direction so the house and the life inside it stay in step.
Does Courtenay have real construction experience?
Yes. Courtenay and her builder husband have built million-dollar spec and custom homes, so the design direction is informed by how homes are genuinely constructed. That grounding keeps the vision both beautiful and buildable, from the foundation through the finishes.
What scale of custom home do you take on?
The work centres on substantial, design-led custom homes, significant ground-up builds across Chicago, the affluent suburbs and the lakefront regions. Martire accepts a select number of projects each year so that every home receives Courtenay's direct, principal-led attention from beginning to end.
If you are imagining a home built entirely around your life, we would be glad to begin the conversation.