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Show Notes: Discover what makes an “heirloom home” different from an estate or traditional build — and why more families are choosing to create homes intended to be passed down through generations. Steve Tuma from Landmark Home and Land Company shares real, touching stories of clients who’ve built homes centered on legacy, functionality, family gatherings, and deeply personal values. You’ll hear how these homes are designed for long-term adaptability, smart spaces, natural settings, and multi-generational use — often built on land that holds great sentimental or historical meaning. From thoughtful floor planning and energy-efficient systems to custom ambitions like go-kart tracks and cat rooms, this episode teaches you how purposeful home design can reflect not just who you are — but what you want to leave behind.
Transcript:
Steve Tuma: Hey, we’re a panelized home company — which is what a lot of people probably find us online as, you know, “panelized homes” — but it’s really the reality of: anyone can sell you a piece of wood and call it a house. It’s how do you put it together so you achieve your goal?
Interviewer: Howdy everyone and welcome to episode 67 of the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show. We’re here today, as usual, with the president and founder of Landmark Home and Land Company — a company which has been helping people build their new homes, where they want, exactly as they want, nationwide and around the globe since 1993 — the always interesting Mr. Steve Tuma. Steve, how are you, buddy?
Steve Tuma: That’s pretty good — doing great actually. So it’s illuminating, I like that.
Interviewer: Since 1993 — does that ever blow you away? I mean, it’s over 30 years… well over 30 years now. Thirty-one going on thirty-two years!
Steve Tuma: Yeah, it is pretty amazing. Because the growth of the company has been pretty amazing — getting into different markets, growing… There are always ways to improve, get better, offer more products and services for customers — especially as permitting and building sites and different things just get more complex. So yeah, it’s pretty cool actually.
Interviewer: I just think it’s amazing. I mean, how many people can say they’ve been running a business for 30 — almost 32 — years?
Steve Tuma: That’s it. Unless you think about like… there’s a company called Zildjian, that I think is in Turkey. They’ve been around for 600 years or so.
Interviewer: Oh yeah, I heard that’s the oldest company — the cymbals, right?
Steve Tuma: The cymbals, yeah, they make cymbals.
Interviewer: That’s pretty funny. Well, we’ll eventually get there. We just have… what, another 570 years to go? But we’ll do it — we’ll do a podcast on that one day.
Steve Tuma: Exactly.
Interviewer: You know, I thought we’d talk today about what would be designated an “heirloom home.” And I want to start out by having you run down just what constitutes an heirloom home — as opposed to, let’s say, an estate home. And what is Landmark’s experience in this area of home design and building?
Steve Tuma: Well, it’s kind of interesting because I kind of created that word “heirloom home.” I’ve never really heard of it that way.
Interviewer: I saw it on the website, so that’s what I was thinking.
Steve Tuma: But over the last 10–15 years, we kind of noticed that there were a lot of people building homes for other purposes — other than just, “Hey, I need my direct family to go in there.” It was actually after the economic crash that we started noticing it more — where people had land, say that grandpa bought decades and decades ago, and it’s just been in the family, but no one built on it. So now that the family… one kid’s here, one grandkid’s there, grandpa’s here, grandma and grandpa are there… they’ve been building homes so the family could get together.
Interviewer: Sure.
Steve Tuma: So it’s not meant for one family — it’s meant for the whole family to get together, still know each other, live a life beyond just text and social media and quick hellos in the driveway. It’s about actual get-togethers where they’ll have space for a family to live — or it’s meant to be for, I don’t want to call it camping — but more of a situation where there’s a lot of space for people to sleep, and then there’s also open areas for people to mingle, get together, and also use the land.
The intention is more long-term — something that’s going to be handed down through the family. We have a couple of them going on now, where people do them for different reasons. They fund them in different ways, or the families get together — maybe four or five different people — and they each know how to do work or help fund it. So it gets done.
Some of the homes, even though “heirloom” might sound like some big thing, sometimes they’re simple homes — and the thought’s just there. It’s like, “Hey, this is what we can do so the family stays together.”
