One of the more challenging aspects of modern residential engineering is the hybrid nature of modern construction.
A winner from the 2005 Watermark Awards for kitchen and bath design.
SPECIAL FOCUS—Pocket Wall: AN OPEN-PLAN KITCHEN CAN feel a little too much on display. The solution here was to build a pocket wall that can be pulled out to separate the kitchen from the dining room.
Ultimate Family Home, Las Vegas
IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A young urban hipster living in a large apartment, you may not need several bathrooms—in which case, you might want to consolidate. The owner of this Chicago condo asked Environ HarleyEllis to merge his two full baths to create one large open space. “He wanted a customized...
MERIT—Best kitchen in a single-family detached custom home—3,000 to 5,000 square feet: ON THE SURFACE, THIS Texas kitchen looks like a typical big kitchen in a typical high-end custom house. But this one, home to a chef/food chemist and his wife, is more than just a collection of high-style...
MERIT—Best kitchen in a single-family detached custom home—over 5,000 square feet: REAL COOKS USE THIS kitchen, so much of the action centers around the 48-inch-wide Wolf range, its 1,200-cfm hood, the Grohe pot filler, and the materials used on either side of the stove top.
WHEN ARCHITECT ROBERT Nichols set out to remodel his 1950s split-level, he made sure to place the kitchen in a central location. That's pretty typical of most renovations, but for this architect, wanting plenty of open sight lines went beyond mere aesthetics. Nichols is hearing impaired, so it's...
MERIT—Best kitchen in a single-family detached custom home—over 5,000 square feet: BUILDER TED SCHMIEDEKE knows that Old World can mean just about anything these days, so he was determined to bring some authenticity to this 6,500-square-foot home—especially the kitchen, which is dominated by a...
MERIT—Best kitchen in a single-family detached custom home—3,000 to 5,000 square feet: THERE ARE TIMES WHEN the best parts of a modern-day kitchen have little to do with food prep. That's certainly the case with The Aubrey, which boasts what just about any family wants in a kitchen: a large island...
THE NAME ALONE—MASTER bath pavilion—conjures a private world full of serenity and peace, just the components you'd want in a master bathroom. In this case, an enlarged master bath became a separate pavilion for a practical reason: There just wasn't enough square footage in the original footprint of...
KITCHENS IN LARGE CUSTOM homes are often unused trophy spaces that exist for the catering staff. This kitchen is different. It is located in the center of the home to capture views and also to allow communal cooking.
GALLEY KITCHENS HAVE their proponents, but just about any homeowner who has expanded beyond the constraints of this classic plan ends up relishing the new sense of freedom that an open kitchen imparts. That was definitely the case when the owner of this 1950s modern home expanded the existing...
A SMALL HOME WITH A COMBINED kitchen/living/dining room is often seen as a drawback. To solve this problem, architects sometimes try to minimize the impact of upper cabinets and other accoutrements of the utilitarian space by tucking them behind doors or walls. Barnes Vanze Architects chose a...
In kitchens, high-end, Old World luxury is still going strong. In the bath, the trend toward mini (and not so mini) spa-like sanctuaries continues.
The question that's on everyone's mind is when to expect a resurgence in market-rate apartment building.
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The market for manufactured homes has been shattered in recent years, because low interest rates and financing have stolen some of their makers' advantage.
Builders like Bruce Alexander helped make Epmark the 40th ranked company in the 2005 Builder 100.
Al Hoffman is chairman of the board of directors at WCI Communities, the 39th ranked company in the 2005 Builder 100.
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Pulte Homes, a strong advocate of vertical integration, put its money where its mouth was in late 2003 when it entered into a joint-ownership deal for Phoenix-based Pratte Development. That business, now called Pratte Building Systems, provides turnkey installation of concrete foundations, framing...
NO STEROIDS HERE. That's not to say that the BUILDER 100 companies didn't enjoy the effects of natural performance enhancers last year. Continued strong demand drove home prices ever higher—11.17 percent, on average—and interest rates that were expected to rise in step with the Federal Reserve...
