A Team Rooted in Craftsmanship

Built on three generations of craft. Driven by a belief that home is the foundation of wellbeing.

At Mark D. Williams Custom Homes, we believe the spaces you live in shape how you feel, move, and connect each day. As an award-winning Twin Cities custom home builder, we’ve built trust within the community as a team that creates quality spaces with the same attention and care we’d bring to our own family homes.

Our Story

Mark D. Williams Custom Homes is a third-generation high-end residential builder in the Twin Cities, creating dream homes through thoughtful remodeling transformations and ground-up custom builds. Our company was named Minnesota Builder of the Year in 2021—an incredible honor considering the high quality of builders in this market.

With 20+ years of home-building experience, founder Mark D. Williams uses his endless curiosity and ability to adapt to deliver an exceptional home-building experience for all his clients. He credits this success to his collaborative approach with trade partners and homeowners, and his nonstop quest to be a fun, trustworthy, highly-skilled, and creative partner in the process. He surrounds himself with dedicated craftspeople who share his company’s mission to bring homeowners joy while helping them create their dream lifestyle.

Your Home is a Retreat

We approach every home considering not only how it looks, but how it lives alongside you. How does it make a busy morning smoother? How can it instill a sense of peace in the quiet moments after a family dinner? This approach was born from Mark's natural inclination to design homes he'd live in himself: spaces drenched in natural light, made for active children and young families, flowing from easy gathering spaces to intimate moments of restoration. Homes that are as efficient as they are effortless, and as detailed as they are intentional.

You are the main character, and your home is the setting that compliments your story. Our homes feel alive—designed with organic textures that soften with age. Natural materials that tell the story of where they came from. Light that moves through the space like a supporting character, shifting the mood as the day unfolds.

Wellness Is Our Foundation

At MDW, wellness is not a bonus, it's built into the foundation of every space we create. As a certified Green Path builder, we consider every detail in service of the health and wellbeing of our clients. We prioritize things like air quality, non-toxic materials, acoustic health, water purity, biophilic design from the start.

From the way natural light moves through a space to how rooms connect and flow, every detail is designed to create a sense of balance, comfort, and ease.

Building Homes for Lives Well-Lived

Whatever the scope — a ground-up custom build, a transformative whole-home renovation, or something in between — the MDW team brings a consistent level of intention and craft to every project. We collaborate with architects, designers, and trade partners you choose, or we'll connect you with the trusted craftspeople we've built relationships with over two decades.

Custom New Builds

We build homes that feel as good as they look. Designed on a foundation of rest, movement, and togetherness, our spaces tie luxury living into functional details into a space that is completely customized to your lifestyle.

Lifestyle Redesigns

Your current home has good bones, but needs an intentional redesign to work better for how you actually live. Our whole-home remodels are guided by the same wellness-first philosophy, creating spaces that serve the quiet rhythms of your life.

Meet the Team

Building an exceptional home takes an exceptional team. MDW is a trusted name not only across the Twin Cities, but across the country for design excellence and a leader in wellness-driven projects. We’re a team that treats every project as if it were our own home.

Founder and Owner
Mark is a third-generation crafter of fine homes with 20+ years of experience building custom homes in metro areas of Minnesota. He enjoys the personal connections that come with getting to know the families the company builds for as well as the MANY talented craftsmen he partners with to execute these high-level homes. Mark recently launched The Curious Builder Podcast to connect with the artisans in the Twin Cities, share their business stories, and celebrate the building craft. Mark and his wife have three young children and he also loves to be active daily in some sort of athletic endeavor when not chasing the kids around the house for a pillow fight.

Office Manager
Joel has been involved in office management throughout his career and brings over 10 years of construction management experience to the team. His practical approach to solving problems helps to keep the team and project moving smoothly from start to finish. He grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and his small-town values learned growing up have shaped how he approaches projects and will always work to get things done in the most efficient way possible. He has lived in the Twin Cities for over 25 years and enjoys all of the opportunities that the metro has to offer. Joel has two boys, and he has instilled in them the love for working on and driving cars. Vacations for the family normally include driving to somewhere with great roads and a racetrack.

Project Manager
Mike brings 20 years of owning a framing company to his expertise as site manager extraordinaire. His knowledge of running a business and a job site is second-to-none and the team enjoys his cool and calm demeanor, patience, and work ethic. Mike is the glue that holds everyone together when things get tough. Mike and Mark have known each other since 1986 when Mark’s family moved in next door to Mike and his family. They have been close friends for 37 years and counting. Mike’s family is busy and they enjoy traveling together, and he’s an avid hunter.

Marketing Master
Leah has 10+ years of marketing and business strategy throughout her own entrepreneurial career. Her creative mind and big picture thinking allows her to craft a unique marketing approach. She is not afraid to test new strategies and can quickly pivot as needed, while still focusing on the end goal. She is married with 2 children, and loves to spend her time outdoors and exploring. When she’s not spending time with family and friends, she love to listen to podcasts, both for fun and personal/business development.

Project Coordinator
Angie grew up in a small southwest Minnesota town. There she learned the importance of
family and friends; helping out your neighbors and community.
After High School she attended North Dakota State University “Go Bison” for a degree
Architecture. Excited to start her career in residential construction, she left North Dakota and
transferred to St. Cloud Technical College. There she graduated with an Associate of Applied
Science Degree in Architectural Construction Technology.
Angie has been working in residential design for over 25 years. Working in a small office she
has taken homes from just a thought to a dream for many clients. Being a process orientated
person allows her to work on multiple projects at a time, leading to happy clients moving into
their new or remodeled homes.
She enjoys spending her free time with her family, traveling, and reading. Her nieces and
nephews keep her busy going to as many events as she can get to.

