Over the past decades, Calgary’s sprawling suburbs have become filled with cookie-cutter houses that homebuyers have had to adapt

to in order to fit into. For Paul Jirjis, that wasn’t good enough.

He and his company Casabella Homes built residential properties throughout the 2000s but there were rumblings in the industry and Jirjis had the good judgment to listen. He sensed a change, a growth in Calgary in the late 2000s and decided to be part of that change. Rather than doing the expected in construction, Jirjis set out to break the cookie cutter and get down to what customers really wanted. That led to the birth of Casabella Lifestyle in 2012.

“It’s a bit of a twist,” he says. “We’re not just building a home and selling it. We’re accommodating our client’s needs and making it completely ready for them – a turnkey operation.”

Casabella Lifestyle redefines what it means to be turnkey. The company found that previously, clients would visit a show home and love the feel of it, but when their own model was completed they were often left slightly underwhelmed.

“A lot of people enjoy buying the show home because it is completely furnished and they could see themselves living there,” says Arend Lucardie, Casabella Lifestyle’s marketing director.

Casabella Lifestyle set out to bring that feeling back to clients, allowing them to move into their own show home that reflected their personality

Offers theCasabella Lifestyle

Complete PackageBy Rennay Craats

Top: The Milano project Above right: (L-R) Dan, Paul and Arend finalizing plans on one of the projects.

Casabella Homes | 10 Years | 177

and tastes. Casabella Lifestyle offers a complete package in which homeowners work with an interior designer to select everything from cabinetry and appliances to furnishings, and on possession day they step into their fully furnished brand-new home.

This package deal has proven incredibly attractive to many customers, including transfers from other cities who want to minimize the hassle and disruption associated with a big move. Casabella Lifestyle allows clients to walk into a professionally decorated space, making the new house a home the second they turn the key. They have even taken it a step further by giving some extra attention to an often-neglected space: the garage.

In Casabella Lifestyle homes, the garage is treated as another room, and can even be turned into a ‘mancave’ with a developed second floor complete with a bar. The builder also has a luxury vehicle waiting in the garage for the new homeowners as part of the package they are purchasing.

Casabella has taken the custom homebuilding experience to a new level, striving to provide clients with exactly what they have always dreamed of.

“We take the time to get to know the family and build a home that is tailored for the family today and many years to come,” says Lucardie. “Our expertise rests in custom homebuilding, but we’re always pushing the envelope to deliver what our clients are really looking for – a complete lifestyle package.”

The experience for clients is amazing, and the Casabella team invests countless hours with the homebuyers to ensure they get it right. They spend two to three months meeting with clients to get to know them and help them through the process. They assist with choosing the essentials for not only construction but the essentials for living after the building is done.

The process is customization at its best. In essence, it’s the team’s job to find out who the clients are, what they need, what they want and what doesn’t work in

Casabella Homes | 10 Years | 2

This page: The Milano project

their existing home and then to create a personalized plan that fits the clients’ lifestyle and budget.

“And we draw everything in 3D to let them imagine how this is going to look before we proceed,” says Jirjis.

At every turn, the team is available to answer questions and to explain what is going on behind the

scenes so there are no surprises. The only surprise is how open and approachable all of the Casabella team is at every step of the way.

Communication is key to the corporate philosophy. Good communication is the best way to ensure clients get the most from their experience and walk away happy. Casabella’s client philosophy is intentionally

Casabella Homes | 10 Years | 3

This page: The Siena project

403.835.4944 • CrawfordElectricInc@gmail.com

Congratulations to Casabella on 10 Years!

Renovations • New Home Constructions • Commercial • Lighting • Trouble-shooting

Aluminum Wire Reconditioning • Re-Wire (knob and tube) • Audio • Communications

mandbexteriors.com

Congratulations to Casabella on your 10th Anniversary! Proud to celebrate with you on this milestone, and wishing you many more years of success.

“

”403.837.7463Danica.desouza@mtgarc.cawww.DanicaDeSouza.com

Congratulations

to Casabella on 10 great years! Looking forward to another decade of success together!

simple but unmistakably bold: Listen carefully to the clients, understand their needs and provide them with extraordinary solutions.

“Our growth is based on our clients’ satisfaction,” says Jirjis, and that satisfaction comes from the team always striving to not just meet expectations, but to exceed them.

In fact, if Jirjis and Lucardie aren’t totally happy with the finished product and wouldn’t be thrilled to move in to it themselves, they won’t hand it over to the client. At times, that has meant changing or redoing a part of the house at the expense of the bottom line, but there’s no other choice.

“We do the right thing. No cutting corners. When we run into a challenge we get it fixed and not worry about the profit margin. Do it, and do it right,” says Jirjis.

This attitude has earned Casabella Lifestyle a solid reputation in the industry – not to mention many repeat customers and referrals. Many clients become friends and return to the designers over the years for help choosing new pieces for their home. Other customers have seen Casabella’s work and ask them to renovate their current home. Others are happy with the bones but want to update their home’s decor with the help of the talented design team. And some are just looking for a convenient, hassle-free way to purchase a new luxury vehicle.

Casabella’s four divisions – renovations, new homebuilding, interior design and luxury vehicles – are available to clients and the company is happy to tackle a project using any and all of them.

Whether clients are starting from scratch with a new home or renovating or redesigning an existing one, Casabella Lifestyle is proud to be part of such an important investment. While their business cards say they are homebuilders, they are really in the business of making dreams come true, four walls at a time. •

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casabellalifestyle.com

888 231 9990

Casabella’s client philosophy: Listen carefully to the clients, understand their needs and provide them with extraordinary solutions.

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