Ben Holmes had read the horror stories about builders running out of cash and leaving buyers with half-finished homes.
He almost was one of them.
In 1989, Mr. Holmes and his wife, Joyce, had signed a contract with a builder to construct a two-story contemporary home on a three-quarter- acre lot in Villa Nova, a community off Liberty Road in Baltimore County.
"For two months, everything was fine," says Mr. Holmes, 65. "Then, there was no activity."
The builder said he had run out of cash. At that point, the house was a shell: exterior walls, a roof and a subfloor. Mr. Holmes already had shelled out $65,000 for a house he thought would cost $135,000. So, Mr. Holmes made a quick decision: He terminated the builder's contract, hired some subcontractors and finished the house himself.
"I felt confident I could do it because I learned construction skills from my grandfather, who was a contractor," says Mr. Holmes, who built the house while working full-time as a program analyst for the Health Care Financing Administration in Woodlawn, retiring in 1992.
Although it took several months longer to complete the house -- September 1990 -- the Holmeses were pleased. In fact, the final construction cost was what Mr. Holmes expected, $135,000.
What they got was a 3,100-square-foot house with cedar siding, a two-car garage, four bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, cathedral ceilings, a finished basement and plenty of long windows and skylights.
"Lots of light is very important to us," Mr. Holmes says. "That's one of the reasons why we went with a contemporary home. It has windows on every side and open rooms. We also have a lot of ceramic tile floors, which acts as solar heat collectors."
The foyer has 18-foot ceilings, two four-tiered glass chandeliers, a row of windows over the double wooden door and two rows of windows over the open stairs.
From the foyer, the Holmeses have access to most first-floor rooms: the living room, dining room, family room and kitchen. The 16-by-22-foot living room has a cathedral ceiling; recessed and track lighting; a marble fireplace; and a 14-foot structural, laminated wooden beam. Handpainted Chinese vases and ceramic and porcelain figurines fill the room.
The Chinese art represents just some of Mrs. Holmes' collectibles. The dining room has two display cases full of crystal and glass bowls, glasses and candlesticks. A glass case in the family room displays antique Japanese Satsuma porcelain figurines, vases and tea sets.
"I'm really a collector," laughs Mrs. Holmes, 49, a kindergarten teacher at Grove Park Elementary School in Baltimore. "It just seems I wind up with more of everything."
The second floor has a guest bedroom, his-and-her dens, a bathroom with a large skylight and a master bedroom suite, which overlooks the living room. The suite has a cathedral ceiling, a mirror along one wall to reflect light, a master bathroom with a large skylight, a private deck, and built-in stereo speakers, vanity table and television shelf.
"This is a unique home," Mr. Holmes says. "There aren't any houses like it. That's why I wouldn't trade it for the world."