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WHEN PEOPLE NEED weather information, they check with local TV stations or any of the many sites on the Web. But we all know how accurate local weather broadcasters are, and with so many Internet-based sites, which one do you use? One company says its site, www.accuweather.com, is the best way for...
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Charter Homes, based in Lancaster, Pa., announced plans to redesign and rehabilitate an abandoned and fire-ravaged former bakery as its new 16,000-square-foot office headquarters. The builder says it will preserve many of the building's original interior features, including an exposed brick wall...
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The Michigan Association of Home Builders filed a lawsuit earlier this year to stop the enforcement of new state-mandated energy rules for new and remodeled homes. The new rules would require builders to add insulation in basements and exterior walls, and install more efficient windows and...
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ATLANTA-BASED MORRISON Homes is no longer building in its home market—one of the nation's hottest—and as of early March was in active discussions with several builders to sell off its Atlanta division.
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The real estate boom has reached the second-home market, and baby boomers who are now in their peak home buying years stand to reap the biggest rewards. The second-home market is being fueled by the escalation of primary home values, which is giving buyers more access to money than they used to...
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Ads for everything from plumbers to the rock band Kiss are covering the roofs of hurricane-damaged homes in the Florida Panhandle, courtesy of a billboard company. Months after hurricanes devastated the area, roofers and insurance settlements for repairs continue to be in short supply, and the blue...
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Inventories of new homes in the Dallas area are about twice what they were four years ago. Builders are responding by offering lots of perks: from free maid service for a year to fancy appliances, landscaping, interior upgrades, and even cash decorating allowances.
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Efforts by Republicans in Wisconsin to freeze property taxes met Gov. Jim Doyle's veto pen in February. The bill, while politically popular, provided no guarantees of alternative methods of fund raising. As a result, it would have denied school districts the ability to raise property taxes, Doyle...
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A bill filed in the Texas state senate would curb the power of HOAs by limiting their ability to foreclose on property owners over association fines. SB 244, authored by state Sen. Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio, prohibits HOAs from foreclosing when the debt on a lien consists entirely of delinquent...
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Buyers inquires about home-technology solutions presents five opportunities for builders to sell.
The Estridge Home Experience offers the public the opportunity to see the latest in home décor trends, learn about Estridge communities, observe the options and upgrades process, and buy something wonderful for their home
AN OPEN KITCHEN SOMETIMES can be a little too open, at least when it comes to the cook. “I always try to protect the cook from the guests,” says architect Rebecca Swanston. “I try to do it in such a way that's very comforting to guests but that still keeps them out of the cooking space.”
WHEN PROFESSIONAL REMODELERS redo their own kitchen, you can be sure that every last cabinet, finishing detail, and appliance has been thoroughly thought through. Susan and Kelvin Pierce, owners of Commonwealth Home Remodelers in Vienna, Va., had planned on two renovations when they bought their...
FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, Bob McDermott and James Gentner talked about renovating the kitchen in their 1920s row house “to give Bob a place to do his cooking endeavors in the appropriate way,” says David Knudson, the Washington architect who got the call. “We finally did that.”
GRAND/KITCHEN OF THE YEAR—Best kitchen in a single-family detached remodeled home—less than 3,000 square feet
Profile of James Previti, owner/CEO of Frontier Homes.
The nationwide median selling price for new homes topped $200,000 for the first time in 2004. That price is where “affordable” housing begins in many markets. But in Houston, builders selling homes above $133,000 get hit with impact fees, which explains why 48 percent of the units Royce Homes...
Standard Pacific Homes entered Florida with a splash in 2002 by acquiring four builders there. Three years later it's still making waves in the Sunshine State, where the company projects its closings this year will increase 68 percent to 4,700 units, and where the homes its Florida divisions build...
LAST YEAR, FIRST HOME Builders of Florida was struggling with too much of a good thing. Sales were soaring, and, coupled with significant price increases, so were the company's revenues. Yet, despite the record demand, the Fort Myers, Fla.–based builder couldn't find the trades it needed to close...
IN 2001, OFFICIALS AT M.D.C. Holdings raised the bar for their Denver-based company when they set it on an ambitious course to double its size within five years. The builder, which markets itself as Richmond American Homes, would no longer confine its growth to existing markets and would more...