Steve Tuma: Sometimes heirloom homes are more extravagant. Sometimes they’re in exceptional pieces of property that grandpa bought way back when land cost two cents and no one wanted it — and now it’s a pinnacle property. So we’ve helped a lot of people do that, and it’s really, really kind of interesting to see the reasons why they do it.
It’s just because — even though supposedly we’re the most connected society, because you can text someone on the other side of the world in half a second — on the other side, do people really know each other?
So it’s kind of an interesting process where people are like, “Hey, I’m doing this so my grandkids know who I am. I’m doing it so that the family can get together.” Because this person’s traveling, that person moved across the country — and they’re able to bring everyone together.
And some of them are — we did one off of Washington State, on an island, where it was just a recreational haven. You know: bike riding, kayaking, everything right there on the ocean. So it was really a place for people to also be active.
And then others are on big properties — a couple hundred acres — if people are lucky enough to find or have such a big piece of land. And some of them have been in the middle of cute little cities, where there’s just a lot — and something where the community makes sense. Someone grew up there when they were a kid, it was where they went with the family — or to the beach, or the little town.
We helped a man build one — he moved from the Napa, California area to a very rural part of Texas because that’s where his great grandfather taught him how to go fishing. So he always told his grandpa, when he “made it big,” he’s going to build a fishing house. Well, grandpa’s not around — but the thought’s there. And he built a fishing house — quite the fishing house in fact — so he could go bass fishing.
So it’s kind of one of those things where people are coming back to what I call just being human. You know, it’s like, “Hey, all this work is great, all this stuff is great, but what about my family? What about the wife? What about the kids? What about the grandkids? What about me?”
And as I think about this, we’ve actually done a lot more than I would have thought off the top of my head. We did one in Prescott, Arizona where the lady just loved baking pies. And she wanted to make sure that her friends and family always had pies — so we helped her do a very simple but custom-designed kitchen just for baking pies.
And the husband wanted a workshop so he could tinker with things, fix things. So I guess the bottom line of those types of homes is they’re built with the intention to pass on to other generations.
Interviewer: Right. Because when you hear — when I first saw the word heirloom home, I thought estate. And that’s why I asked: what’s the difference between an estate and an heirloom home? And I think it’s the intent of the builder, right?
Steve Tuma: Well, it’s the intent of what people are doing. I think — sometimes estates vs. heirlooms — the heirloom home is meant to be passed on. Whereas an estate… well, I’m sure there’s some formal definition somewhere, but I think of it as a bigger piece of land, something that someone might have for entertainment, or hobbies, or lifestyle.
And sometimes it’s a lifelong dream. We have one going now in the South — he woke up one day when he was 15 and said, “I’m going to retire on 300 acres and have a big house.” He searched the East Coast until he found that spot — and now he’s got 300 rolling acres, with streams, bridges, big old trees… and we’re working on his house so he can do it.
So that, in a sense, will be an heirloom home — but it’s also kind of an estate. It’s the estate of what he wanted. There’s a spot to go walking, a spot to go fishing, a spot to work on his car — a spot to sit and contemplate.
We’ve done different projects like that. Where people have equestrian projects — horses. We’ve done them for people who collect cars. We’ve done hangars for people with airplanes. For people who live in RVs or have different off-road vehicles and need access to live the lifestyle they want.
Or just outdoorsy people that say, “I want a house in the woods — but I don’t want to affect the woods.” You know? So it’s really about being customized. It’s not just “Hey, give me a house in a subdivision, and I need it cheap.” It’s more like, “Here’s my vision of how I want to live.”
Interviewer: Hmm. Well, that kind of cleared it up for me. Because when I was thinking heirloom — and the difference between heirloom and an estate — when I think of an estate home, I think of what’s at your “Downton Abbey.”
Steve Tuma: Yeah! I mean, it’s not palaces like that, but the concept is the same. It’s a place that makes a statement and adds to a certain lifestyle.
