Q&A With Mark Mayfield of Custom Homes by Modern Structure

Before you hire a homebuilder to design and build your dream home, it’s important to get to know them. Planning & building a custom home is a long detailed process. If you hire a builder you don’t agree with or get along with, the entire process could get a whole lot harder. 

And when you hire a builder that is equally as fun as they are hardworking, you’ve likely struck gold.

Here, we’re interviewing Evansville, Indiana custom home builder, Mark Mayfield of Custom Homes by Modern Structure. We wanted to know more about his family, his likes and dislikes, his favorite foods, and his successful career in construction.

Let’s get to know Mark Mayfield!

Mark Mayfield: Owner of Custom Homes by Modern Structure, Evansville, Indiana 

1. Where are you from and how did you end up in the Evansville area?

I was born and raised on the northside of Bloomington, Indiana. My family and I lived out in the country with horses and were surrounded by neighboring cows, chickens, even a few pet turkeys and peacocks. It was a great childhood environment, as there was tons of land, woods, and serenity to explore and play!

The moment I could swing a hammer, I started working for my father’s construction company, Mayfield Construction and Remodeling when I wasn’t in school and summer breaks, which motivated me at age 18 to move to Terre Haute, Indiana to pursue a degree in Construction Management at Indiana State University, and continued working for my father during the summer and winter breaks back in Bloomington. 

After graduating, I accepted a job with a large multi-family development company and I really didn’t know where they were going to place me in the country, even on day one of being hired in… I didn’t know! I ended up being placed right near their headquarters in Carmel, Indiana and taking on one of their largest multi-family developments to date. 

After a quick promotion, I was moved here to Evansville, Indiana to finish and start a few new developments for them. As life progressed and traveling became an issue, I moved on to working for a large local company to set my roots in Evansville to raise my kids.

2. What do you like to do in your free time?

What is free time!? Well,  when I actually have “free” time, I spend most of it with my family and our dogs at our secluded cabin retreat in Pike County. We spend our time relaxing, boating, hiking with the dogs, fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, riding atvs, sitting by the fire, and just staring at the stars.

Something I have always loved, but seem to fail to mention, are the years I spent wood working. I enjoyed making things like adirondack chairs, cutting boards, coasters, tables, and more. Hopefully one day I can get back to doing more of it as my kids are becoming more independent.

Traveling has always been something my wife and I try to do as much as we can. I never got to travel as a kid, so we like to explore new places and bury our toes in the sand as well.

3. What or who got you interested in construction and home building?

When I was about 4 or 5 years old, and could swing a hammer, I started working with my father at his construction company in Bloomington, Indiana. I was fascinated with the tools and mesmerization of constructing things such as; houses, cabinets, walls, roofs, you name it!

As I got older my duties increased…. and I even started getting paid! I got to learn hands on through working on unique projects and building really cool one-off custom homes with him throughout the area. So; I owe it all to my Dad for getting me hooked on the construction industry. I even remember when I got promoted to using the skill saw, and one of my first tasks was to cut stair stringers…Yes, my Dad liked to challenge me!

After a few years of living in Evansville, I transitioned to heavy industrial construction management… But when covid began to spread, and the world started changing and I was at my wits end, I decided it was time to get back to my roots and true enjoyment of building custom homes with the support of my lovely wife. 

Now, I own and operate my own custom home building company here in Evansville, Indiana – Custom Homes by Modern Structure. I look forward to helping more customers design and build their dream homes as the company grows. 

4. What organizations are you involved in, and why? (SIBA, etc)

One of the main organizations I am involved with is The Southwestern Indiana Builders Association (SIBA). I became a SIBA member in late 2020, joined the Board of Directors in 2021, was voted SIBA Vice President in 2023, and then became SIBA President in 2024. Currently, I am still serving on the Board as well as several sub-groups including the government affairs group and the scholarship committee. I think highly of SIBA as we advocate and strengthen ourselves to build safe, high quality homes at an affordable price for our communities for the Greater Evansville Area.

I am also very supportive of students that want to start a career in the construction industry. With SIBA, I have spent several years working with Junior Achievement of Southwestern Indiana to help plan and develop the annual Job Spark Event that helps spark thousands of 8th Grade students throughout southern Indiana and Illinois, exploring different careers! 

My drive to help and guide our younger generations into the construction industry has been very strong for the past 20 years. For a few years I was an adjunct instructor at Ivy Tech – Evansville, teaching construction classes from fundamentals of tools, construction scheduling, and project management in the evenings. When I started my business, I wanted to do something unique to help young adults that are highly focused on making a career in the construction industry. So I created The Southern Indiana Career Kickstart Program.

In its first year, I awarded an amazing set of tools to one extremely focused and talented young man, who is now thriving as a carpenter for a large local construction company. As things grew, I started getting additional local companies and suppliers involved. In 2022, we awarded four young adults. In 2023 and 2024 we were able to award five young adults each year. It has been an awesome program to grow, and has been absolute joy to meet these young adults and watch them succeed in life and their construction careers.

With my local SIBA membership – I am also a member of the Indiana Builders Association | IBA). And for the past 2 years I have served on the State IBA Hoosier Excellence Awards – IBA committee and look for additional involvement in the near future. The Indiana Builders Association, does a lot to help Builders keep building costs down, from stopping or making law changes that drive building costs up from where they currently stand, and reducing costly building code changes that drive costs up.

I am also a member of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and hold Certification as an Aging in Place Specialist. With this certification, we are better able to serve our customers with specific and speciality needs for their homes to accommodate “Handicap Accessibility” to “Aging-in-Place” needs.

I have been a Member of The National Kitchen & Bath Association NKBA and The Ohio Valley local chapter for the past few years. They focus on the design and new market trends that are continually changing every year.

Lastly, I am a member of The Westside Sportsman’s Club; as I am an avid trap shooter. I love the sport of shooting because it promotes firearm safety, is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, supports conservation efforts, and it’s a self made development skill!