Schell Brothers

Schell Brothers was founded in 2003 by Chris Schell, who left a finance career to build a different kind of homebuilding company. From its roots in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the privately held builder grew into one of the most decorated names on the East Coast, earning Pro Builder magazine's 2023 Builder of the Year honor. That recognition came alongside roughly $455 million in revenue and about 525 closings for the year, placing the company among the top 75 builders on Pro Builder's national Housing Giants list — notable for a builder that has stayed founder-led and privately owned rather than going the public-company route.

The company is best known for a mission that is unusual in the industry: to maximize happiness rather than profit. That philosophy shows up in its high employee-satisfaction scores, its community giving, and a buying experience built around personalization rather than volume. It has carried that approach as it expanded beyond Delaware — first into the Richmond, Virginia market in 2017, then into Nashville/Middle Tennessee in 2021, and most recently into the Boise, Idaho area.

In Middle Tennessee, Schell Brothers is headquartered in Hendersonville (150 Saundersville Rd) and builds across Sumner and Wilson counties — from Hendersonville to Gallatin, and Mt. Juliet to Lebanon. Its first local community was at Durham Farms, the Freehold Communities master-planned neighborhood in Hendersonville (37075), where it launched sales and opened a model home, with that community now sold out. The team has since grown a roster of Middle Tennessee communities including Campbell Crossing, Millstone, and Oak Creek Estates in Hendersonville, Oak Hall IV and Yorkshire Estates in Mt. Juliet, The Reserve at Horn Springs in Lebanon, plus Fox Creek and MacGregory Downs in Gallatin and Norman Ridge in Hendersonville in the pipeline.

Product-wise, Schell Brothers builds premium, custom-feeling single-family homes — generally a move-up to upper-move-up price point in the Nashville market, with many communities starting in the high-$600Ks to high-$900Ks. Buyers choose from a deep library of floor plans (24+ in the Nashville division, roughly 1,650 to 4,800+ square feet) and can structure expansions like added bedrooms and baths, living-area extensions, and luxury primary suites, so two homes on the same plan rarely look alike.

What truly distinguishes Schell Brothers is the combination of its Dare to Dream Design Studio and its Schellter Advanced Building Science standard. The award-winning design studio gives buyers a guided, full-day personalization experience (backed by an online style studio for browsing ideas and building selection collages), turning finish selection into one of the highlights of the build rather than a chore.

Schellter is the building-science package that comes standard on every Schell Brothers home, organized around four pillars — HomeIQ, Enerwize, 4Tress, and SanctuAIR. It includes 2x6 exterior walls with about 63% more insulation than 2x4 construction, advanced framing and blown-in blanket insulation, tankless water heating, high-performance windows, and hospital-grade MERV 13 air filtration with fresh-air ventilation. The result is an energy-efficient, healthier, quieter home: Schell reports an average HERS index around 49, meaning roughly half the energy use of a standard new home.