I remember once — this was way back in the early 2000s — a guy called up and he said, “Steve, I just had a lot of really bad things happen to me.” And I said, “Oh really? What’s going on?” He said, “I just want to build what I’ve always wanted. I’ve always worked for the man. I’ve done everything for everyone else. It’s time for me to do something for me.”
I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. Well apparently when he was a kid, he had a go-kart. So he built a house with a dirt go-kart track in the backyard. So him and his friends could drive around like madmen and have a good time. He goes, “I just want to get back to living.”
It’s the first — and only — house we’ve done with a go-kart track in the backyard! But that’s the point. If someone has a specific need — whether it’s about family… or, okay maybe that go-kart thing was more desire than need — whatever the passion or dream is, we can do it.
Steve Tuma: You know, whether it’s for equestrian use — we’ve done homes where people wanted stables or areas to ride — or someone who restores cars or collects them, we’ve done all kinds of these more customized spaces. We even had a project for someone who had their own airplane and needed a hangar worked in, or others with off-road vehicles who needed storage, access, or a wash-down area.
We’ve designed homes for people who are just outdoor enthusiasts who say, “I want to live in the woods, but I don’t want to hurt the woods.” You know? So the home blends in. The point is—it’s about making something very personal. It’s not just, “I need a house.” It’s “What’s my dream? What do I do with my life? What do I want others to remember or share?”
Interviewer: Right. And that’s, again, the meaningful difference. Because when we think about heirloom, we’re thinking legacy, right?
Steve Tuma: Exactly. And here’s another fun one. We did a home for a couple who had two cats — these were cherished cats, like family. They made a room just for them. I think it was about a third of their house — maybe 400 square feet — a big “cat room” with an observation window, almost like the ones you see at a zoo. It looked out from the living room. It was done beautifully.
And then you go from that to people who live off the land. They grow their own food, can it, store it in root cellars — basically living like it’s 1840, but by choice. Self-sufficient. Sustainable.
So it’s really fascinating how varied the motivations are. Our job is just to listen, understand the person’s vision, and then make the home work. With our design team, engineering team, knowledge of energy codes, and site planning — we help customers bring it all together.
Interviewer: And I guess that’s where Landmark gets more credit than “just” a panelized home company.
Steve Tuma: Right. A lot of people find us online searching for “panelized homes,” which is fine, that’s the delivery method. But anyone can ship you some sticks and call it a house. What we do is help you put those sticks together in a way that lets you live the life you envision.
Whether it’s in a city, where someone just wants a small, clean, high-functioning floor plan… or in a rural area, where someone wants space for family gatherings and a three-car garage… we help people put form and function behind their dreams. That’s exceptional, and it’s what we love doing — whether it’s a simple starter home or a massive estate.
Interviewer: I thought it was really intriguing what you said earlier about people wanting to build a house that just kind of blends into the natural surroundings — like it becomes part of the topography.
Steve Tuma: That’s a concept rooted in organic architecture. Think Frank Lloyd Wright — designing to harmonize with the land, not dominate it.
People don’t always want to flatten a hilltop and throw up a lit-up mansion that glows at night over the whole neighborhood. Some people would rather tuck the house into the hill, keep the land as untouched as possible. We’ve had people who wanted to build around a big boulder they love, or camped next to as kids. Others designed around a favorite oak tree. The house becomes part of the place.
We also help people take advantage of natural sunlight for heating and air flow for cooling. Passive solar design. Cross-breezes. If someone’s really into those ideas — and more and more people are — we can help them incorporate those efficiencies into the home design itself.
Interviewer: Are there structural or architectural differences when someone wants to build an heirloom home — anything that separates it from just “a normal home”?
Steve Tuma: Generally, yes. For heirloom homes, people often want taller ceilings, larger shared spaces, or layout customizations that make the home more usable for extended families and gatherings.
For example, on one home we’re building right now in the mountains, the homeowner specified window placements not just for a rolling valley view — but also for stargazing. So we needed to support very tall walls and a large wall of glass — but also minimize beams that would interrupt the view.
