It’s the little things that count.

And at Sasser Construction, focusing on the little things helped win the team the title of 2010 Southern Living Custom Builder of the Year.

“It’s really just a tremendous compliment for our team,” said Eric Sasser, owner. “We are custom home builders here. We focus on what we need to do to make our customers happy, and this serves as a confirmation that we’re doing our job as we’re supposed to.”

“Southern Living” is a southern lifestyle and entertaining magazine and, based on its readership, is the seventh largest monthly consumer magazine in the United States. It has a monthly circulation of 2.8 million.

Sasser Construction has been building custom homes in Hampton Roads for 24 years and received an exclusive invitation to become a Southern Living Custom Homebuilder, of which there are fewer than 100, in the early ’90s.

“It’s an exclusive honor to be invited to be a Southern Living Custom Homebuilder,” Sasser said. “To be named Builder of the Year is especially exciting.”

Sasser’s honor came as a result of the Falkirk Ridge Southern Living Showcase Home, located at 3002 North James Drive at The Riverfront at Harbour View. The home is on display each Friday through Monday from noon to 4 p.m.

“It’s certainly not the largest or fanciest home we’ve ever built, but it’s all in the details,” said Sasser. “That’s the one constant in our businesses, whether we’re building a 15,000-square-foot mansion or a cottage. We get to know who we’re building for and get right the details to accommodate their lives.”

The Falkirk home boasts two outdoor living spaces — one open space with a fireplace and sitting area in the front and another in the back, on the water that has an outdoor barbecue, as well as air conditioning and motorized screens that can be drawn down to keep the bugs out.

Inside, Sasser’s team blended good looks with functionality in every area of the home. There are wide doors to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers, custom cabinetry, exposed rock in the living room, a master closet with organized shelving, a built-in area for a dog kennel, an electronic charging station and plenty of windows.

“A lot of the details are commonsense stuff that you don’t necessarily think about during the construction phase,” Sasser said. “Most of the living space is all on one level, so people can age in the home or a younger family can have an accessible home for their parents.”

Downstairs, Sasser built a basement with a bar and kitchen area, a game room and home theater that he said has made the home popular among many men.

“Building the home was a chance to do something completely different,” Sasser Construction builder Matthew Hovey said. “We like to be trend setters and on the cutting edge, but as custom home builders we’re often building what our customer is looking for and comfortable with. This gave us an opportunity to branch out and show people what we can do.”