Archives: Testimonials

The Coastal Cottage Company designed and built our new Manteo home in the Peninsula subdivision. We had some very specific design requirements to be met and blended with the Coastal Cottage team’s ideas and suggestions for our new full-time residence. They did a terrific job, and we are enjoying every minute in our waterfront dream home!

-Carl & Sheila Garrision

We have owned property on the Outer Banks since 1992. Over the years, our oceanfront home was ever the worse for wear. We thought it best to tear it down and start anew. We contacted 3 Outer Banks builders and decided the best fit for us was Mike York and the Coastal Cottage Company. Over a period of months, Mike worked to design the best plan to fit our needs and to maximize the available space on our lot. All costs and fees were discussed and agreed upon; we never were given a bill we did not expect (as happened when we built our home in Pennsylvania). All billing was quite fair and the company worked within our budget. Our home was completed in July of 2018 and we have been quite pleased with it. The quality is outstanding. We have had numerous compliments from friends, family, and passersby. We used to worry about hurricanes and would fear that our house would not stand up to the elements but not any longer! We truly love our home! We highly recommend The Coastal Cottage Company and their outstanding workmanship!

-Louise Murray & Dale Bryansmith

My wife and I have been visiting the Outer Banks for over twenty-five years. We always dreamed about building our own home at the beach. We finally purchased a lot, and then spent a great deal of time researching builders located throughout the Outer Banks. Our search led us to Mike York owner of The Coastal Cottage. We chose Mike for many reasons. To begin with, The Coastal Cottage is a true Design/Build company. Mike surely did not disappoint. He worked with us from the beginning of the project to the end. In fact he continues to respond to any questions or concerns we have even after our house has been completed. During the building process, Mike was flexible in any changes to the our designs. Throughout the design process my wife obtained ideas from various homes on different websites. Mike was able to incorporate these ideas into our original home design. One other point I cannot stress enough. The quality of the material, and detailed workmanship performed by The Coastal Cottage is second to none. Our home was built as if Mike was building a home for his family. 

-Scott & Susan Lee

As first time homebuilders we were apprehensive and uneducated about the build process. We knew from our first phone conversation with Mike at The Coastal Cottage Company that he was the builder for us. From the start he went above and beyond expectations. He walked us through the whole process and worked hard to understand our requirements, taste and design ideas. Mike even went so far as to go out and look at building lots with us in advance to give us his professional opinion as to location and build ability. Not only is Mike an experienced builder but he is also an excellent designer. He was able to take our vision and ideas and design a house that fit perfectly on our lot and designed specifically to our requirements. Mike had real patience with us during this initial design phase as we had many changes, revisions and requests throughout the process. Having the builder as also the designer was an invaluable asset. He was able to make changes to his designs throughout the build process to make sure everything looked just right. Mike’s attention to detail along with his eye for design really made this the custom build that set him and his company apart from other builders. We are constantly amazed as we look around and see all of the custom design elements he was able to incorporate for us in our build. Mike knew we were working within a budget and worked really hard to make sure we were able to get the most from our investment. He worked countless hours going through design ideas and finishes, educating us on what the best options were. His use of technology to give us real time access to our budget and the progress of our build was incredible. We are so thankful that we chose Mike at The Coastal Cottage Company. The finished product is so much more than we could have hoped for. Thanks, Mike, for making our dreams a reality.

-Bob & Jennifer Kalainikas

My wife and I worked with Michael York for about 18 months building nothing less than a spectacular second home. During that time, they have been nothing but professional. I know several people that live full time on the Outer Banks and a lot of them are in the civil/structural engineering field, they all spoke very highly of Mike. Michael has over 20 years in the design and construction industry which instilled confidence that we chose the right person to make our dream house come true. During the design and construction process Michael worked with us every step of the way to make sure that our vision is being created to our standards. During the process there were points where my wife and I could get a little overwhelmed with all the decisions, such as tile selection, but Michael guided us through the process to help narrow our selection and keep us focused on the theme of the house. This saved us an incredible amount of time and money. Another point I would make in recommending Mike is that he was always looking out for our expenditures. We were never nickel and dimed, he always attempted to get the best price for the selections we made. I think one thing he does very well is to estimate the costs in a realistic manner. I would recommend a drive down to Askins Creek-Avon, NC to see our house. The design, build quality and finish is amazing, you will not be disappointed. In short, I have built 2 homes now and if I were to build another home I would not hesitate to use Michael York again.

