Top Custom Home Trends of 2012

Let’s throw out the rows of cookie cutters and take a look at what’s trending for custom home design in 2012. Every home owner is unique. Expressing individual taste in your home is becoming more popular than ever. People are daring to be different. Networks like HGTV and DIY are challenging homeowners to take on remodeling projects and showing viewers a little ingenuity can go a long way. Here's a list of hot design trends from this past year.

Accent walls are popular in many new homes by adding color and textures to walls. Individual homeowners are able to make spaces in the home individualized, with their own stamp of unique taste. This can be tricky, but on the other hand can be done with flair and grace by our custom home builder company.

Homeowners who favor one color can follow that same color from room to room by adding different accents to the room. Homeowners can create an individual theme in their home geared to their specific taste. While one wall is painted in a favorite color, the opposite wall could be papered, painted with a boarder or present wanes coating, or brick. The brick used could include colors such as gray, red, brown and tan. Using these earth tone colored bricks, the custom home builder can pull colors out of these bricks for the color theme in the rest of the home to make the design flow from room to room.

Homes designed with a separate living space for multi-generation occupancy is popular. More families are being encouraged to take care of their seniors at home, versus a long term nursing facility and homes are being constructed with this concept in mind. This additional living space can also be utilized for the college student, or overnight guest. Our company is seeing more homes being requested with garages or separate living areas that are built at an angle, to offset the home, and this adds additional appeal to the home.

Homeowners are leaning toward nature and requesting trendy screened porches or all-season rooms to enjoy in any weather. These all seasoned rooms are nearly all thermo glass and enjoyed in the coldest or warmest weather, bringing nature into the home. Homeowners are requesting their new home have a wall of windows to add a unique feature to their home in at least one room of the home.

Homeowners are realizing that they need one specific room for individual hobbies or entertainment, and many more families are realizing that in this stressful and busy world, they would like one room of the home designed as a quiet, serene thoughtful room where individuals can rest and relax. A movie theater room is very popular these days for entertaining guests and children. A specific room for movie viewing can be added on or an extra room could be converted for this purpose.

Women homeowners are asking for granite counter tops in the kitchen, with earth tone colors or back to the basic colors, such as black and white throughout the kitchen to add cozy appeal. A designer backsplash behind the kitchen sink in an array of designs are trendy and can be met by our company. Oak cabinets are popular with most homeowners.

More popular today are spacious laundry rooms off the kitchen area or a room built off the kitchen for laundry and sewing are functional and appreciated and can become quite a time-saver. And, a new and surprising addition to the kitchen area is a butcher's pantry with counter tops and glass cupboards. These pantries just of the main kitchen are used as a storage area, as well as a food preparation center. Our company can add this type of class to your kitchen area, and it is also an attractive addition for future selling appeal.

Have fun designing your new home, and with the help of a quality custom home builder, you can achieve the home of your dreams!

The Building Lingo

If you spend any time on a construction site, you're likely to hear words that sound like a foreign language. Worse yet, you may hear words that you thought you knew but which have some specialized meaning to the people around you.
Don't worry! You aren't really on another planet. Like any profession, the home building community has a language all its own. Because we believe effective communication is a critical element in meeting our clients' expectations, we make it a priority to help clients understand the building process. This includes some familiarity with the language of building. Here are several common building terms that, when understood, can help us communicate effectively.

• Cycle time is the number of days between the first day on the job site and a home's completion. We work with our materials suppliers and subcontractors to determine a reliable cycle time so that our clients can move into their new home on time, as promised. Controlling cycle time also enables us to provide accurate estimates and helps us stay within budget.

• "Rough-in": The "rough" stage of construction is the behind-the-wall structural and mechanical work, the parts you don't see when the building is complete. That includes work such as framing the walls, pulling the wiring through the studs, and installing pipes and heating ducts. During this point of the construction process, we can "rough-in" a system or product that provides an upgraded or extra service, such as wiring for a high-speed Internet or digital cable network. Installing a system's "backbone" during the rough-in stage of construction costs significantly less than installing it once the house is finished.

• Staging: To help reduce costs, we stage or organize and schedule the delivery of materials as we need them, rather than receiving a huge load all at once. Staging may also refer to the way we place loads of materials on the job site to make them more accessible to various workers. Both practices help us reduce waste and theft, save time, and keep better track of costs -- all of which keeps budget and cycle time on track.

• Lien Waivers are issued to us by each of our materials suppliers and subcontractors for the work they perform on a house. Lien Waivers (also called lien releases) prove that we have paid the agreed or negotiated costs of labor and materials in full. Lien releases also protect our clients from any liability if suppliers or subcontractors claim that additional payment is due. This type of claim can prevent the closing of the homeowners' loan, so we have a formal process to collect and verify lien releases before the close of escrow on a property.

• Tape and texture: To create a finished wall, our drywall contractor applies tape and texture to hide nail or screw heads and conceal the joints between panels of drywall or gypsum wallboard. The contractor uses a mud-like compound to fill and cover the nail heads and secure a fibrous tape that bridges the joints between adjacent drywall panels. The mud is allowed to dry and is then sanded smooth before applying paint, wallpaper, or other finishes. A quality tape and texture job ensures that cracks or nail heads won't show through finished surfaces.

And this is just a sampling of common terminology used on a building site! We'll be back with more vocabulary in a future edition.