Other people will say, “I want room for a 20-foot Christmas tree,” so we work in the structural elements for that. And those require strong exterior walls that can handle wind loads, reinforcements for large openings where windows go, and so on.
Sometimes the site itself creates needs structurally — like building on a slope for a walkout basement, which requires engineering for drainage, retaining, soil compaction, access, and safety.
Interviewer: I’ve seen some of those cool Victorian-style builds with turrets too. Have you done those?
Steve Tuma: We have, actually. Some people want decorative turrets just for curb presence. Others want fully functional turrets inside — circular rooms, higher ceilings, that fairytale shape like a witch’s hat. Those require thoughtful structural framing and custom roof angles.
Other heirloom-type homes focus on space. Like we had someone say, “I’ve got 20 grandkids! I need bunk rooms.” That became a full wing of the home.
And what’s become really popular more recently — even in budget-oriented homes — are basements used as entertainment or rec spaces. So we make sure structural posts are placed where they don’t ruin the room’s flow.
Because — and I say this from experience — the post is always in the worst place after you’ve installed a pool table and a projector!
Steve Tuma: So we work with people to design basements that are open enough for group events, family gatherings, big TVs, bar areas, whatever they need. Sometimes those finished areas happen right away, and other times, they’re left for the future.
We’re seeing more people adding spas inside their homes—saunas, hot tubs, gym areas, home theaters. All of that affects how we structure the ceiling, the load paths, and how those systems are installed. So even if they don’t build it right away, we’ll engineer the home with enough space and flexibility for future upgrades.
Interviewer: Yeah, it seems to me like Landmark Home and Land Company is able to answer so many questions that the average builder or homeowner might not even think to ask. That’s got to be a good feeling—someone calls you, and they know they’re going to get real answers, not a bunch of vague talking points.
Steve Tuma: Absolutely. A big part of the satisfaction comes from simply understanding what people are trying to do. A lot of our customers are owner-builders — they’re not hiring a giant construction company. So they want to understand the process, the design, the mechanical systems, the structure. They want to know why things work the way they do — and that’s where we come in.
We’re not just selling a kit. We’re helping people design a home that suits their vision — and a big part of that is being available, listening, and explaining along the way. People go into this thinking they’ll need a lot of money, or a huge construction team, and realize they can do this affordably, with support and intelligent design choices.
Interviewer: And sometimes they get ideas from those magazines or TV shows that feature gigantic million-dollar homes. That’s miles from most people’s reality, though.
Steve Tuma: Right. And it’s important for people not to get discouraged. Case in point: I had a guy, he was a finance executive in New York visiting a friend in Santa Barbara. He saw a home that cost, I think, $20 or $30 million and said, “Steve, that’s exactly what I want.”
So I asked him, “Okay, what is it about that home you like?” He said, “I love the feel, the flow, the openness. The whole experience of it.”
Then I asked about budget. He said, “I’ve already bought the land — I want to spend $500,000 on the house. It’s just my weekend home.”
I told him respectfully, “Well, we probably won’t get the same result at 1/40th the budget… but let’s look at what you like about that house.”
He liked the minimalist styling, the blocky modern structure, and the accordion-style glass walls that let the house open up to the outdoors. So what we did was focus on the essence — the feel — and created a smart, simplified version of that home that stuck to his budget. He loved it.
So rather than just say no, we asked questions, helped refine his ideas, and built something he’s thrilled about.
Interviewer: That’s really cool. Because a lot of people have a vision. They just need someone to work with them to bring it to reality.
Steve Tuma: Exactly. People often know what they want — they just might not know how to describe it technically, or how to achieve it cost-effectively. We’re able to walk through it with them and help transform their ideas into a real house — with real plans, real approvals, real contractors, real budgets.
Interviewer: And that really applies whether you’re building a small cabin or a massive heirloom estate.
Steve Tuma: Absolutely. Like you said — to everyone, their home is their castle. Whether it’s a simple 500-square-foot home or a multi-million dollar estate, we take every project seriously and give people the attention they need to do it right.
Interviewer: Before we wrap this up — let’s talk a bit about mechanical systems for a moment. First, what does that actually mean?
