The Collier Way

There are things you can fix in a house. The foundation is not one of them.In this episode, Collier Bashara breaks down the step that happens before anything else on a custom home build — the geotechnical soils report — and explains exactly why it drives every foundation decision he makes.In this episode: What a soils report is and how it works. Fat clay versus lean clay explained simply. The Plasticity Index — what the number means and why it matters. How San Antonio clay actually moves over time — the crack, fill, and swell cycle. PVR (Potential Vertical Rise) and what 3.5 inches really looks like. Groundwater — what it is, how to find it, and how to design around it. All four foundation types: slab on grade, post-tensioned slab, drilled piers with suspended slab, and pier and beam with crawl space. The 5-foot and 8-foot rules for when soil removal stops making sense. The bathtub effect — why too much excavation creates new problems. Renovation foundations and why they have to match the existing structure.New episodes every week. Learn more at colliercustomhomes.com

What does it actually look like when a great designer and a great builder work together on a Southern Living Showcase Home?In this episode of The Collier Way, Collier Bashara sits down with Mariana Loya — the designer behind the Olmos Park Southern Living Showcase Home — for one of the most genuine and entertaining conversations in the series so far.Mariana founded LED Design three years ago after 16 years in the industry. She studied interior design at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and what she has created for the Showcase Home is something worth waiting to see.In this episode:How Mariana approaches a new project — from the first client meeting to room by room presentations and technical drawingsWhy she never sends a presentation before she is in the room with you — and what happens when she challenges clients with something unexpectedThe open plan problem and the millwork solution — how Mariana created three distinct spaces within one large room without adding a single wallThe kitchen island that has the team at Cambria excited and the metal fabricators working overtimeWhy every project starts with the kitchen — the room that sets the tone for the entire homeThe importance of bringing a designer in before the slab is poured — and what happens when you wait until after the sheetrock is upValue engineering — how to identify what matters most and let the team find savings everywhere elseHidden details and the surprises Mariana loves to design into a home that clients discover after they move inThe Showcase Home reveal is coming — and this episode gives you a behind the scenes look at the design decisions going into it before a single elevation is released publicly.The Collier Way is hosted by Collier Bashara, Southern Living Builder of the Year and founder of Collier Custom Homes — one of only 85 Southern Living Certified Builders in America.New episodes every week. Subscribe and follow along.Learn more at colliercustomhomes.com

Most people think a decorator and a designer are the same thing. They are not — and confusing the two is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make when building a custom home.In this episode of The Collier Way, Collier Bashara breaks down exactly what a designer does, why it is different from what an architect does, and why an interior decorator — as talented as they may be — cannot replace a professional designer on a custom home build.In this episode:The difference between an architect, a designer, and an interior decorator — and a memorable analogy for understanding how all three fit togetherWhy Collier requires a professional designer on every project — no exceptions — and what his own project data taught him about what happens when that is skippedWhat a designer actually does that most clients never anticipate — from plumbing selections before the foundation is poured to floor plug placement before the concrete is setThe master suite tub story — why your builder needs your tub selection before the first form board hits the groundThe sheetrock moment — what happens when a decorator hands over a tile layout after the walls are already upThe cabinet hardware story — why small decisions stop jobs for weeks and how a great designer keeps everything movingWhy Collier reserves the right to approve your designer even if you already have someone in mindHow a designer, decorator, and colorist can work together as a team to produce extraordinary resultsIf you are thinking about building a custom home in San Antonio or the Texas Hill Country — this episode will change how you think about who needs to be on your team before you break ground.The Collier Way is hosted by Collier Bashara, Southern Living Builder of the Year and founder of Collier Custom Homes — one of only 85 Southern Living Certified Builders in America.New episodes every week. Subscribe and follow along.Learn more at colliercustomhomes.com

What does it actually mean to build a Southern Living Showcase Home — and what does it take to deliver on that standard?In this special episode of The Collier Way, Collier Bashara sits down in Tampa, Florida with Brook and Josh of Devonshire Custom Homes — siblings who built one of the most extraordinary Southern Living Showcase Homes in the country — for an honest conversation about building luxury custom homes, the Southern Living builder program, and what it means to be part of something bigger than any individual project.Collier recorded this episode on location at the Devonshire Showcase Home open house — walking through the finished home for the first time after seeing it in sheetrock — and sat down with Brook and Josh the following day while the emotion of finishing something extraordinary was still fresh.In this episode:The story of Devonshire Custom Homes — siblings building together in Tampa and what that family dynamic brings to a luxury building businessWhat it means to build high-end custom homes in the Tampa market and who their clients areThe Southern Living builder program — what it demands, what it gives back, and why Brook and Josh chose to pursue itThe Build 10 group — the inner circle within the Southern Living program that functions as a personal board of directors for the builders inside it — and why Collier calls it the backbone of the entire programTaking on a Southern Living Showcase Home — the commitment it requires, the standard it demands, and what it does for a building company when they deliver on itWhat the open house felt like — real people experiencing a finished Showcase Home for the first timeWhat Brook and Josh want every prospective client to understand before they sign a contract with any builderThis episode was recorded live on location in Tampa at the Devonshire Custom Homes Southern Living Showcase Home open house — raw, real, and unlike anything else in Season 1 of The Collier Way.The Collier Way is hosted by Collier Bashara, Southern Living Builder of the Year and founder of Collier Custom Homes — one of only 85 Southern Living Certified Builders in America.New episodes every week. Subscribe and follow along.Learn more at colliercustomhomes.com