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Excellence vs. Perfection

Famous football coach Bill Walsh was known for demanding perfection from his players during practices, even though he knew they would never attain it. His philosophy was if you don't strive for perfection, you don't have a chance to achieve it.

As professional builders, we follow the same philosophy; plan for perfection to attain excellence. Like Coach Walsh, we don't stand a chance of delivering an excellent new home that satisfies a client's wants and needs if we don't set and expect the highest standards possible.

In the pursuit of excellence, we coach our homebuyers about the building process so that their expectations are high but realistic. We want our homebuyers to push and challenge us to always do better, but it is also our job to define excellence ... and point out the difference between it and perfection.

Our best and most effective method for doing that is listening. Really listening. Not just to find out which floor plan a client prefers, but why and how it will satisfy their lifestyle needs. Not just about which community they want to live in, but also their concerns and questions about the quality of nearby schools, proximity to shopping and public services, and commute routes to work.

In this discovery phase, we craft a strategy for a new home that truly addresses and justifies our client's reasons for making such a significant investment and sets us on course to deliver it according to those expectations.

It is also critical to maintain a regular and open line of communication during the construction process. As during the planning stage, our first job is to listen to and then educate and inform our buyers about the subtleties of new-home construction that are specific to their concerns.

Responding to a buyer's question with "that's just the way it is" or "it's complicated" is unacceptable. Instead, we strive to deliver details, demonstrate our methods, and ensure that questions are answered to a buyer's satisfaction. That approach and level of respect for our buyers helps build a better understanding of our work process all the way through the final walk-through and close of escrow.

Finally, a key component of delivering excellence comes after the sale, once a buyer becomes a homeowner. We make sure to communicate our policies and procedures for warranty service -- once again demonstrating the difference between perfection and excellence. Ideally, we've done an excellent job of building their new home to the point where service callbacks are kept to a minimum; for those small warranty items that crop up after move-in, we work to be responsive and responsible to address them in a timely fashion.

As a homebuyer and owner, it's okay to want the "perfect" home. The best we can do, however, is to strive for perfection and achieve excellence that satisfies the lifestyle needs of our clients and protects their investment now and well into the future.

Homebuilding Myths: The Three-Bid Rule

As the housing industry becomes more sophisticated and conscientious about achieving genuine and lasting homebuyer satisfaction, the level of professionalism among builders continues to reach new heights.

As a result, potential clients searching for a builder to create their dream home have a much deeper pool of talent from which to select. Today's professional builder is not only skilled in construction and client relations, but also highly competent in terms of his or her business expertise.

This new and more professional breed of builder deserves to be evaluated by homebuyers in a new way. Namely by dropping the age-old practice of collecting three bids for the work in favor of a more business-like approach to a very important decision.

Comparative Bidding is Inaccurate:

In theory, the three-bid rule was thought to work because it assumed everything else, other than cost, from the competing builders was equal. This thought process assumed that each builder had assessed and calculated the scope of work, blueprints, and specifications in the exact same way.

In reality, however, such assumptions are rarely, if ever, accurate. Every builder and contractor, professional or not, analyzes a new-home project and estimates its associated costs differently; as a result, the three bids are not apples-to-apples comparisons. The differences can be subtle, but they exist. And those differences render an unequal playing field for competitive bidding creating confusion and misunderstanding.

In addition to being inaccurate as a cost comparison tool, the three-bid rule reduces each builder to a number rather than considering his or her various skills, experience, personality, record of success, and ability to do the work. For this reason, an increasing number of the best homebuilders simply refuse to bid competitively, opting out of such opportunities because they know they are being evaluated only in terms of a cost estimate (that is inaccurate) rather than whether they are the best builder for the job.

The Negotiated Contract: A More Useful Approach

The professional builder prefers a different approach to contractor selection: the negotiated contract. In that scenario, a homebuilder is selected based on his or her abilities for the specific project and personality and how they fit with the homebuyer. These are two critical considerations considering how closely builder and client will interact with each other during the construction of a new home.

The negotiated contract also takes the guesswork out of the project's cost. The budget is shared up-front with each of the builders being considered based on what the buyers can afford, not what the builder (and his stable of trade contractors) thinks it will cost.

Sharing the budget not only removes assumptions and judging a builder's worth based on price alone, but also begins to build trust between homeowner and builder. They can explore honest communication about actual costs and, if necessary, choices that need to be made to match the project's scope with the homebuyer's budget. That's the "negotiated" part of the contract process.

The negotiated contract process is far superior to the three-bid rule in matching personalities between the homebuyer and the builder, as well as between projects and a building company's skills and experience. By first narrowing and then selecting one homebuilder based on everything but the cost of the project, buyers can better make their decision on which builder is most likely to be on-budget and on-schedule and result in a finished home that meets (or ideally exceeds) their expectations.

As the homebuilding industry continues to evolve into an increasingly professional business, it requires new and more effective models for conducting that business. The negotiated contract has strong advantages over the three-bid rule. This approach reflects the new age of new home construction to the benefit of every homebuyer.

Top 5 Questions: Builder References

You just left an impressive presentation with a professional homebuilder, one among the few you're considering for your new home project.

In addition to a brochure about his business and highlights of his recent work and the communities in which he builds, he provided you with a list of recent homebuyers for you to call or email to ask about his quality, ethics, skill, and professionalism.

