As owner of Design Built Homes, Ltd., Melanie Spurgeon comes by her passion for home building naturally. It’s literally in her personal foundation as she grew up playing at her grandfather’s job sites and her father’s cabinet design company.
Her grandfather, Howard Spurgeon, was a widely respected and busy builder in central Illinois starting in 1940. He and his three sons built some of the finest homes in the Washington area and showed off their diverse skills by also developing and constructing schools, power plants, water treatment facilities, gymnasiums and subdivisions.

“As a child, I played around construction sites with my cousins and brothers and sisters. On weekends, I would watch my grandma host open houses at the model homes,” she says.

Her father owned Sunnyland Cabinets, and Melanie learned fine art of craftsmanship as she worked her way up from sawdust to the minute details of kitchen design.

She stayed true to her roots by expanding into the market of rehabbing houses and reinventing outdated and inefficient designs and spaces. Her reputation grew as someone who really listened to her clients and with them formed a unique team to deliver the highest quality and most cost-effective means to turn an ordinary structure into the centerpiece of the neighborhood.

Always striving to better her skills and personal service, Melanie entered the home building arena in 1993 with Design Built Homes, Ltd. In the 15 years since then, the company has created unique and attractive icons throughout central Illinois.
Not too bad for the little girl who got her start playing in the dirt and scrap pile.