Crafting Beautiful Legacy Homes in Maryland – Meet Harmon

The Harmon family history is woven into the story of Harmon Builders, a custom home construction business founded by Paul Harmon in 1995, with his wife, Melani, joining in 2003. Harmon Builders has grown from these family roots into a company specializing in Legacy Homes – custom homes and renovations designed to stand the test of time, built with the highest quality craftsmanship. Paul and Melani strive to offer boutique-style client service, getting to know each client, assisting in selecting a perfect site, respecting historical ties, and cultivating relationships with trustworthy trade professionals to ensure each home reflects the client’s unique vision.

A Commitment to Crafting Legacy Homes

Working from their home office, Melani and Paul bring their combined passions and skills to create Legacy Homes that prioritize fine craftsmanship, environmentally conscious construction, attention to detail, and respect for the beauty of the land around them. They do all of this with an impeccable work ethic, while striving to fulfill the legacy they envision for their own family.

Paul Harmon: Master Craftsman and Founder of Harmon Builders

Paul Harmon’s vision for Legacy Homes began with his Frederick County upbringing and deep-rooted love for working with wood. Born in historic Williamsburg, Virginia and raised in Frederick, Maryland, Paul honed his skills early on. He graduated from Governor Thomas Johnson High School, where he began studying trades at Frederick County Public Schools’ exemplary Career and Technology Center.

In his teen years, Paul worked with both commercial and residential builders and expanded his knowledge of craftsmanship, carpentry, and cabinet making in downtown Frederick at Linton Cabinet Shop. Here, working closely with owner and artisan Gene Linton, he was able to hone his craft in traditional woodworking and gain many skills that  have become the hallmark of Harmon Builders’ Legacy-style homes.

As a young man, Paul’s journey brought him to Baltimore to build Clipper City Rock Gym with other climbing enthusiasts. He then became the lead course setter at Clipper City and other climbing gyms in the area, setting up competition courses and reinventing the courses for the gym’s expansion.  He also began shaping surfboards for surf shops on the Maryland Shore where  Paul was recruited to build rock walls, athletic platforms, and other construction projects on the waterfront in Ocean City. These varied projects allowed him to refine his construction skills and entrepreneurial spirit, ultimately leading to the founding of Harmon Builders in 1995 a row house on Trail Avenue in Frederick, using the garage to build custom cabinets and fine furniture.

Melani Harmon: Bringing Boutique-Level Service to Harmon Builders

Originally from Massachusetts, Melani’s own family history instilled a love for building and nature that aligns perfectly with Harmon Builder’s Legacy Home philosophy.  After studying in historic Boston, she moved to Washington, D.C. in 1995 to continue college and start a career in the Metro Region. Affectionately called “Mel” by her friends and family, the couple met in 1998.

To the mutual friend who set them up on a blind date, Mel’s family history must have made her seem a natural fit with Paul. Mel and her younger sister, Naomi, were raised by parents who were modern-day pioneers, relishing in the natural environment by farming the land and building a log cabin from cedar trees on a friend’s property nearby. Mel and Naomi were included in the building, harvesting logs, and development of the land, alongside their parents.

Mel’s dad, Gerard, is a skilled stone mason, furniture maker and builder. Mel’s mom, Terri, drafted the plans for their family cabin, and Gerard contributed his own construction talents, furniture-making skills, and masonry work. Even now, Melani’s parents continue practicing their woodwork and masonry crafts. Gerard has even traveled to Maryland to perform custom masonry for Harmon Builders’ clients when the occasion has arisen, and contributing to the stunning mason work on the fireplacein Paul and Melani’s own home.

It is easy to see how Mel’s family instilled a love for nature and contributed to the couple’s ambition for their own family homestead and to develop an artisan-style home-building business. Mel and Paul, united by their shared passion for outdoor sports and athleticism, thrive under the physical demands of their home-building business. Mel, as the project manager, works closely with Paul, apprenticing alongside him to learn the varying aspects of their building and design craft.  In a nod to their appreciation for beauty and nature, the Harmons married at ThorpeWood in Thurmont, living in the Trail Avenue home where Paul operated Harmon Builders.

Mel had followed in the footsteps of her mom, Terri, who worked in general surgery at a hospital, and had become very interested in health and wellness matters. Though the concept of wellness would be a value throughout her life, Melani decided to leave her job in nutrition research at the USDA in Beltsville to join forces with Paul at Harmon Builders.

Harmon Builders: A Growing Family Business

Mel and Paul welcomed their first son, Jesse, in 2004. As their family and business grew alongside one another, they soon needed more space than a row house could provide. They settled on land in Washington County.  In 2005, they broke ground on their custom home office on Elk Mountain in Keedysville, employing the same visionary approach they use to ensure a site and design matched clients’ specific needs and tastes.

This new home base allowed them to nurture their family ties, enjoy the stunning landscape, and house the essentials for a construction business. It also allowed them to build a suitable fine cabinetry and woodworking workshop.

With more land, they now had ample space for the work trucks and larger equipment they use on a regular basis. The traditional mountain home also allows them to showcase their fine custom craftsmanship and Paul’s beautiful woodwork, which adorns the gorgeous interior. Clients can visit and experience firsthand the advantages of living in a legacy home and the benefits of constructing a property perfectly suited to the life they envision for their own families.

Embracing History and Nature in Design

The move to Keedysville also meant that Mel and Paul were able to prioritize providing an organic environment in which to raise their family. Surrounded by the hallowed history of the region, close to Antietam National Battlefieldwith the Appalachian Trail skirting by the War Correspondents Memorial Arch in Gathland State Park these historic influences shine through in Harmon Builders’ emphasis on combining traditional workmanship and durable construction techniques and materials with cutting-edge tools and modern products.