Steve Tuma: That’s a great point to clarify. Mechanical systems typically mean plumbing, electrical, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning). But these days, it can also include smart home systems, security wiring, and even integrated solar or battery backup systems.
So, for plumbing — it could be something straightforward, or it could be more personalized, like an outdoor shower, dog wash stations, or even tack rooms for horse properties.
Electrical can involve traditional wiring, or more and more often, smart home tech that can be controlled remotely — lighting, thermostats, blinds, etc.
The HVAC portion is also growing in complexity — mini-splits, zoned systems, systems that let people only heat and cool the spaces they need when they need it. Especially in heirloom or larger homes where different areas are used differently at different times.
And garages are being heated more now. People are finishing basements differently. So mechanical systems may not be the flashiest part of a build — but they are absolutely critical. Especially for energy efficiency and comfort.
Interviewer: Yeah, it’s not sexy — but it’s the stuff you feel every day in that utility bill!
Steve Tuma: Exactly. That bill shows up like clockwork. So we always walk through those systems to make sure they meet the user’s needs without draining their wallet.
Interviewer: Speaking of costs — when it comes to heirloom homes, is there a difference in how people approach budgeting for them?
Steve Tuma: Yes. Sometimes heirloom homes are more emotional projects. People might want a grand staircase or cathedral ceilings or a big fireplace — not just because it’s practical, but because there’s a legacy or dream connected to it.
And when that happens, we work with them to find cost-effective solutions to still get the effect without blowing out their budget. For example, we can use scissor trusses instead of beams to create dramatic vaulted ceilings at a fraction of the cost. Or adjust wall heights and angles to create volume without getting into custom roof geometry.
We might go with a parallel cord truss, which gives you an open vaulted ceiling but with a more efficient build method.
We think of these upgrades during the design stage, which saves both upfront cost and future headaches. We can also prep homes for additions later — finishing basements, spa areas, big fireplaces — even if they don’t go in right away.
Interviewer: And I imagine if someone’s hoping to pass down a home in 30–50 years, they’re thinking about adaptability too, right?
Steve Tuma: Absolutely. A lot of people designing heirloom homes think about the long term. They want flexible spaces — for example, a bunk room now that could be split into offices later… or rec rooms that can become bedrooms if someone decides to live there full-time in the future.
They want enough bathrooms to handle 10–15 guests. Enough living space for people to eat together on the holidays. Places to park. Workshops. Home offices. Porches. It’s all very thoughtfully done.
And these homes aren’t typically thought up overnight — some people have envisioned this kind of build for decades. They’ve saved, planned, thought about what holidays or life experiences they want to make possible for their family. Our role is to translate that into reality.
Interviewer: Well this has been a real interesting episode. I thought we were just going to explain the difference between an estate and an heirloom home — but it turns out there’s so much depth to this.
Steve Tuma: There really is. And again, it’s not just about big homes. We’ve helped people build the first home anyone in their family has ever owned — and we take just as much care with those as we do million-dollar dream properties. Every home is someone’s dream, and we try to honor that.
Interviewer: Well that’s about all we have time for today. But before we let you go, Steve, as always, tell our listeners how they can find out more about Landmark Home and Land Company?
Steve Tuma: Best thing to do is check out our website at LHLC.com — kind of like the initials for Landmark Home and Land Company. You can look at plans, get more information, or send us an email through the site.
Or call Mike — our Initial Project Consultant — at 800-830-9788. That’s 800-830-9788. Mike will help them through those early stages, whether they’re building in a year or five years. Once everything is in place, then they’ll get passed to me and we’ll go into the full-on planning and design.
Interviewer: Excellent. Well there it is — a very informative chat today with Landmark Home and Land Company President Steve Tuma. And we want to thank all of you for taking the time to listen to the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show.
We hope we’ve helped you feel a little more confident on your path to becoming a kit home owner-builder. So for Steve Tuma and myself, have a great week ahead, and we will see you next time.
Steve Tuma: Thanks — this was a great one!