Now the ball's in your court to actually reach out to those references and gain some valuable inside knowledge about your builder before you consider negotiating and signing a contract for your project.

But what to ask? For many prospective homebuyers, we suggest a few questions to solicit the kind of information that will help them make an informed and confident decision. Of course, you may have your own agenda and priorities, which we encourage; if you need them, these questions just may help get the conversation going.

1. Was the company easy to work with? Ask how the builder managed communication with the buyers before and during construction, ideally through one point of contact (typically the site supervisor) with the authority to make or negotiate decisions as opposed to a bureaucratic quagmire that is frustrating and confusing.

2. Was the jobsite clean? The best builders leave the job site clean at the end of each day. They sweep and haul their trash away, store or take their tools, and stack their materials. Not only does the jobsite look good (as good as anything can under construction), but also is one that's safer should the owners want to check out the progress of the job on their own after work.

3. Did they finish on time? Finishing on time reveals the builder's commitment and organizational skills. If the answer is "no," dig a little deeper into why; it may be that the owner made changes that caused some delays, or that bad weather was an unavoidable factor.

4. Did they finish on budget? Like finishing on time (or within the owner's expectations), finishing on budget indicates a builder's organizational and business acumen, specifically his cost-estimating skills. If the answer is "no," ask why and look for clues about change or special orders by the owners that may have been outside the scope of the original budget, or if the builder neglected to calculate a cost and tried to make the owners pay for it at closing.

5. Did they disappear after move-in? Perhaps a new-home owner's biggest worry is what happens after they close escrow and move in. A builder who has been available to answer questions and respond to reasonable warranty issues is an important indicator of a builder's long-term commitment to the quality of his homes and the ultimate satisfaction of their owners.

This handful of questions probably does not satisfy all of your needs, but it's a start and often will inspire more questions that further reveal whether the builder you're considering is one you can trust and rely on to do the job right.

Maximize the Beauty of Natural Light

Walk into most new homes and you'll notice a big difference from many older homes: an abundance of natural light. In older homes, poor thermal performance forced builders to scale down the size of windows and glass doors.

Today's builders, however, are able to maximize the capture of natural light by taking advantage of advanced technologies and materials, a wider range of sizes and styles, and a number of new products and creative applications.

For clients who prefer a modern look, glass walls can be used to maximize natural light. For those preferring traditional housing design, professional builders usually work within historic housing forms to increase interior natural light. Window manufacturers have helped this effort by providing a wide variety of products to match traditional house styles.

For example, a roof window (or series of these units) over the center of the kitchen can bring in a tremendous amount of natural light without having an adverse impact on a traditional façade. This is especially true if that room is on the back or side of the house and thus out of view from the street. Unlike skylights, roof windows can open to vent stagnant or hot air and odors. They have a flat design, only slightly raised above the roof finish, which further reduces any intrusive appearance.

For smaller interior rooms, such as a water closet, walk-in shower, or storage area, traditional approaches to bringing in natural light are almost impossible, or at least impractical. Tubular skylights offer a solution. From a small, unobtrusive opening in the roof, light enters a tube lined with mirrors and reflective material that magnify available light into the room below. These small devices pour large quantities of light into tight spaces, making them feel more spacious and comfortable.

Fixed or operable transom windows may also be used to bring natural light into interior rooms. Set above passage doors to bedrooms and bathrooms or even in interior walls, transom windows can carry natural light from rooms on the outside perimeter into otherwise dark, inner spaces.

A kitchen backsplash can be used creatively to increase natural light. Glass block or fixed panes of glass may be installed in the space between the countertop and the wall cabinets. Light is brought onto the work surface without sacrificing kitchen cabinets for a large window expanse.

When homeowners prefer traditional architectural styles, experienced home builders will assist homeowners with design and product solutions, made easier with the wide array of technologically advanced windows now available. With new products to choose from and some creative design work, home owners are able to enjoy both their home style of choice and the aesthetic and cost-saving benefits of natural light.

Design for All Ages

Universal Design, or UD, is an architectural practice that allows occupants of all ages and capabilities to live independently and comfortably over a long period of time in the same house.

Thanks to changing demographics, UD is gaining mainstream acceptance. In addition to Baby Boomers looking for well-designed conveniences as they enter their retirement years, an increasing number of multigenerational and blended families (now one-third of all households) seek new homes that accommodate a wide range of ages and capabilities.

Done well, the UD elements of a new home are subtle, almost undetectable ... until you need them. Then you'll thank your builder for having the forethought and concern for your needs, whether for a young child, an elderly parent, or someone recovering from a short-term injury or long-term disability.

While you may have to look closely, here are some strategies that incorporate good universal design:

Wider hallways and doors. It doesn't take much square footage and certainly no more construction time or cost to design and build slightly wider hallways and doorways. Not only does that subtle change make a home feel larger and more comfortable, but also easier to navigate.

Cabinet features. Long desired for bigger base cabinets, pull-out (or roll-out) shelves are an increasingly popular option for tall and upper wall cabinets, making their contents more visible and accessible. Regardless of age or physical capabilities, accessories such as lazy susans, door shelves, slotted drawers, and flip-down fronts enhance the storage capacity and accessibility of kitchen cabinets and bath vanities. Soft-close drawers, meanwhile, protect against pinched fingers.

