Chaden Halfhill
Job description: Owner and chief visionary of Silent Rivers Design+Build. Chaden has grown Silent Rivers over the past 20 years to reflect a passion for conscientious design, building excellence, and healthy relationships with the natural environment. Always motivated by opportunity to make things better creatively, Chaden is first a fine artist and sculptor.
Q. Where is your hometown?
A. Des Moines
Q. Family?
A. Married to Cosette Boone – Owner of Willowsong Midwifery Care and Healing Passages Birth and Wellness Center. Children: Sage, 11, and Cedar, 7.
Q. What do you enjoy doing when not working?
A. I leave for the mountains when not working, at which point it doesn’t matter what I am doing as long as the air smells of conifers. Hiking, climbing, biking, camping, and eating in the cool alpine air all suffice.
Q. First job?
A. Paper carrier for the Tribune, and janitor for my grandpa’s repair shop: Harold Robbin’s Inc.
Q. If you could learn any skill?
A. I’d like to learn how to think more like Marc Black, but without the extreme sport tendencies. Upon accomplishing that feat, achieving positive mind-meld, I will then seek to practice yoga on a regular basis and master meditation. I live too much in possibility, and could therefore benefit from the calm effects of similar daily routines.
Q. Favorite Quote?
A. I don’t really have a favorite quote. The relevance of quotes is always changing, as do life’s lessons. Interesting journey, huh?
Q. One modern convenience you would not want to live without?
A. I care less and less about modern conveniences. If everyone functioned without them, I suspect such conveniences would become irrelevant. Sometimes modernity, while exciting, strips us of traditional knowledge and technique.
Q. Favorite place to entertain clients or friends?
A. The Silent Rivers Summertime Celebration!
Q. Favorite super hero?
A. Dumbledore is my current hero, but if I must recall my adolescent preferences: Professor Charles Francis Xavier and Wolverine would take top marks.
Q. Favorite creative outlet or hobby?
A. Starting and building businesses that make the world a better place. Oddly, this creative drive has started to replace my passion for sculpture. Perhaps the two interests will someday convene in the public art arena. Any interested land developers reading this? Let’s talk!
Q. What aspect of the remodeling industry do you enjoy the most?
A. It is a toss-up between the ever-changing, constant problem-solving and the overarching integrity of the people within the industry.
Q. What would you do if you weren’t in the remodeling industry?
A. Had I been the recipient of a trust, I would have focused solely on developing my career as a sculptor and photographer, while ensuring ample time to enjoy the wilderness. Of course, that’s not my reality and spirit led me to existing home renovation. Generally speaking, I prefer to look forward rather than glance backwards in the rearview mirror and wonder what I’ve missed. A better question: where am I going? I want to further bring together science and aesthetics within housing. There remains a large gap, and I believe the future of remodeling will be defined by those companies that seamlessly provide the heart of the craft, the emotion of the artist, and the mind of the engineer. I am excited about the future of the industry and the potential to further define a strong niche for my staff as we prepare for the next twenty years of growth.
Q. How many years have you been a member of the Remodelers Council?
A. No idea. I think Greg Arganbright encouraged me to come to a meeting in 1998, back when there was a fall remodeling show, and well before the inaugural Tour of Remodeled Homes. I have grey hair now, but some will recall that it hung below my shoulder blades back then.
Q. Why membership in the Remodelers Council is important to you?
A. It keeps Marc out to the office…
That said, it also allows his talents to shine outside our company, providing opportunity for leadership development. Regardless of Marc’s involvement, my own participation, or the engagement of other team members, it allows Silent Rivers Design + Build to have a voice in shaping grassroots representation of local remodeling, continuing to protect the industry’s integrity.
Remodel Des Moines 