In Episode 3 of The Collier Way, Collier Bashara sits down with architect Elizabeth Haynes — the architect behind the Olmos Park Southern Living Showcase Home and one of San Antonio's most respected residential architects — for an honest conversation about what great design actually requires.Elizabeth and Collier have been collaborating for years — from a complicated renovation in Oakwell Farms to historical restorations to multiple ground-up luxury homes across Olmos Park, Alamo Heights, and Terrell Hills. This episode is the story of that collaboration and the philosophy behind it.In this episode:How Elizabeth's career began with a historical renovation and what that taught her about buildings that lastWhy as-built plans are the very first step of any renovation — and why skipping them is one of the most expensive mistakes a homeowner can makeDesigning for aging in place and why this conversation has become increasingly important for how homes are designed todayThe Olmos Park Southern Living Showcase Home — the design vision, the decisions made along the way, and Elizabeth's favorite room in the house — the keeping roomHow Collier and Elizabeth approach designing to the lot, the neighborhood, and the client's actual life rather than just their wish listWhat makes Olmos Park, Alamo Heights, and Terrell Hills each distinct to design for — and why that matters more than most clients realizeThe collaboration that turned two friends into one of San Antonio's most trusted builder and architect partnershipsThis is one of the most genuine conversations about residential architecture and design you will find — from two people who have built a lot of homes together and learned what actually matters along the way.The Collier Way is hosted by Collier Bashara, Southern Living Builder of the Year and founder of Collier Custom Homes — one of only 85 Southern Living Certified Builders in America.New episodes every week. Subscribe and follow along.Learn more at colliercustomhomes.com

Before you talk to an architect, before you talk to a designer, before you talk to a builder — you have to find the right piece of land. And most people have no idea what they are actually looking at when they walk a lot for the first time.In Episode 2 of The Collier Way, Collier Bashara breaks down exactly what to look for before you make an offer — whether you are buying an infill lot in San Antonio or raw land in the Texas Hill Country.In this episode:How to read a survey — and why the fence is almost never on the property lineWhat encroachments and easements mean for what you can buildThe hidden gems worth saving before you demolish an older homeHow to know when a house is worth saving versus tearing downThe three criteria that tell you a house might be worth renovating — good foundation, good roof, and virginWhy an 8 foot ceiling will never grow into a 10 foot ceilingThe stumbling blocks on any infill lot — old pools, limited access, septic systems, and treesBuilding in the Hill Country — access, roads, utilities, and finding the right building siteWhy the flood plain is non negotiable — and what to do when it affects the site you loveWhether you are building in Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Fredericksburg, Boerne, or anywhere along the I-10 corridor — this episode will change how you look at every lot you walk from this point forward.The Collier Way is hosted by Collier Bashara, Southern Living Builder of the Year and founder of Collier Custom Homes — one of only 85 Southern Living Certified Builders in America.New episodes every week. Subscribe and follow along.Learn more at colliercustomhomes.com

There are hundreds of thousands of licensed builders in America. Southern Living looked at all of them and has only selected 85.  This is the podcast of one of them.In the first episode of The Collier Way, Collier Bashara — Southern Living Builder of the Year and founder of Collier Custom Homes — shares the story behind the company, the philosophy that drives every project, and what it really means to build a home that lasts.If you are building a custom home in San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country, or anywhere along the I-10 corridor — this show was made for you.In this episode:The first house Collier ever built — for his best friend — and the philosophy it createdWhy trust is the only real foundation a builder client relationship can be built onWhat Southern Living  Builder actually means and how selective the program really isThe family of 85 builders — why they push each other, help each other, and make each other betterWhy Collier builds Southern Living Showcase Homes instead of spec housesThe trade partners behind the Olmos Park Showcase Home — GE Appliances, Kichler, Pella, Atlas, Cambria, James Hardie, Sherwin Williams, TimberTech, Clopay, and Southern Living Plant CollectionsWhy lighting is one of the most underappreciated decisions in any home buildA first look at the Olmos Park Showcase Home — and why it feels like it has always been thereThis is not a marketing podcast. It is an honest behind the scenes look at what great home building actually requires — from a builder who has been in the field, knows the craft, and has the track record to prove it.The Collier Way documents the building of a Southern Living Showcase Home in Olmos Park, San Antonio — and shares the philosophy behind every decision along the way.New episodes every week. Subscribe and follow along.Learn more at colliercustomhomes.com