Hard-surface flooring. Yes, it's slightly more expensive than wall-to-wall carpeting, but a combination of hardwood, polished flat tiles, colored concrete, and resilient floor surfaces throughout the house is not only easier to clean and promote healthier indoor air quality, but also easier to traverse. Where needed, area rugs can soften the surfaces.

Lever handles. For doors, sinks and showers, a single-lever handle instead of a knob (or two) is both fashionable and easier to manipulate. A lever is a better option when you have an armful of groceries, are just able to reach the handle, or lack the strength for gripping. For faucets and showers, levers also allow easier temperature control, which mitigates scalding hazards. Also look for "D"-shaped handles or grips on cabinet doors and drawers instead of conventional knobs.

Appliances. Wall ovens and warming drawers, dishwasher and refrigerator drawers (set side-by-side, not stacked), French-door style refrigerators, and microwave ovens with flip-down doors are just a few examples of appliances that are not only popular but also deliver UD benefits of accessibility and safety.

The market for products and systems that enable attractive yet more accessible home design and function is growing. Professional builders and their home-buyers have many options to create a more accessible, beautiful and contemporary home that suits a wider variety of lifestyle needs now and in the future.

Cooking up the Latest Kitchen Trend

Kitchens have always been the center of a house. It's where everyone congregates at a party, regardless of the host's intentions. It's where the mail, the keys and the family news are dropped on the way in. The kitchen is so important to most people that it is the feature most likely to make or break the purchase of a home.

Not surprisingly, the kitchen is a lightning rod for design and lifestyle trends. In addition to such products as cabinets, appliances, and plumbing fixtures (to name only a few), the layout, function, and look of the kitchen continually evolves to meet contemporary lifestyle and needs. Here are a few current trends to consider:

Outdoor kitchens. Once you experience a true outdoor kitchen with a full range of function, you'll never go back to a rollout charcoal grill again. Outdoor kitchens have become a legitimate industry. Manufacturers offer improved products that better withstand the weather (such as polymer-based cabinet fronts) and refreshment centers that more aptly accommodate outdoor needs, such as snacks and beverages.

New fronts. Raised-panel cabinet fronts are a mainstay in kitchens, but the natural wood look is waning a bit in favor of paint finishes in deep reds and lighter greens. Designers mix and match painted and natural-wood finishes to add distinctive style and to identify subtle differences in function. For appliances, popular stainless steel finishes have evolved into brushed metallic and graphite-like looks to broaden the options and upgrade style.

Secondary kitchens. Also called butler's pantries or prep kitchens, these smaller spaces allow caterers and party-throwers to keep the mess out of the main kitchen (where, as we said, everyone gathers) while also creating a convenient access to food and refreshments from the dining room. Smaller-scale appliances, including warming drawers, built-in coffee makers, and wine chillers, not to mention specialty storage options, suit the function of these spaces. Morning kitchens, located in or adjacent to the master suite, are also gaining popularity.

Specialization. Once upon a time, there was only one sink in the kitchen. Now, there can be a handful, serving specific functions and equipped with varying styles of faucets. Long trough sinks, multi-basin designs with integral cutting boards, small bar basins, and deep, single-basin sinks for large pots and pans can dot every corner of the kitchen.

Zoned approach. The advent of secondary spaces has affected the main kitchen. Smaller-capacity appliances and other products have fostered "snack zones" for busy families. Equipped with a microwave oven, dedicated storage for non-perishables, and various undercounter drawers for refrigerated foods, dishwashing, and warming chores, these zones accommodate a wider (and hopefully healthier) mix of quick meals in a self-contained area.

Center of the universe. The open kitchen plan that includes kitchen, casual eating area and family room is now firmly established. The newest expansion of kitchen function is the kitchen island that extends farther into the living space, serving as an area for homework and crafts, dining and catering, and all-round hangout. Equipped with flush-mounted or concealed under counter electrical outlets, overhead lighting, and ample storage, today's island is considered by many as a home's true center.

5 Key Questions for Your Builder

You've finally decided to build that dream house and have invited us into your living room or have cornered us in our sales center. Now what?

As a professional homebuilder, we are prepared to answer any questions you have as you make a purchasing decision, arguably one of the most important financial choices in your life.

But while we encourage and welcome this dialogue, we often find that homebuyers aren't typically prepared for that opportunity. In many cases, the questions we get are limited to how much does a new house cost (or cost per square foot), what are the carpet or cabinet choices, and whether we can cut a deal.

While those are valid questions, we think they only scratch the surface of what homebuyers need to know to help ensure a satisfying experience with our company or any professional builder.

So here are the top five questions we think homebuyers should ask when they are on the cusp of building a new home with us...and why they matter:

Who will run the job?

We will assign a site superintendent skilled in new home construction to be your main point of contact from groundbreaking through the final walk through. It is important to know who that is, and how to contact him or her, to get the most accurate and up-to-date information and answer questions about your new house. We believe this gives you the best of both worlds; a dedicated supervisor as your day-to-day go to person along with availability from our entire staff in support of you and your new home.

Will workers be there all day, every day?

Understanding how we work and the pacing of a typical new home construction process is critical to having a positive experience. In fact, sometimes (if not often), there are very few people on the jobsite, but that doesn't mean things aren't progressing. There may be an inspection scheduled or a delivery on the way that will trigger crews and subcontractors to return and continue their work...perhaps even later that day, if not the next morning. We keep a tight schedule and our business depends on being efficient, but there are occasional lulls in the process that we'll point out when we go over the building schedule with you.

