Season 3
SEASON 3 EPISODE 1
In this episode of Land Language, we sit down with Emma Kraft Saldivar, President of Kraft Custom Construction, the Salem, Oregon design-build remodeling company her father, Robert Kraft, founded in the early 1982. We discuss longevity planning, the questions that come before any talk of materials, and where a building budget earns its keep over decades. The conversation also includes stormwater and what happens when builders and landscape designers start planning at the same table.
" How do you create a space that feeds all of the things, not just for who you are right now, but for your future self?"
—Emma Kraft Saldivar
Emma’s psychology background shows up in how she runs a project. A first call with Kraft prioritizes how long you plan to live in the house, who lives there with you, and what finally led you pick up the phone.
The conversation we keep coming back to is her case for the parts of a home nobody sees. Electrical, heating, cooling, and in a garden, the soil. Get those right and the next change, ten or twenty years out, doesn't have to start with tearing everything down.
Topics include:
Designing a home for your future self
Building trust through curiosity
Wellness gardens, hobby rooms, and spaces built around how you live
Where to spend high and where to go medium or low
Good bones: investing in what you can't see
Stormwater and bringing experts together on one team
Emma Kraft Saldivar is the second-generation owner and president of Kraft Custom Construction, a design-build remodeling company serving Oregon’s Willamette Valley since 1982. She leads the company with a focus on thoughtful design, lasting craftsmanship, and creating homes that support the way people live today while standing the test of time. With a background in social work, Emma brings a people-centered approach to the remodeling process, grounded in listening, understanding her clients’ needs, and helping them make informed decisions about their homes.
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