We had a great experience building with Mark! His team of designers and contractors were very professional and very easy to work with. Mark clearly has a passion for building and was hands on from design ideas to making changes per our request. He was able to stay on budget with few surprises. His online project management tools kept us up to speed throughout the process. We were thankful to have a builder with high integrity and a fun personality to boot!

Paige | Project Completed 2020
Mark and his team have been excellent to work with. Not only are they extremely particular with every detail, bringing the best quality and execution to their clients, but they are fun, too! It's so important to work with a builder who manages expectations, communicates well and has every team member as an integral part of the project and MD Williams Custom Homes does just that. It's a pleasure to work with them and we look forward to every project!

Chirigos Designs | Colleague
Mark is extremely professional and wonderful to work with. He has a great sense of design, and has given us numerous valuable suggestions to elevate the custom quality of our home. The project is on track and we very excited about how it's looking so far!

Karna R. // Project Date: July 2018
Mark D. Williams Custom Homes is rebuilding my home after a fire. It will be done in about a month. While not complete, I wanted to comment on the quality of his team. From the architect to the interior design assistance, everyone is friendly, knowledgeable and professional. Mark met with me on the site and immediately had a preliminary vision of a house design that would work. His architect was able to think in 3D as we made changes to the plans while walking the site. The construction crews have created a quality product in a timely fashion working evenings and Saturdays when necessary to stay on schedule. The work done by Hipp Cabinets is particularly impressive. The design assistance provided by Debby Williams has been valuable. It seems that everyone in the numerous showrooms that we have visited knows and respects her. While I have not moved in yet, I would highly recommend Mark Williams based on my experience to date.

Angela C. // Project Date: February 2016
One of my favorite examples of Mark’s commitment to high standards came when we redesigned the master bathroom during the build. When things were all framed up, Mark met us at the job site to discuss an option he had thought of on how to maximize the space even more than what was on the plan. His design worked out to be one of our favorite spaces in the house because the layout is more functional, spacious, and sleek. We absolutely love it. Mark's personal, innovative, and honest approach to projects this large make him a rare find that we were honored to be part of.

Jennifer A.
I would strongly recommend Mark to anyone looking to build a high-quality, beautiful, custom home. I am a professional interior designer, who looked at 100's of homes to find the right one for my family. The many-year long search ended when we found an already-built home by Mark. All the other homes we looked at paled in comparison. The Mark D. Williams home had a striking yet welcoming exterior, thoughtful floor plan, well-dimensioned spaces, a stunning kitchen with custom cabinetry to the ceiling, reclaimed wood, and numerous other special features & finishes throughout. The designer in me, loved all the designer-touches! Although we didn't go through the design-build process with Mark, from day one, he treated us like valued clients. We've been thrilled with his communication, conscientiousness and building know-how. He is very hands-on and truly a pleasure to work with.

Joan H. // Project Date: October 2015
Having worked with Mark and his team, we continually recommend them to our clients without hesitation. From the beginning, Mark establishes a clear process, and takes care of his clients from blueprints to closing. Mark has the ability know his client's style, and communicates clearly with our design firm, which creates a productive environment for everyone. We truly appreciate his gentle style, his methodical process and his ability to make partnering on projects fun and welcoming!

The Sitting Room // Relationship: Colleague
The Mark Willams Custom Home team will amaze you. We used them for 2 large building projects. They are very aware of the current trends and styles. Their attention to detail is above and beyond. Our first remodel and current new home surpassed our exspectations. I recommend building or remodeling with Mark’s talented team every 5 years of so!

Sandy T. Project Date: October 2014
Choosing the right builder is a huge decision. I have built a home before and I couldn't be happier working with Mark on building this home. I interviewed a few builders and really clicked with Mark and his vision and business style. He listens and understands what's important to me as a client. I respect that he grew up in a family business of building homes; it's what makes a difference in his experience in this industry. Mark and the team he has assembled turn out high quality beautiful homes!

Nora S. // Project Date: September 2016
Mark D. Williams built us our beautiful dream home! We wanted a cottage/farmhouse style home and he built exactly what we envisioned and more. The quality craftsmanship and charming character is shown throughout our home and every home he builds! Mark along with his team of designers and subcontractors were professional and personable. They made building such a fun and positive experience. Mark is an exceptional builder and person whom we highly recommend!

Barb H. // Project Date: January 2013
Mark D. Williams Custom Homes Inc. provided a complete remodel of our 1908 Minnetonka farm house. Mark listened to our "wants" and followed them with extreme custom detail. He also gave us his professional suggestions and let us make the final decision. We wanted to keep the charm and feel of the old farm house. Mark's company preserved all of the interior doors and hardwood floors, they matched all the wood trim details of the baseboards, and the trim around the doors with the pre-existing 1908 wood work. He let us tour other houses he had built/remodeled so we could gather custom ideas for our house remodel. His crew (framers, plumbers, painters, electricians...) were pleasant, hard working, professional and reliable. Mark takes pride in his work and it is evident by the product you will receive from his company.

Joan P. // Project Date: June 2013