How often can I stop by the job site?

Your site superintendent will set up a regular schedule for you to visit the site, ask any questions, and discuss the project and its progress, usually at key points in the process. Unscheduled visits can affect the schedule and pace of work...and be dangerous depending on the work going on.

Can you supply references?

We are happy to provide you with a list of people who have recently purchased homes from us, and we encourage you to call them and ask about their experience and level of satisfaction as you make your own purchasing decision. Any professional builder should have references at the ready, including financial partners, trade contractors, materials suppliers, and others we work with that can provide perspective on our professionalism and track record of performance.

How do you handle changes?

Most people don't ask this question because they can't envision making a change to a decision during construction, but it happens all the time. We work diligently with you to create a detailed list of specifications for your house before we break ground, but we also have change order policies and procedures in place -- which we share with you up front and in the sales contract -- to account for changes after building begins.

Armed with the answers to this handful of questions, we think you'll be more confident in your homebuying decisions and more likely to be satisfied with the end result.

Maintain Your Home's Value

We pride ourselves on building and delivering homes that bring our clients' vision and imagination into reality. We build dreams. Along with a focus on aesthetics, we construct homes that are designed to maintain their luster and beauty for decades. But this is only possible if a home is nurtured and cared for over time.

Once they have settled into their new home, it becomes increasingly the client's responsibility to maintain it. As a professional builder, we have a period of time in which we respond to warranty service calls and address questions from our new homeowners. Eventually the baton is passed to our owners for regular home maintenance. This helps insure a comfortable, secure and safe living environment and protects an important financial investment over time.

And while every house we build is slightly different, specifically with regards to the various exterior and interior finishes, they all need to be cared for properly to retain our clients' investment and maximize their quality of life. We see it as our responsibility to educate and help our clients tackle their role as 'good stewards' of their home.

Wood Floors. All types of wood flooring material, whether solid wood, composite, or laminate, require regular care. For prefinished products, no waxing is required. Clean these surfaces using a regular application of warm, soapy water. To maximize the life of wood flooring, keep it dry and free of debris that can cause scrapes and discolor the finish.

Drainage. An engineered combination of a home's roof design, gutter system, and placement on the lot, work together to shed water from the house and its foundation. To maintain an optimum level of drainage, have gutters cleaned twice a year, ideally before the rainy seasons. Also, adjust the gutter's downspouts to empty into splash blocks or extend at least two feet away from the home's exterior walls. If you add shrubs, flowerbeds, or other landscaping around your house, angle (or grade) the dirt away from the home's foundation.

Appliances. Refer to your homeowner's manual or binder to find the user manuals to all of the kitchen and other major appliances in the house. These guides typically include seasonal and periodic maintenance tips. For instance, your refrigerator coil should be cleaned twice a year; check the seal of the door gasket, as well, to make sure you're not wasting energy. In addition, the clothes dryer vent hose (between the dryer and the wall) and the vent louvers on the outside of the house should be cleaned out at least semi-annually. Every three months, replace the furnace filter, clean out the dishwasher strainer, and drain and flush sediment from your water heater. Such maintenance chores allow these appliances to operate at their optimal performance and extend their usable lives.

Air ducts and ventilation. Air ducts and vent registers can become clogged or stifled with debris, reducing their ability to distribute conditioned air and keep your house comfortable. About every two years, hire a professional service company to clean them out. For the same reason, clean the filters and check the general operation of ventilation fans in the kitchen and bathrooms so they work efficiently, as well.

Roofing. Make regular and thorough roof inspections. Pay attention for missing or damaged shingles or voids in the flashing that may allow moisture or air infiltration. Replace or repair as soon as possible to ward off problems that can occur unnoticed or unseen.

By following these guidelines, the time and energy owners invest in their home will continue to provide dividends well into the future.

Got Stuff? Storage Options

One of the by-products of a consumer-based society is that we all collect "stuff," from sports equipment and garden tools to holiday decorations, craft and hobby gear, and clothing. In some cases, people have so much stuff that it commandeers their closets, outdoor sheds, and garages to the point of overflow and disorganization.

Homebuyers want relief from their storage woes. To that end, a variety of products and organizational ideas that can add convenient capacity have cropped up for every nook and cranny of the house.

Overall, the most popular trend in storage is the use of modular, adjustable systems that can easily be manipulated to accommodate changing storage needs. In any storage setting, be it a garage or a walk-in master suite closet, these systems employ a simple backbone of tracks or channels secured to the walls on which you can hang a wide variety of components without any penetrating fasteners.

In a clothes closet, for example, the system can include open shelves, door and drawer cabinets, tilted shoe racks, hanger poles, hooks, and laundry hampers. These pieces and parts can be arranged based on a homeowner's particular needs; as those needs change, the components can be moved, replaced, or supplemented.

The garage is another area well suited to these storage systems. There are now wall-hung cabinets, shelving, hooks, and other handy components with the ability to be moved to any point along tracks or channels secured to the wall. Garage storage systems feature cabinets and work surfaces with lock-in-place castors that allow owners to easily bring those elements out into the open, or even to the outside, for better, safer, and more convenient access to their "stuff."

In both of these settings, the storage system typically raises the wall-hung components above the floor, making it easier to vacuum the carpet or sweep out the garage. Doing so reduces the perception (or reality) of clutter.

