In episode three of the Dream Builders Podcast, host Adrian Kizy sits down again with Randy Najjar, founder of Sapphire Luxury Homes & Landscaping, to unpack what custom home building actually means — and why the answer is more nuanced than most people expect.

Randy walks through how Sapphire balances a curated portfolio of pre-designed plans with full custom, blank-sheet-of-paper builds, why finding the right piece of property is often the single hardest part of building in Metro Detroit, and why "cost per square foot" is one of the most misleading questions a client can ask. He shares real examples — from a 7,000-square-foot custom home on 160 acres of hunting grounds, to a Moroccan-style build with materials imported from overseas, to a recent Bloomfield project where the right lot finally checked every box after years of searching.

The conversation also gets practical: which decisions are worth investing in upfront, which can be deferred, and why Randy almost always recommends finishing the basement, landscaping, and major selections during construction rather than after move-in. Throughout, the theme is the same — guiding clients through hundreds of decisions, separating real needs from preconceived notions, and making sure no one builds a home they'll regret.

In this episode:
00:00 Welcome back to the Dream Builders Podcast
00:31 What it actually means to be a custom builder (and Sapphire's niche)
01:17 Portfolio plans vs. full custom design
03:01 Walking clients through homes at different stages of construction
04:30 The questions Sapphire asks every client — and the myths about formal dining rooms and resale
08:11 Lot constraints, tear-downs, and why the right property is the hardest part
12:02 A real example: years of searching, finally landing in Bloomfield
13:00 "How much does it cost per square foot?" — Randy's least favorite question
15:00 Why finished basements skew the math (and the million-dollar basement)
17:34 Why no two Sapphire homes are ever the same
18:00 Sapphire's typical price range, minimum engagement, and what's included
19:30 Custom vs. production builders — decisions you didn't know you had to make
20:30 The Sapphire style: Modern, French Country, Tudor, Mediterranean, and more
21:46 The biggest cost drivers in a custom build (and why land isn't just land)
23:30 Design phase budgeting and the 20% rule for upgrades
27:00 Needs vs. wants: what Sapphire won't cut corners on
29:30 The Sapphire Standard for structural components
30:00 Why finishing the basement during construction saves 20–30%
32:30 Landscaping, pools, and the case against phased projects
35:00 Educating clients so they never get blindsided later
36:18 When a plan gets over-modified

Connect with Sapphire Luxury Homes: 
www.sapphireluxuryhomes.com
instagram.com/sapphireluxuryhomes

About the show:
The Dream Builders Podcast is the unfiltered story of Sapphire Luxury Homes — what it actually takes to build a luxury custom home company from zero. Honest conversations about craft, cost, client experience, and the difference between luxury and expensive. New episodes every other week.
If this episode resonated, hit subscribe, leave a comment, and share it with someone building (or building toward) a home of their own.

If this episode resonated, please follow the show, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share it with someone building something of their own. New episodes coming soon.

#LuxuryHomes #CustomHomeBuilder #DesignBuild #MetroDetroit #BirminghamMI #BloomfieldHills #DreamBuildersPodcast #SapphireLuxuryHomes

Connect with Sapphire Luxury Homes: 

www.sapphireluxuryhomes.com 

www.instagram.com/sapphireluxuryhomes

If this episode resonated, please follow the show, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share it with someone building something of their own. New episodes coming soon.

Host Adrian Kizy goes deeper with Randy Najjar, founder of Sapphire Luxury Homes, on what actually separates Sapphire from a traditional custom build — and why the "design-build, fixed-price" model exists in the first place.

In the traditional path, a homeowner hires a separate architect, civil engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, general contractor, and landscape company — and tries to coordinate all of them. That's how timelines blow up, budgets double, and "we started at X and finished at 3X" horror stories get made. At Sapphire, every one of those roles lives under one roof.

Randy breaks down why Sapphire is fixed-price instead of cost-plus, what that actually means for a client's budget, why front-loading every decision protects both timeline and sanity, and how the team designs every home in 3D photorealistic — sometimes VR — before a shovel hits the ground.

In this episode:
0:00 The architect's perspective on custom home building
1:10 The traditional path: too many cooks, too many handoffs
2:28 How projects balloon — timelines and budgets blown
3:15 Everything under one roof at Sapphire
4:26 Build your dream team before you buy the land
5:24 Why Sapphire doesn't charge for blueprints
5:47 Fixed-price vs. cost-plus — the real difference
9:25 Running a full design department in-house
11:28 Why every decision gets made up front
12:15 A fridge isn't just a fridge — front-loaded selections
15:44 Three benefits of designing everything up front
16:53 Tailoring the Sapphire process to every client
18:41 The two phases of design and the 6-month timeline
20:53 Where Sapphire's design inspiration comes from
22:55 The New American Home tour and luxury home travel
24:08 The canceled flight and Miramar Lakes
26:17 The E-Myth — working ON the business, not IN it
28:54 The four quadrants and what Randy loves most
30:11 Passion projects — the Cameron, the Kylie, and 2028/29
31:20 The meaning behind the Najjar name

Connect with Sapphire Luxury Homes: 

www.sapphireluxuryhomes.com 

www.instagram.com/sapphireluxuryhomes

If this episode resonated, please follow the show, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share it with someone building something of their own. New episodes coming soon.

Welcome to the pilot episode of the Dream Builders Podcast — where host Adrian sits down with Randy Najjar, founder of Sapphire Luxury Homes & Landscaping, to unpack the real story behind one of Metro Detroit's most recognized custom home builders.

From walking around at two years old with a tool belt strapped to his waist, to a sixth-grade aptitude test that pointed to architecture, to nearly walking away from his own company in 2019 — Randy shares the full origin story of Sapphire: the childhood influences, the pivot from architect to builder, the branding decisions (why a lion?), and the make-or-break Sophia model home on Maple Road near Oakland Hills Country Club that put Sapphire on the map.

Today, Sapphire is a boutique, full-service luxury builder in Oakland County — architecture, construction, landscaping, interior design, and furnishing all under one roof — delivering 10-12 homes a year in the $3-10M range across Birmingham, Bloomfield, and the surrounding areas.

In this episode:

00:00 Welcome to the Dream Builders Podcast

01:11 Tool belts, toy cars, and a sixth-grade aptitude test

04:30 Why Randy walked away from becoming a registered architect

06:14 The 2008 crash, real estate, and learning the business

08:14 Why he got his builder's license and founded Sapphire in 2012

10:38 Building the brand: the name, the lion crest, the luxury vision

17:30 The Troy 10x10 office and the gamble on Maple Road

20:05 The Sophia model home — Randy's make-or-break moment

25:30 "Three feet from the gold" — the call with mom that changed everything

28:30 Where Sapphire is today and the full-service vision

Connect with Sapphire Luxury Homes: 

www.sapphireluxuryhomes.com 

www.instagram.com/sapphireluxuryhomes

If this episode resonated, please follow the show, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share it with someone building something of their own. New episodes coming soon.