Legacy Homes All in the Family

Being able to witness up close Harmon Builders’ precise approach to custom home building, Paul’s parents contracted the company to design and build their own legacy home as they relocated from Annapolis to rural Frederick County. Paul’s father, Scott, retired from a career as a naval historian. He was a designer and curator for the US National Park System and the Museum Director for the US Naval Academy. Paul’s mother, Katherine, had spent her career as a registered dietician and lactation consultant with the WIC Program.

An Early Example of Client-Centered Focus

The couple wanted the perfect home near their children and grandchildren, with a reflection of their interests, personalities, and families in the creative details. Scott’s eye for design and regard for history and Katherine’s focus on health are family influences that emerge in Harmon Builders’ business priorities, as well as aspects that shine through in the custom details of their home. Some home design elements include nods to their personal histories, such as nautical elements in the tile floor entryway, and the Colonial style and color selections evoking their family’s days back in Williamsburg.

The elder Harmons’ priorities for a home suitable for retirement included ample bunking arrangements for all of their grandchildren to congregate for overnight visits on weekends and holidays, spacious dining areas for large family gatherings, and living spaces to entertain many loved ones of various ages at once. The site selection for the property needed to accommodate Katherine’s garden, including a kitchen design that would do justice to the enjoyment of the fruits of the garden.

Scott and Katherine needed a workshop for woodworking and sewing; the couple enjoy fashioning both clothing and furniture in their free time. Perhaps most critically, Harmon Builders also created a mindful floor plan to accommodate the changing needs of retirees aging-in-place, and planned ahead to mitigate any potential mobility challenges in the future by incorporating ADA-compliant considerations in the whole house design.

A Legacy of Craftsmanship and Family Values

The Harmon family continued to grow with Emerson’s birth in 2008. While he was still little, Melani returned to her health-focused education, earning a degree in nursing that reflects her desire to care for others and provide for people’s needs holistically. Although Mel’s nursing career is secondary to her project management role for Harmon Builders, both skill sets allow her to satisfy an intrinsic drive to care for others. Her interest in the study of human needs and healing modalities helps inform her client service perspective, allowing her to advise clients as they design a healthy environment for their family at every stage of life.

Mel’s expertise in this regard helps the creative process, as she assists families who wish to tailor spaces for the wellness benefits that they can experience with conscientious ergonomic construction. Mel keeps current on these topics through continuing education, a research internship, and volunteering.

Now in their teen and young adult years, Emerson and Jesse are learning the artisan aspects of construction trades and assist on worksites, as their studies allow. It’s evident that their family interests are bridging across generations. Just as their parents brought elements of their grandparents’ priorities to their work and families, the boys have embraced those as well. Having learned to sew from his own father, Paul has taught that skill to both of his sons. Jesse even developed his own clothing brand, Solar Garden, while still in high school. Now he is studying architecture at Norwich University in Vermont and at the college’s sister school in Germany. Thanks to his educational path, Jesse has gained experience to assist with AutoCAD in the office.

Emerson attends the Washington County Public Schools Engineering Academy and helps Paul in the business over summers. In his free time, he takes flight lessons, likes exploring nature, and plays the piano and guitar. Paul and Mel encouraged both boys’ interest in the culinary skills that Paul learned from their grandmother. Mel is passionate about sharing her nutrition knowledge and sustainable approach with them in the kitchen, shopping regularly at the local farmer’s market for farm-to-table foods.

They also enjoy traveling, rock climbing on the wall they built at home with their dad, and attending rock climbing school together over the summers. Jesse and Emerson are also benefiting from an upbringing where learning the elements of Harmon Builders’ Legacy Homes and boutique-style business approach is intertwined with their daily lives. They are learning firsthand to help others and to strive for the best as they take pride in providing fine craftsmanship at the center of every project.

Harmon Endeavors Now Include Hickory Hill Wellness and Retreat

Mel and Paul have recently expanded their mountainside homestead with the creation of a carriage house that includes Hickory Hill Retreat, a guest apartment available on Airbnb. Here, they are able to share their warm hospitality with guests who are visiting the region to enjoy the rich local history or the excitement of outdoor adventure opportunities that drew their budding family to the area. The apartment is housed in the beautiful Craftsman-style coach house structure they built.

On the second story is Hickory Hill Wellness, a space that is both for personal use and the local yoga and martial arts classes held there each week. The community may also rent the space for birthday parties, business meetings, educational workshops, and the like. These fabulous improvements to their property perfectly suit the Harmons’ respect for physical and environmental health, and offer additional opportunities to showcase the versatility of Harmon Builders’ legacy approach to custom construction.

Their one-of-a-kind homestead demonstrates the advantages of building with an eye to different purposes of use. The practical considerations for different lifestyles are on display. The guest apartment shows that quality craftsmanship is appropriate to modestly scaled spaces and lifestyles, too. What they have created matches the unique demands of their family’s work, leisure, and relaxation needs.

Harmon Builders: Creating Your Perfect Legacy Home

As a boutique building service, Harmon Builders offers their client-forward collaboration process to each project, empowering every client through the same artisan approach and high standards that their own families instilled in them. They bring their heritage of expertise and experience to each and every project to create enduring and beautiful spaces that will last for generations.

These Legacy Homes become a testament that reflects the pride and priorities of the families for which they work. Their diligence ensures they get everything just right, and that clients can trust Harmon Builders to bring the highest level of care and attention to their project. They are always thrilled to assist client families in the custom creation of the perfect Legacy Home or renovation.

The Harmon family would love to welcome prospective clients to their home on Elk Mountain to experience for themselves the end result of their exacting process.