In the kitchen, cabinet and appliance manufacturers offer several options to increase storage capacity. In addition to handy drop-down drawers and roll-out shelves, many of the latest cabinet companies provide in-drawer organizers, dedicated trash and recycling bins, and adjustable shelving to suit a variety of needs.

In the laundry room, pedestal drawers set underneath the washer and dryer provide additional and convenient storage while raising the height of the washer and dryer, making them easier to use, as well.

Today's modular storage systems are available in a wide variety of styles and price points, from luxurious, all-wood components that enhance any master suite to ventilated coated wire sections that make sense for kids' rooms and utility areas. Even if there is enough land and ample budget to build a large house with plenty of closets and space for stuff, it's only smart to make those areas, and the entire house, as space-efficient and valuable as possible.

What Can Your Builder Control?

Homebuilding is a highly specialized and complex process. And like builders themselves, no two clients are exactly the same. Some homeowners are very interested in the homebuilding process, while others are more content to follow the lead of the builder and be available only when needed. Most clients fall somewhere in between. Regardless of their approach or comfort level with new home construction, clients play a vital role in its success.

The ideal homeowner is a partner, making appropriate and timely decisions to help ensure the home is completed on schedule. In addition, pro-active homeowners become educated about the home building process so that they understand and respect its nuances.

A critical part of that education is knowing what is and is not in a builder's control and having realistic expectations for how issues will be managed, questions answered, and problems solved.

One of the most obvious issues is the weather. Rain, freezing temperatures, and other severe climate conditions are out of any earthly being's control. When the weather results in delays in the delivery of materials or their installation, however, it can have a ripple effect on the entire construction schedule. While professional builders cannot control the weather, they can prepare for it by communicating regularly with subcontractors and materials suppliers to gauge their availability once the weather clears and keeping homeowners informed about changes to the schedule.

Likewise, outside circumstances -- such as a natural disaster in another part of the country, or even global trade trends -- may cause the cost and availability of construction materials and labor to become volatile or unreliable. With proper controls in place, however, a professional builder should be able to mitigate or adjust for delays and cost overruns by providing adequate lead time for materials delivery and making sure each trade partner finishes his phase of the work before the next one begins.

To avoid other common delays, smart and successful builders are aware of how long it takes to get approval from the local building department to begin construction and the amount of time an inspector needs to schedule a job site visit to check over the progress to date.

But even under the best of circumstances, barring any problems caused by weather or other outside forces, there's always a risk in relying on other people to help complete any job, whether it's the construction of a house, providing input on a financial report, or creating an advertising campaign. Increasingly, the housing industry exemplifies this shared responsibility among a complex network of players, as builders rely on subcontractors and materials suppliers to deliver pieces of the puzzle on time, within budget, and according to specifications and standards.

In fact, a builder's role is often akin to a manager as much as it is a craftsman. Builders must manage complex scheduling and supervision of various trade partners. It's a job that requires no less skill than building a wall or installing a heating system.

As a homeowner, consider what you can reasonably expect your builder to control. Communicate with your builder to be sure he knows and agrees with those expectations. This will help ensure a coordinated effort toward achieving overall success and satisfaction with the finished home.

Irving E. Schottenstein Build of the Year

Last Friday, Zenios Michael Zenios was awarded the Irving E. Schottenstein Builder of the Year from the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio. This award is voted on by Zenios peers and is a great honor. Thank you everyone for their support!

Where's the Value? New Homes, Existing Homes, Short Sales or Foreclosures

In the current housing economy, it's tempting to buy a "short sale" or recently foreclosed home, especially one that was built during the recent housing boom and is being offered at a bargain-basement price.

But that strategy is full of pitfalls and potholes. It's well-documented that owners of homes in foreclosure tend to neglect their property, knowing there's no point in maintaining it. They are likely distraught and distracted at the prospect of being evicted from their home, and understandably might focus on more important things than fixing the gutters or repairing a leak.

The result is often a home in poor condition with extra expenses required to bring it back up to par, much less to your standards. After all, a home is the center of your family's life, a safe haven, a shelter. Walking into a money pit of repairs and service issues -- some of which you may not even know about until after you've moved in -- threatens that security and quality of life. Is it worth the risk?

By comparison, a newly built home provides you with exactly what you want from the get-go. It reflects your specific needs now and into the future, as well as your style and other aesthetic preferences. It's fresh, unblemished, and ready for making memories.

A new home offers other advantages over an existing home, and especially a short sales or foreclosure, including:

Better Quality. As a professional builder, we are dedicated to delivering a high level of construction and finish quality in our new homes. Not only do buyers demand that our homes be better-built (and rightly so), but we also have the knowledge, skill, strong trade partnerships, and commitment to continually evaluate and refine our building practices and materials to improve that high level of quality.

Better Plans. We and other quality builders were offering "customization" long before it was necessary to satisfy or attract potential homebuyers. That means we work closely with you to determine your needs and find a floor plan and house style that matches your tastes and lifestyle requirements.

The result is a floor plan that is uniquely yours: functional, comfortable, flexible, and efficient. Trying to find exactly what you want and need in that regard in a foreclosed home or older house is unlikely, and probably would require remodeling.

Better Technology. Today's homes and their occupants demand a high level of technological capability and convenience. Personal computers and other electronics have become part of our daily lives. Homes now require a "future-proofed" design that won't become obsolete anytime soon, everything from a docking and sync station for smart phones to a network of cable and communication wire for flat-screen televisions.