-Michael & Jackie Lynn

After twenty-five years of renting houses in Ocean Sands, Corolla NC we finally decided to fulfill our dream of building our own home- ultimately for retirement- but also to be a rental in summer months. After interviewing three different builders, we knew we had made the right choice. Entering Mike’s office we saw his many completed house designs proudly displayed like children’s graduation pictures on his wall- each one distinctive in its own way.  He spent hours with us determining our hopes and dreams, likes and preferences we wanted included in our new home.  It was so much different than sitting with others who had three or four models to choose from.  He then took the survey of our challenging property on a flag shaped lot with views to the back and side and designed a home to our specifications.  We were working with a fixed mortgage budget and they tried very hard to give us the most house for our resources.  I come from a long line of family builders and so saw new possibilities all along the way for adaptations and improvements.  Mike took each suggestion and gave us the specific change order to accomplish exactly what we wanted.  There were no surprises which was important in using our resources wisely. During construction we even made a large change in situating the master suite for the best views, as it was evident it would add value to our home. At the same time, we were able to include design features as we went including; a specialty Pennsylvania blue stone fireplace which we drove down from our home state, the addition of windows to the great room and a beautiful glass back splash in the kitchen.  Mike was always available for choices of flooring, tile, cabinets, lighting, mirrors, and colors to offer an opinion when asked, while encouraging us to make our own decisions.  When I asked but didn’t take his suggestions I often wished I had since he has a wonderful eye for congruence in design features and colors.  As a result we have a beautiful new home that is exactly what we wanted and dreamed of building.  Friends and neighbors agree it is spectacular. We have a unique custom home that is exactly what we wanted with solid construction.  Others recognize it also as our house is fully booked for the summer rental season!  My only regret is that we don’t have unlimited resources to be able to design and build another home with Michael York.  He helped to make what might be a stressful experience into a delightful creative hands-on process. 

-Scott & Carol Loomer

We moved from our “top of the mountain” log home in Gateway Mountain to our cottage at The Outer Banks in September, 2016.  We knew we wanted to build a new house that would become our “Dream Home” for retirement.  We presented our ideas to several contractors and most didn’t seem to have a great deal of interest in building what we had envisioned.   We were disappointed. We are not sure whether it was our discovering Michael York of The Coastal Cottage Company or Michael finding us.  However, it was our great fortune to have hired Michael and his fantastic, professional, congenial, and experienced work groups. Michael has all the tools we needed to realize our “Dream Home”.  His architectural and engineering capabilities coupled with his extensive field experience continually supported us throughout the construction of our home.  Michael’s attention to detail and demand for quality throughout the process made us very well pleased. Throughout the construction we became attached to the many excellent subcontractors working to give us our perfect home.  We were able to keep up with the construction day by day with the “Builder Trend” computer program supplied by Michael.  Additionally, we visited the site consistently to enjoy the progress.  We often enjoyed Duck Donuts, Coffee and Pizza with the men working on our house.  We became attached to the complete process like having a family build our home. Daily, we are thankful that we were fortunate enough to have our retirement “Dream Home” provided by The Coastal Cottage Co and Michael York.  We love everything about our home.

-Dave & Kathe Ruch

We had a great experience building our beach house.  The materials, workmanship, and finishing details of our house exceeded our expectations.  From design, through construction, to occupancy, it was a pleasure to work with Mike.  He listened carefully to our ideas in order to design a house that suited us, and our budget.  He understood the look and feel we were trying to achieve, and made excellent suggestions for design, materials, and finishes.  We live in Virginia and were concerned about not being on-site, but Mike communicated consistently and effectively about how the house was progressing (pictures included) and what decisions needed to be made.   We appreciated his construction knowledge and attention to details.  Mike was always responsive to our questions and concerns, and truly cared about our satisfaction. We would highly recommend Mike, and would work with them again if we ever had the opportunity.  We love our beach house! 

-Steve and Johanna Mace

We just completed our beach house in Monteray Shores using Michael York as our designer and builder. It was a delight working with him from the design stage right through construction. There were many hurdles to jump through before we could even break ground but Mike was able to help us get our permits and to legally clear as much land behind our home site to allow for a great sound view. They are known for quality construction and were willing to bid against two other reputable builders. Their pricing was quite fair. During the construction phase, if anything didn’t look right, they were quick to make design modifications. After the home was built they were always available to fix any further problems we discovered after we were able to move in. I would recommend them with no reservations.

-Dr. Steven & Sue Green

Mike first designed our 3 story 6 bedroom, 5 ½ bath oceanfront home that was primarily a rental property, but also used by us personally. Maximizing fantastic ocean views he created a home that we not only loved but our tenants did as well. Having owned two smaller rental properties we were able to communicate to Mike exactly what we were looking for in a finished product and he incorporated all our wishes and desires expertly into the home. Thus, when it became time to build our retirement home (sound front lot in a gated golf community) we once again turned to Mike. Again created and built a home (6 bedroom, 6 ½ bath) that was beyond our wildest dreams. We have always felt that communication is a major key to success and throughout both these projects we found the lines always open. Since we were not on site most of the time this was exceptionally important to both of us. We also found that Mike was always open to making changes respecting our opinions or ideas. He did this without ever making us feel that it was inappropriate or that it effected what he was trying to create. We always felt it was a team approach resulting in a mutual satisfying end product. The person, as well as the designs he created, could not come any more highly recommended. Mike always approaches his job with not only knowledge but also kindness and understanding.

-Peggy Ward