Aspen Homes:
a home building company built to last.
From sweeping job sites at age 12 to working alongside his father at age 20, Ryan Windmiller has always loved the home building business. So it came as no surprise that, after graduating from Iowa State with a degree in marketing and management entrepreneurship, Ryan followed in his father’s footsteps and, in 2000, launched his own home building company, Aspen Homes.
Founded on the tenets of superior quality, design and customer experience, Ryan catered to clients seeking small to mid-sized, semi-custom and custom homes at a low to mid price point; and his business grew. And grew. To offer his clients more resources, Ryan combined forces with his father’s company, Windmiller Design Build, in 2010 and assumed the daily operations of both companies, allowing his father to concentrate more on the development and design side. This transition has positioned Windmiller Group for growth and allowed Aspen Homes to thrive, building custom homes in the $300,000 to $700,000 price range and keeping the family legacy alive and well.
AWARDS
Aspen model homes continue to win Best in Show at the Annual Parade of Homes, a testament to our ability to deliver unparalleled design and quality year over year.
OUR TEAM
CRAIG WINDMILLER
Job Title: Owner, Founder
Years with Company: 38
“Neighborhood design makes me come alive; leveraging interesting sight lines and harnessing natural light to create harmony between the exterior and interior of a home never gets old.”
Meet Craig, Windmiller Group’s fearless leader. Over the past 30+ years, he has developed 17 unique residential neighborhoods; three commercial sites; 400+ custom homes; a 77-sq.ft. treehouse; and a solid reputation for his company. But he’ll tell you that being featured in Custom Home Builder Magazine, The Quad City Times, Rock Island Leader and other publications isn’t what he values most. Nor is securing numerous first place Parade of Homes finishes or receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Quad Cities Home Builders Association. No, this Navy veteran and Iowa State grad cites raising money for Habitat for Humanity and leaving a build site in better condition than how he found it as his major accomplishments.
“Carefully laying out neighborhoods in such a way that existing trees, natural resources and terrain are preserved is invigorating; I look for every opportunity to give back natural vegetation with trees, prairie grasses and other native plants and water features.”
When he’s not leading the Windmiller team, Craig enjoys fishing expeditions with his grandsons and criss-crossing America’s back roads with his wife in their sports coupe.
RYAN WINDMILLER
Job Title: Owner, Founder
Years with Company: 21
“It’s really important for me to give our clients an extremely well-built home at a good value and to make sure the experience is outstanding for them from start to finish.”
Home building has been one of Ryan’s passions since the age of 12. His other passion? Spending time with his family, especially when that time involves something water-related. What began as sweeping the floors of his father’s job sites developed into a full-fledged custom home enterprise. After college, Ryan put his Marketing and Management Entrepreneurship degree from Iowa State University to use and launched Aspen Homes, which focused on building affordable custom homes for families.
Ten years later, he assumed the operations of Windmiller Design Build so his father could concentrate on design and development. Ryan’s favorite part about Windmiller Group? Working side-by-side with an outstanding team of professionals.
BRYAN MIXDORF
Job Title: Design Consultant / Draftsman
Years with Company: 10
“I’m fortunate to have turned my passion for art and architecture into a career with a team that lives and breathes creative freedom.”
Meet Bryan. This easy-going design consultant, draftsman and golf fanatic has been designing houses in the Quad Cities for over 20 years. As a kid, Bryan realized architecture was a way to feed his love for art, and spent countless hours drawing sketches of floor plans and elevations, which he still enjoys doing today for clients. His study of architecture is always ongoing, focusing a lot of free time researching its history, rules and formulas that make great structures which stand the test of time.
He’ll tell you the hardest part of design is combining the authentic feel of a specific style with the functionality of a modern home and how people live today. You may think his favorite part of the process is putting pen to paper but Bryan most enjoys listening to his clients describe what they are looking for in their dream home and interacting with them as their dream becomes a reality.
STEPHANIE RUDD
Job Title: Design Coordinator
Years with Company: 15
“Lighting is the perfect earrings that finish off the dress, it is the most important accessory of the home.”
Meet Stephanie. After a stint in Chicago where she honed her expertise in residential and commercial design, a move to the Quad Cities in 2007 brought Stephanie and Windmiller Group together. This Illinois State University graduate and former Scott Community College Interior design instructor has more than just experience and a degree in interior and environmental design; she has insight; a love for anything black, white, comfortable and gorgeous; and an obsession with fabrics and lighting.
Beyond crafting dream homes for clients, Stephanie’s other joys include: the color red; her cockapoo, Martini; Pinterest; Houzz; design blogs (House of Turquoise, Our Fifth House); and books like Black and White or A Bit in Between by Celerie Kemble. When she’s not working, you can find Stephanie hitting the links, enjoying the pool or hunting for decorating treasures.