Technology is moving so quickly these days that few homes built even five and certainly 10 or more years ago simply can't compete on that level, leaving you and your family wanting (and needing) more. Current wiring and wireless networking systems are available and increasingly affordable ... ready for the foreseeable future.

Better Service. If the recession taught the building industry anything, it's that customer service needed to be improved. Existing homes, bank foreclosures, and short sales offer zero service after the sale.

Meanwhile, a professional builder offering a new home tailored to your needs -- especially a company that survived the downturn -- is well equipped and eager to make sure the experience is satisfying from start to well past the finish, giving you peace of mind and the highest quality living environment.

Maximize Your Home's Value

The great thing about a new house is that everything is, well, new. Nothing is scratched, stained, or worn out. It's wonderful: Everything works! That's one of the main attractions of buying a new home.

But, as any homeowner knows, the rigors of day-to-day living can cause that blissful new-home feeling to fade. It's an inevitable process, but one that can be stemmed or slowed with proper maintenance of key systems and finishes.

Once homeowners take the keys to their new home, they become responsible for maintenance of the entire structure and all its systems. Typically, professional builders will ease that transition with a warranty, but ultimately the baton is passed to the owners to protect their investment, enjoy the comforts and maintain the value of their new home.

The thought of staying on top of everything in a home can seem daunting, but really, it comes down to common sense, some diligence, and a short list of critical products and systems, including:

• Heating and cooling. It's a simple thing everyone has heard before. Changing the furnace filter every three months goes a long way toward maintaining the proper operation of a home's entire air distribution system. A clean filter keeps dust, moisture, and other allergens out of the ductwork to help ensure fresh and healthy indoor air. Clean filters and ducts also put an easier load on the furnace, prolonging its life and use less energy. Beyond that, homeowners should have the ducts and carpets professionally cleaned every 2-3 years.

• Drainage. Rain and other sources of water, must be directed away from the home to maintain the structural integrity of the foundation. To preserve the drainage and watershed design of a house, gutters should be inspected, and when necessary, cleaned and repaired in the fall and early spring. Downspouts should have extensions or splash blocks to direct or disperse runoff away from the house, if they are not already installed. As new landscaping is added, the dirt against the house (called "backfill") must be checked again to be sure that it continues to slope away from the structure. Plantings should be set at least 18 inches away from the foundation, as well.

• Roofing and siding. A new home's exterior finishes -- mainly roofing and siding materials -- are designed to last for at least 20 years and usually longer. That being said, any cracks, voids, or other damage to these finishes can lead to leaks and related moisture problems. Visually inspect the roof and sidewalls of the house at least annually for the first five years of ownership, and then semi-annually after that. And, of course, make any repairs immediately.

The effort and consistency you put into maintaining your home will pay dividends for you and your family in the future. Following these basic maintenance tasks are key components in retaining your homes new look and feel, while protecting the value of your investment.

Realty Times - Five Great Things about Homeownership

Realty Times - Five Great Things about Homeownership

Safety First

There's no getting around it: construction can be a hazardous job. We say "can be" because professional builders respect those hazards and equip and train their workers and subcontractors to mitigate safety issues as much as possible. By doing so, professional builders protect their businesses and their clients from liability.

The federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) provides specific guidelines and regulations for homebuilders and contractors regarding the prevention of accidents on a residential job site. The penalties for failing to comply with those rules range from hefty fines to shutting down the job until violations are corrected.

Professional builders not only comply with those regulations, but also often take extra steps to help ensure a safe working environment on every project, and to help keep everyone out of harm's way.

Inspection. As directed by OSHA, professional builders continually inspect their job sites for potential hazards, and may even have a safety manager that regularly visits each site. Common hazards may include ladders or scaffolding that are unsecured or set on uneven ground, unmarked trenches, or an incomplete or missing first aid kit.

If violations are found, they are quickly reported and remedied to get the company back into compliance. And, they are corrected for the next job.

Education and Training. It is critical to continually educate workers, to train and equip them to recognize and avoid construction job site hazards and accidents.

In addition to a written safety and health program required by OSHA, professional builders often conduct what's called "Toolbox Talks" on the subject of safety, perhaps showing a video, presenting a report, or (even better) showing workers a real-world example of a common hazard and how to remedy or avoid it.

Builders who are dedicated to safety also equip their crews with the latest in safety gear, from guardrails on ladders and scaffolding to hard hats, gloves, eye protection, and personal harnesses -- and keep that gear in optimum working order. These builders also require their trade partners to follow these same safety procedures with their employees.

Incentives. Smart builders often use incentives to help ensure safety. A worker who reports or remedies a job site hazard may earn a bonus, time off, or some other reward that recognizes his or her initiative and sets an example for the rest of the crew.

Builders may also track and publicly post job site safety achievements, such as the number of days without an accident or time lost to a job site injury. Those accomplishments may earn the company recognition from OSHA or acknowledgement from the company that insures the builder against liability and worker's compensation -- lowering the builder's overhead costs and enabling them to be more competitive for future jobs.

Including Owners. Savvy and safety-conscious builders know that their homeowner clients will want to occasionally visit the job site to see progress, make decisions and discuss concerns. Safety is no less a priority for those instances.

