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T o Elayan and Jaloudi, "building relationships, one home at a time" is more than just a financial transaction. "We connect with each family and get to know them. rough that process we hold their interest in the forefront", Jaloudi says. ey are extra sensitive to the fact that this is one of the greatest personal investments most people will ever make in a lifetime. One of the biggest challenges they run into when working with a family is that budgets don't always align with the wants. From the beginning of the process, they keep an open line of communication and education with their clients to help them manage expectations. Elayan and Jaloudi can work with families to figure out what they want their homes to look like, and then match it up with the client's budget. As experts in their field, they oen value engineering built-in features such as benches, bookcases, and bars to get the look that they want without the hey price tag. When it came to designing their own home, it was a no brainer. Jaloudi explains, "there is added pressure when building your own home as a design professional because it is going to be on display and critiqued by your peers. However, Mike and I worked well together." ey were able to find a balance that allowed their skills to shine. When one person pushed for something, the other person trusted their decision and kept their eye on the bigger picture. Having the honor of building so many homes gave them the courage needed to dive into designing their own space. She says, "by the time we got to building our own home, we knew what we wanted." When they decided on something, they did not over-analyze it. "is is important in building your own home—people oen question their decision-making through the process because there are so many options out there." V U E N J . C O M 66

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