Starside Custom Builders’ Pam Roberts is Both an Interior Designer And a Matchmaker
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Working with Starside Custom Builders allows Pam Roberts, owner of PWR Designs, to play matchmaker of sorts.
Instead of matching clients with the loves of their lives, Roberts works at people getting fluttery emotions about another important life goal. As the custom home builder’s exclusive designer, Roberts gets to match clients with the home of their dreams.
“I can really latch on to what their vision and aesthetic are and then introduce some ‘Wow!’ they didn’t even know they wanted,” she said.
Part of The Starside Custom Builders Package
PWR Designs, which has been in the interior design business for more than 20 years, is an integral part of the package for those buying a Starside Custom Builders home. For 11 years, she’s been working with all the clients during the construction of their Starside home as well as designing all of Starside’s spec homes.
Starside, with a combined business experience totaling more than 100 years, builds in some of the most prestigious areas of Dallas and Collin counties. Appreciated for unrivaled luxury, Starside Custom Builders are known as the developer and primary builder of Normandy Estates. The firm also has built unique homes in the exceptional Dallas neighborhoods of University Park and Preston Hollow. In 2024, Starside will move its offices to The Preserve, and exclusive residential community at the PGA Headquarters in Frisco. Here they will design and build 30 lots along the prestigious PGA Championship golf courses.
Roberts’ part in the homebuilding journey begins early in the process. Like a successful matchmaker, Roberts starts with a long interview to learn about clients’ needs and wants, often pushing them to think about important aspects of their home that they had never considered.
A Custom Home as Unique as The Client
Each is unique. Starside Custom Builders boasts a diverse clientele. Some are young families and want a 10,000-square-foot house, while others are couples wanting to downsize to a luxurious, lock-and-leave lifestyle. Still others are international, bringing a continental aesthetic to their house wish list by sourcing materials from all over the world.
Since every house is custom, Roberts always interviews clients for three to four hours. Discussions include their visions, floor plans, budgets, finishes, and lighting before construction even begins. Roberts considers everything from where to place heirloom furniture to color palettes to ceiling designs. Kitchen countertop materials are what Roberts likes her clients to choose first.
“I want that to be something they love, and from that, I spin-off,” she said. “I like everything to tie back to that first stone in the kitchen.”
The Year-Long Journey of a Custom Build
Building a truly custom, luxury home is never a fast process.
While the Starside builders construct a home, Roberts’ collaboration with clients can last a year. The decorator calls her style “classic modern,” which includes a nod to history to make it timeless and a mix of materials for uniqueness. She tends toward a color palette of cream, black, and caramel, but if her customer loves blue, then blue she will do.
“The final word always rests with the client,” the interior decorator said, noting that many times clients’ style evolves during the project. “I never want to push something they’re not sure of. I do direct the project, but I never hammer them to do something they don’t want. I also strive for a client reaction of ‘That’s it!’ rather than ‘It’s fine.’ ‘Fine’ is not my goal, ‘I love it!’ creates their dream home.”
Teamwork, And Lots of Shopping
Her work involves collaborating with architects — sometimes saving the clients money in the process — and also teaming with project managers and contractors on site. She typically will accompany clients to Dallas showrooms to aid in selecting products such as stone countertops, flooring, hardware, lighting, glass, mirrors, cabinets, and paint. Clients are always in good hands and feel confident about the final product.
Those days, the ones she likes the best, are part of the matching designs to the customers’ wishes, all with the result in mind.
“I love what I do. I think I have one of the best jobs in the whole world,” Roberts said. “I get to help people build beautiful homes and navigate their way through the custom home-building experience. When their home is complete and they love it, then they have met their match.”
Yes, a successful match does end with love.
