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When Shawn Stalls returned to Las Cruces, a builder was born
By Melissa St. Aude, The Las Cruces Bulletin - Friday, June 1, 2007
Building high-quality, custom-crafted homes are a passion for homebuilder Shawn Stalls of Phoenician Custom Homes, and it is a career path he says he’s glad he’s found.
Although Stalls spent much of his childhood in Las Cruces attending local schools, his family moved to California when he was a teen. After college, he embarked on a career as a professional soccer player, but after he was injured and discovered he could no longer play, some friends encouraged him to return to Las Cruces.
“I have lots of friends who are homebuilders in Las Cruces, and they encouraged me to give it a try and helped me to get started,” Stalls said.
When he returned to Las Cruces and started a new life building homes, Stalls chose the Phoenix as the symbol of his company.
“The Phoenix is a symbol of rebirth and starting over,” he said.
As well as adopting the name of the bird as his company name, Stalls also uses the symbol of the bird on his business cards and incorporates the symbol in some of his homebuilding projects, such as tile work of the foyer of the home Stalls built for himself and his wife, Amy.
From the beginning, Stalls made strives to set himself apart from the crowd by adding unique touches to his homes. With an emphasis on designing high-quality homes that are warm, comfortable, homey and adaptable to the lifestyles of the homeowners, Stalls began building homes in such neighborhoods as Mesilla Verde Terrace, Puerta de Mesilla and other relaxing, desirable locations.
He said that while location is very important in homebuilding, respect for the land is equally important.
In building his own home in Mesilla Verde Terrace, Stalls took extra efforts to preserve and accentuate the lot’s natural landscaping. Of the 1.1 acre lot’s 33 mature pecan trees, Stalls designed a home that would leave 25 of them intact. The result is a spacious home with a peaceful, secluded feel that Stalls says is an important element in any home.
To enhance the home’s welcoming feel and to take full advantage of the shady setting, Stalls placed the garage at an angle to allow more room for a front yard. He also added a wrap-around porch in the front and an over-sized, covered patio in the back.
Whether building his own home or one for a client, Stalls tries to incorporate elements that make a house feel like a home – flowing floor plan, quality construction and interesting focal points such as floor-to-ceiling windows, stacked-stone fireplaces, wooden accent beams and rounded walls.
Amy is also an important member of the Phoenician team. She designs the interiors and does the company’s faux finishes on the walls.
“It is a lot of work,” Shawn said.
Phoenician Custom Homes has recently completed construction on its 14th home and Stalls said he is excited for his future in homebuilding.
“It’s always a challenge,” he said, “but we enjoy it.”
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