Homebuyers can go a long way to keeping themselves safe on the job site by following the same rules and procedures as the crew. We encourage them to wear hard hats and safety goggles and avoid visiting and walking through a house under construction without supervision, after hours, and on weekends, as they may not be aware or are unprepared to avoid hazards.

The Savvy Homebuyer: Understand your Builder

Let's face it: Homebuilders don't always have the best reputations. The prospect of building a new home can cause a lot of anxiety, stemming from a combination of mystery, misperceptions, myths and illusions most people have about the homebuilding profession.

While some builders earn that reputation, the professional builder successfully exposes any preconceived notions a prospective buyer might have about the building business and the construction process. They work hard to clarify their motivations and approach to construction. They seek to view the project from the client's perspective and meet their needs and desires.

Getting to know a builder can foster a greater respect and a higher level of confidence for a company's ability to deliver a high-quality new home.

First, it is important to understand that professional builders are business people. They build homes because it's their chosen profession. Of course, like any business person, they are interested in making money; a professional builder, however, makes money honestly, and seeks to earn a reasonable profit.

As building and business professionals, we constantly refine our approach to business, adhere to predetermined building schedules, and establish reliable and lasting partnerships with building products suppliers, financial institutions, and specialty trade contractors. We live in the areas where we build and are active in our communities. We rely on a strong local reputation to continue to build our business.

Some builders, though, lack the business and communication skills to be successful, resulting in dissatisfied customers and ruined reputations that often blanket the entire industry. This is not an industry-wide scheme to separate homebuyers from their money. Rather, it's just an unfortunate slice of society that both buyers and professional builders have to endure.

Unlike almost any other industry, a builder's work is exposed to the public; while cars and washing machines are assembled in factories and seen only on the showroom floor, a house is on display from foundation to finish. This can lead to misinterpretations or misunderstandings between a builder and a homebuyer. Often, however, what looks to be incomplete or irregular during one stage of construction is quite different from the eventual finished product.

Given those circumstances it is also important to understand that builders are engaged in the home building process every day and over many years. They gain experience and have a unique perspective. They have a vision of a home's progress that extends well beyond daily progress, one that few owners can truly share or comprehend.

As a result of that perspective, a builder may occasionally appear to take a casual approach to what a nervous homebuyer perceives to be a problem on the job site. Simply, the builder has likely seen or heard about it many times during his career, knows implicitly how he'll deal with the situation and has significantly less emotion invested in a home than a client does.

Successful builders listen closely to their buyers' concerns, respect an owner's questions and patiently communicate solutions. They understand that building a house is a considerable emotional investment, a potential source of anxiety and a financial risk. Understanding this, builders seek to ease those burdens.

By the same token, an informed and understanding homebuyer recognizes that the construction process is second nature to a professional builder. When both a homeowner and a builder respect each other's roles and approaches to the business of homebuilding, it fosters better and more open communication, opens the opportunity to develop trust and maximizes the prospect of achieving a successful and satisfying project.

Practical Green

Green building is certainly a hot topic these days. For builders striving to reduce the environmental footprints of the homes they build, the process encompasses a wide range of materials, products and systems.

But does building green really mean anything to you as a homebuyer? You may recognize and perhaps even appreciate seeing the Energy Star label on windows and appliances, but what's the tangible benefit of recycled-content drywall or certified wood doors to your daily life ... and your pocketbook?

As a professional builder who is ready and able to respond to what our homebuyers want -- including homes with better energy efficiency and indoor air quality -- we also recognize that buyers need to see how our efforts impact them personally.

To that end, we strive to educate our clients about the various “green building” methods and materials we employ. Along with contributing to our planet, we approach this from the perspective of the practical benefits to our owners and their families.

Hidden Gems. The bulk of a comprehensive green building effort happens behind the finishes. Instead of touting the R-value of the attic insulation or the solar heat gain coefficient of the windows, we talk about comfort: no more drafty feelings by windows and doors; no more temperature differences between floors or rooms; the ability to walk around in your bare feet. Those benefits seem to resonate far better than any technical information.

Easy Recycling. We not only want to encourage but also help facilitate recycling household waste. So we increasingly provide convenient bins within the kitchen and laundry cabinets to make it easier to collect those items and get them to the curb and out of the landfill.

In that same vein, we have also installed handy compost bins in the kitchen to collect vegetable clippings and other organic matter that can be added to a larger compost pile or collector outside and used to improve soil for a vegetable or flower garden -- allowing homebuyers to extend an interest in local produce and organic foods.

Breathe Easier. To help save energy and boost indoor comfort, green builders often use non-toxic paints, flooring, and other interior finishes -- as well as ventilation systems -- that improve the quality of the indoor air.

Rather than explore the world of vent fans and semi-gloss paint, we often phrase our efforts in terms that address allergies, respiratory problems, and other sensitivities that our homebuyers might suffer ... and will appreciate not having in their new homes.

Future Green: Monitors and Electric Cars. While certainly not mainstream, in-home computer programs that allow homeowners to see and adjust their use of energy and water are great visual reminders of green building efforts that also help to optimize them.

Similarly, we've seen electric car chargers that run on the home's electrical service (or even solar energy) that can accommodate all-electric or hybrid cars, allowing homeowners to conveniently serve that investment in sustainable living.

The bottom line is that builders often get caught up in the details and technical specs of green building; professional builders understand that to be truly beneficial, those efforts have to improve the quality of everyday life.