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A unique gate or fence makes approaching a small home feel like opening a tiny jewel box.
Designed in three separate structures, this 5,000-square-foot home integrates with and blends into the surrounding desert landscape.
Landscaping holds considerable sway over your project's curb appeal.
Projects with both beauty and brains win the highest accolades in the 2008 Gold Nugget Awards competition.
No conversation about green building can commence without a discussion about the site.
Of course, post-industrial houses do have their benefits (indoor plumbing, beer fridges, hi-def surround sound), so the task becomes figuring out how to integrate antiquity’s greatest green lessons into designs that meet the lifestyle demands of today. That is what Tradewinds, our show home for the 2008 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., set out to do.
As they ponder whether the parched Western U.S. will have enough water to meet the future needs of growing populations there, most builders and developers see a glass that's more than half full.
Deirdre Irwin, the coordinator of the Florida Water Star program for the St. Johns River Water Management District in Palatka, Fla., says she's probably the only person who's happy about the slump in the housing market. That's because it's given builders the time to participate in Water Star, a LEED-type certification program that rates new-construction homes on water conservation. "The response has been overwhelming," she says. "Our timing was fortunate. A lot of builders told me if I'd come to them two years ago, they wouldn't have been able to talk to me because they were too busy."
The housing market is hurting everyone, and 2007 will surely go down as the year many builders crashed and burned. But there are a few Teflon ventures that have managed to defy the odds and rack up healthy sales in an otherwise weary landscape. And they aren't necessarily using incentives or gimmicks to move inventory. In many cases, savvy design is what's helping these beacons outshine the competition and snap buyers out of their inertia.
When the June 2007 Angora Fire burned its way into the residential streets of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., firefighters were ready. The neighborhoods, unfortunately, were not.
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October 2007 news and views from the world of green building.
Single women now represent 22 percent of home buyers, up 14 percent from a decade ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. So what exactly do they seek in a home?
TimberTech. Dress up any deck with the Classic Black composite railing system. The industry's first black composite railing is made with the same precision as the maker's other composite materials for a durable, attractive surface. The low-gloss finish complements all TimberTech decking, including tropical styles. 800.307.7780.
LAST YEAR, FORBES PROCLAIMED SAGAPONACK, N.Y., the country's most expensive zip code, with a median home price of $2.7 million. When architect Michael Lomont staked out a street address for his young family in this once agrarian community on the eastern tip of Long Island, he paid less than half that amount—$1.3 million including land, site work, and construction costs—and ended up with a brand-new home. The 3,000-square-foot abode he designed and built on a 1.25-acre lot, just a half mile from the beach, is a soulful place with a zen-like quality. And it's green, too.
In recent years, The New American Home has been a beacon of innovation with regard to energy and resource efficiency, earning local and national distinction for low energy consumption and the use of sustainable construction materials and methods.
THE PEPPERING OF quaint towns between Boston and Providence, R.I., are what many would consider the quintessence of New England. Rich in colonial history and succinct in their Shaker pragmatism, these villages have long been celebrated for their simple beauty.
When RÖhe & Wright acquired the 24-unit apartment building that would eventually be razed and resurrected as Cheyne Walk, there was one small sticking point: It still had tenants. So the Houston-based builder/developer gave the existing occupants ample notice, served as landlord for one year while its partners replatted the site, and worked with residential designer Preston Wood to conceive the plans for the 14 luxury carriage homes that would take its place.
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When RÖhe & Wright acquired the 24-unit apartment building that would eventually be razed and resurrected as Cheyne Walk, there was one small sticking point: It still had tenants. So the Houston-based builder/developer gave the existing occupants ample notice, served as landlord for one year while its partners replatted the site, and worked with residential designer Preston Wood to conceive the plans for the 14 luxury carriage homes that would take its place.
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The 2006 National Sales and Marketing Awards: Other Winners and Judges.