The town-building principles that Verrado followed are creating district cores and centers of activity; neighborhoods organized around town features; connectivity through broader "icon" streets with double rows of trees; diversity of product type; and plenty of parks.
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Why It Worked: Market research showed that despite its equal distance from Chicago and Milwaukee (40 miles), Zion was a relatively untapped market for new-home construction. A land plan that includes walking paths, gazebos, and open green space is unique to the area.
NEW-HOME BUYERS ARE FOCUSED ON ENTERTAINMENT and communications—and they want the latest flat-panel monitors and audio systems to blend seamlessly into their homes, according to the “CEA/NAHB 2005 Home Builder Study,” the third annual study on home technology jointly sponsored by the Consumer...
A recent merger whittles down the structured wiring market to a handful of major players: On-Q Legrand, Honeywell, General Electric, Leviton, and UStec.
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Many of the markets considered most affordable are also those where home-price appreciation has stalled.
PICTURE THIS SCENE: A MEADOW OF WILDFLOWERS UNDER A big blue sky with groves of Ponderosa pines and Mount Bachelor or the Deschutes River in the background. That's the image Newland Communities wanted to portray in a direct mail piece for RiverRim, a 145-acre, 458-home development in Bend, Ore.
FOR THE PAST DECADE, THE PEARL DISTRICT IN DOWNTOWN Portland, Ore., has been steadily redeveloped from an abandoned rail yard to a vibrant upscale urban community of mixed-use buildings and parks. The most ambitious among the developers is Portland-based Hoyt Street Properties (HSP), with several...
WHAT'S A DEVELOPER OF AN EXCLUSIVE gated community to do when more than 150 prospects are clamoring for just 50 home sites? A simple lottery seemed too low-end for Belsera, Landmark Homes' newest semi-custom village in downtown Reno, Nev., and an auction might cause resentment among neighbors...
U.S. BUILDERS SPEND ROUGHLY $9 billion a year on call-backs, with most of those dollars going to fix moisture damage. Law journal articles estimated about 10,000 mold-related lawsuits in 1992, and most legal experts agree that the numbers have been growing. What's going on here?
New Surroundings looks like a lot of builder Web sites that offer community information. But what sets it apart are two things: its interactive qualities and its depth.
Viewers of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" don't see the total commitment of hundreds of home building professionals who put in tens of thousands of hours, off-camera and without a make-up artist, to make a dream come true for a deserving family.
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FOR ABOUT A DECADE NOW, SCATTERED BATTLES between settled homeowners and wealthy newcomers have been heating up. The construction of so-called McMansions—ostentatious million-dollar (or multi–million-dollar) homes—in old neighborhoods feels like a personal attack to many residents.
WITH LARGE PARCELS OF LAND INCREASINGLY hard to find, builders and developers seized the opportunity to bid at three recent government land auctions. The various players described the auctions as “win-wins,” because the builders added coveted locations to their vast land holdings, land was added to...
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A pledge by Patrick Logue, president of First Home Builders of Florida in Ft. Myers, in February helped raise $156,000 to support children with cancer. First Home Builders served as sponsor for the Cattle Barons' Ball, an annual American Cancer Society fundraiser. Logue promised to match every...
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A new study from HUD reveals that outdated, unnecessary governmental regulations continue to thwart efforts to build decent housing for working families.
Economic forces continue to drive prices higher, especially for critical commodities such as steel, lumber, and cement.
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Hovnanian Enterprises furthered its reach in the Midwest and South with two March acquisitions. First, the builder bought Orlando, Fla.–based Cambridge Homes, which closed 599 homes for $166 million in 2004. The next day, in a deal believed to be the largest private home builder acquisition ever...
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The NAHB's 2,000-member Board of Directors voted at its spring board meeting in April to cancel plans to host the 2007 and 2008 International Builders' Shows (IBS) in Atlanta, citing the show's double-digit growth to more than 100,000 attendees over the last three years. At press time, a final...
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Three states investigate charges that title insurance companies inflated premiums to finance the kickbacks to builders and lenders.