Classic Design Homes: Building More Than Houses

By Rosemary L. Howell Edge Marketing + Design Feature Photos by Wandering Albatross Photography

Classic Design Homes comes highly recommended and highly regarded in the Billings community, but that’s not all you get when you choose to work with this incredible company.

We spoke with Doug Wild, one of the only Certified Professional Building Designers (CPBD) in the state and long-time general manager of Classic Design Homes, who said their mission transcends the building industry, also focusing efforts on building community partnerships and giving back to important causes. The most notable, and perhaps the most meaningful, project is the St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway campaign with St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

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“Real joy comes from raising money for this children’s research facility,” says Doug. “There is something that happens in the community, with the staff, with our contractors, and management team. There is more camaraderie built when we’re doing it for a purpose as important as this.”

St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened its doors more than 50 years ago. The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric diseases through research and treatment. No child is denied treatment based on race, religion, or a family’s ability to pay.

Efficiency, beauty, and top-notch quality are some of the characteristics that define a Classic Design Home and, in 2022, they generously donated building materials, labor, and design efforts to the St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway campaign. Under Doug’s management and expertise, Classic Design Homes was able to raise upwards of one million dollars for St. Jude Children’s Hospital by selling raffle tickets to individuals for $100 each. One lucky winner got to walk away with a one-ofa-kind, custom home, while also supporting an incredible cause. “Win a house. Help save kids’ lives. It’s a win-win” Doug says.

Doug’s team was so inspired by the outcome of the 2022 Dream Home® Giveaway, they have chosen to participate in 2023. Once again, Classic Design Homes will donate resources, building materials, and labor to construct the home of any families’ dreams. Raffle tickets will go on sale early spring of 2023, and the drawing will commence in late spring of 2023. Each raffle ticket sold will go to benefit the mission of St. Jude— Finding cures. Saving children®—ensuring that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Just when you think Classic Design Homes has given enough back to the community through multiple St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaways, they unveil their “greater mission,” which is to serve Indigenous communities on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. They do this through Island Mountain Development Group (IMDG), by assisting in creating a self-sustaining economy through business opportunities, job creation, and resource development for the Aaniiih (Gros Ventre) and Nakoda (Assiniboine) people. In 2019, Classic Design Homes was acquired by IMDG, which has developed and led this mission for over a decade.

Doug and the team at Classic Design Homes were ecstatic to join forces with and help IMDG expand. Doug, in particular, was pleased to know that IMDG was not only supportive of, but also monumental in, the implementation of the St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway. Generosity is a core value of the Aaniiih (Gros Ventre) and Nakoda (Assiniboine) people, so both missions are well aligned. IMDG and Classic Design Homes are honored to be the sponsor and builder of the St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway in Billings, Montana.

IMDG is organized to create a selfsustaining economy for the people of the Fort Belknap Indian Community. Their operations range from real estate to information technology, government contracting to financial technology, and of course, building and construction. They have seen 10 years of consecutive revenue growth, created 330 jobs in 2021 alone, and continuously work to create a self-sustaining economy within the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. Their economic, social, and cultural impacts are undeniable. Classic Design Homes is honored to help serve not only the community of Billings, but also the long-underserved population of the Fort Belknap Indian Community.

Doug has lived in Billings and called Montana home for over 20 years. He has worked as the General Manager for Classic Design homes for over a decade and has dedicated himself to making Billings and surrounding areas a better place. He is more than a designer with good ideas; he is an expert builder of homes, a master of listening, and an undeniable expert builder of community partnerships. Doug has been inspired to design and build homes since his time in high school. It has long been his passion to create spaces for families to live, create memories, and bring their dreams to life. Most people who design homes learn the process on their own, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy Doug. Working with one of the only Certified Professional Building Designers (CPBD) in the state has its advantages. He can prove that he’s more than qualified through nationally certified course work, tests, and final certification.

Each client has their own wants, needs, and vision for their dream home. Every successful home starts with good design. Each design begins with listening, and Doug is a master of listening to his clients’ needs. Finding the intersection between functionality, visual aesthetics, and how a family will live in a home is integral to a Classic Design Home. Doug is an expert at coaching his clients through a potentially overwhelming array of options and decisions. Whether it’s countertops, carpet, trim, or siding, clients can become easily overwhelmed with decision fatigue. The right builder on your team can help simplify and streamline the process. Doug is the right builder. He is integral to Classic Design Homes and is devoted to his church, his family, his community, and his work, especially when his job allows him to serve in all of these capacities at once.

Like any other industry, Classic Design Homes has been subject to material shortages, supply chain deficiencies and delays, labor shortages, and difficulty finding skilled laborers, but they have weathered the storm through their tight-knit network of partners and suppliers. They treat the companies they work with and the tradespeople that make it all happen very well. For them, it’s all about relationships and working as a team to overcome obstacles. Their future projects include 2023’s St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway, Billings Parade of Homes, the BuffaloCrossing subdivision, and more. We will, no doubt, be hearing more from Doug and the incredible team at Classic Design Homes.

Under Doug’s management and expertise, Classic Design Homes was able to raise upwards of one million dollars for St. Jude Children’s Hospital by selling raffle tickets to individuals for $100 each. One lucky winner got to walk away with a one-of-a-kind, custom home, while also supporting an incredible cause. “Win a house. Help save kids’ lives. It’s a win-win” Doug says.