Season 4 Bonus Episode: The Hibbs Homes Story

Season Four Bonus Episode | Transcript

The episode offers a rare, personal look at Hibbs Luxury Homes' evolution from humble beginnings in home renovation to one of the Midwest’s leading custom and high-performance home builders, with projects across St. Louis, Missouri and Park City, Utah.

From Fixer-Uppers to Custom Homes

Hibbs Homes began as Hibbs Enterprises in 2002, when Kim and his wife, Jan Hibbs, started buying and renovating homes while raising their young family. Though they loved improving properties, they quickly realized that flipping homes wasn’t fulfilling their deeper passion for craftsmanship, detail, and design.

In 2004, they launched Hibbs Homes with a mission to build from the ground up creating new homes that reflected each client’s personality and lifestyle. Their first project, a spec home in Kirkwood, Missouri, set the tone for everything that followed: attention to detail, hands-on learning, and an unshakable commitment to quality.

Building in Historic Neighborhoods

From the start, Hibbs Homes stood out for its thoughtful, neighborhood-conscious approach to building. As an infill builder working in established communities like Webster Groves, Clayton, and Kirkwood, the company built homes that respected surrounding architecture rather than overpowering it.

Instead of the “McMansion” mindset, Hibbs Homes focused on proportion, style, and intentional design which earned them multiple “Infill Builder of the Year” awards and praise from homeowners who valued their sensitivity to the community’s character.

Building Relationships, Not Just Homes

Kim emphasizes that building a custom home is a two-year journey, from design through warranty, and that relationships are at the core of every successful project.

Hibbs Homes carefully selects clients and partners to ensure strong communication, mutual respect, and shared values. The company’s process is transparent and collaborative and focuses on keeping homeowners feel informed and engaged every step of the way.

The Passion Behind the Process

Kim credits much of his success to his background in broadcast journalism. As a former television news anchor and reporter, he honed the communication and storytelling skills that now guide his approach as a builder.

Every Hibbs Homes project begins with thoughtful questions about lifestyle, priorities, and long-term goals to ensure that design, budgeting, and construction all align.

The result: homes that feel as personal as the stories behind them.

Evolving into a Luxury & High-Performance Builder

Over the years, Hibbs Homes naturally evolved toward luxury custom construction.

“Luxury,” as Kim explains, isn’t about size or price, it’s about quality, detail, and experience. Many of the company’s most satisfying projects aren’t multimillion-dollar estates but beautifully designed homes where every element reflects care and craftsmanship.

This philosophy also led Hibbs Homes into high-performance homebuilding—homes that are more efficient, durable, and healthy. Their focus on energy efficiency, comfort, and air quality began in the mid-2000s, long before sustainability became standard.

Through partnerships with organizations like RESNET and EnergySTAR, Hibbs Homes has led the regional charge in building better, healthier homes that stand the test of time.

Milestones & Industry Leadership

Hibbs Homes has built a reputation not only for excellence in construction but also for leadership in the homebuilding industry.

Kim has served on local and national Home Builders Association boards, been recognized as St. Louis Home Builder of the Year, and helped pioneer innovative projects like Active House USA, the first Active House-certified home in North America.

These projects serve as living classrooms, inviting the public to learn how energy-efficient building methods improve health, comfort, and performance.

Educating Through The Art of Custom

The company’s passion for education inspired the creation of this podcast, The Art of Custom. Launched nearly five years ago, the show was designed to help homeowners understand the custom-building process in a friendly, non-sales environment.

Each season explores a different phase of homebuilding:

• Season 1: From planning to completion — a complete guide for first-time custom home builders (archived)
• Season 2: Behind-the-scenes look at a St. Louis build from start to finish. (archived)
• Season 3: Relaunch of season one with insights on building post-pandemic.
• Season 4: A room-by-room exploration of home design and finishes.

Philosophy & Core Values

Every member of the Hibbs Homes team lives by the same guiding principles:

• Unmatched Communication
• Integrity and transparency
• Craftsmanship and Innovation
• Doing the Right Thing, Every Time

These values shape how they interact with clients, trades, and the broader community, and they’re the reason so many clients describe their experience building with Hibbs as both personal and professional.

From its first flipped home to high-performance luxury builds across the Midwest and Mountain West, Hibbs Homes has always been driven by one purpose: to build better homes and better relationships.

As Kim says, “We love what we do and we love making people happy in the homes we build.”