The Design Builder's Blog

Window Treatments Decoded: What to Use Where

When it comes to building a house, you've got it down. You've got your favorite brands of windows and insulation, and you know all of the best places to get quality materials. But when it comes to the finishes, making the right choices can be tricky, especially when it comes to so many window treatment options. Here's a breakdown of the various types of window coverings with the advantages of each to help make the selection process easier for your next project.  Consider adding them during the design stage to upsell your project, make your designs stand out and differentiate your offering.

Privacy and Plenty of Light

Cellular shades are a type of hard window treatment that provide complete privacy while also allowing natural light to filter into the room. The shade's honeycomb design is constructed for maximum energy efficiency and provides a layer of insulation to help keep warm air inside. As windows typically account for 25 percent of heat loss in a home, states The Shade Store, this is an easy way to mitigate the problem while also softening up the look of the windows. Cellular shades are ideal in bathrooms, street-facing bedrooms or rooms that are prone to heat loss. While the light-filtering option is most commonly used, cellular shades also are made with heavier materials so they can double as blackout shades.

Timeless Design

Wood blinds are a safe choice of window treatment because they have a classic style that adds a rich, polished look to any room. This is an ideal option to use for a spec home or a house that's being remodeled as it has wide-ranging appeal. Wood blinds are made in a variety of wood finishes, so you can easily find them in the same material or stain that you're using in other finishes in the house. While a bit more expensive than standard horizontal blinds, wood blinds offer a higher insulation value and have a higher-quality appearance.

Form and Function

If you are looking for the decorative impact of drapes with the functional advantages of blinds, roman shades are the ideal choice. Made from heavy, durable fabric, roman shades are an easy way to soften the look of a room. While available in lighter fabrics, most are blackout quality and are perfect for installation in a bedroom, says Houzz, or anywhere that privacy is of utmost importance. While roman shades look great, there are a few downsides. They are all or nothing when it comes to letting light in and they can be difficult to keep clean as dust accumulates.

Unmatched Elegance

Drapery brings a refined look into any room of the house. For the best results, opt to have custom drapery made. One of the main downsides of drapery is that it can be difficult to select a material that will appeal to all homeowners. HGTV suggests silk drapes to instantly wake up a dull room. Additionally, drapes can add a lot of depth as well as the illusion of height to a room. To make the ceilings seem higher and to make the room feel a bit more spacious, install the curtain rod close to the ceiling rather than just above the window.

Sleek Sun Protection

Solar shades are the ideal window treatment option for rooms that have a lot of sun exposure. They offer UV protection while also reducing glare. This is a great option in rooms with a beautiful view, as the shades won't disrupt. One caveat is that solar shades do not provide privacy; therefore, solar shades are best in main living quarters of the house like the living room, great room, kitchen or dining room. Furthermore, this type of window treatment is a must if your clients have expensive art, antique furniture or other valuables that can be harmed from too much sun exposure.

Guest Blogger:  Allison Wilkinson is a WAHM, an explorer, an amateur chef and a fitness buff. You can find her Instagramming photos of her (adorable) son or researching everything from the latest parenting theories to healthy hacks for desserts.

Creative Driveway Designs Can Bring Attention To The Rest Of The Project

The driveway is among the first things visitors and passersby see when they look at a house. Like the front door, the driveway creates a lasting impression and perception of the home and because of this; it's the perfect time to try something a little unconventional. Even more than the front door, the driveway has to be functional as well as visually appealing, as it’s a service area of the property. Plus, a really cool driveway design can bring the contractor more business from the customers' neighbors asking, "Who did your driveway?"

Not Their Father’s Driveway

Your clients may have memories of their dad brushing smelly black sealant on their childhood home’s driveway or patching cement cracks with a trowel and wet cement. But those are not the only options for driveway surfaces. A driveway’s appearance is limited only by your customer’s budget and (hopefully not) your creativity. Gravel, pavers, natural crushed shell, brick, basalt, permeable (or pervious) concrete and recycled materials are just some of the possible materials you can use to design a unique driveway.

Factors in Driveway Design

Contractors and consumers should take a few things into consideration when designing a driveway. Budget is an important factor during construction and installation, but don't forget driveway maintenance over time. The materials used to construct the driveway, as well as its style, should complement the house, not clash with it, as well as be durable with a layout that is logical and easy to navigate by foot and vehicle.

A driveway created with pavers can be one of the best values, providing beautiful design possibilities, with low maintenance and a long shelf life, commonly lasting 30 to 40 years. Crushed shell driveways offer soft colors and good drainage, while pervious concrete made with almost no sand deliver a light, porous surface to avoid run-off issues.

Mix N Match and Layouts

To help your work stand out from other contractors don’t settle for the same old same old when it comes to designing driveways for your clients. You can mix and match materials like asphalt and brick border, or broken concrete and gravel. Instead of a straight path from the street to the garage, consider a rolling driveway layout to add some sensuous curved lines to the property.

Hiring a qualified sub contractor to perform the work  is often the best route.  But if you would like to do all or even some of the work in-house you can rent the equipment you need to do it right. Compactors, electric hammers, and other equipment are readily available as long as you know what you will need.

Creative Borders

Creative borders go a long way toward creating an attractive driveway. Liven up a traditional straight driveway by planting a low hedge on each side, plus a decorative flowering tree for more vertical interest, such as a dwarf flowering crabapple tree. Add interest with grass between pavers or broken cement. Use a homeowner’s favorite design element or theme to line or highlight the driveway with split logs and tree trunks or a mass planting their favorite flowers.

Beautiful, unique driveway designs add a visual highlight as the first part of a property to be seen and used before arriving at the front door. It’s worth the extra effort to think more about materials and plan a unique part of the property that everyone passing by will see and your customer’s will enjoy for years to come.

Guest Blogger: Heidi Cardenas is a freelance writer with a background in human resources, business administration, technical writing and corporate communications. She specializes in human resources, business and personal finance, small business advice and home improvement.

Guest Blogger:  Jayme Cook loves DIY projects and previously worked in the home building and construction industry. Jayme studied writing in Wales, UK and is now an English instructor living in Phoenix, Arizona.

Where Craftsmanship Matters the Most: Assuring Quality on Your Remodeling Jobs

Author and computer software consultant Robert C. Martin once said, “How can we make sure we wind up behind the right door when the going gets tough? The answer is: Craftsmanship.” This statement rings true in many fields, but especially so for remodelers. Craftsmanship is what's behind our sense of awe and admiration when we look upon a job well done—it's one part knowledge and one part art, with a bunch of pride, planning and elbow grease bringing up the rear. Every job is important, but some require a higher level of craftsmanship than others. Here's where a master's touch really counts.

Green Roofs

A growing trend in residential design is green roofing. These rooftops integrate actual foliage into the roof structure in an attempt to keep interior rooms cool in warm weather and warm during the cold. Most professionals use modular systems composed of individual plastic trays pre-lined with plant life and a non-soil base lined along the rooftop. Growth occurs at a rapid pace, creating an organic canopy to shield the home from the elements. A large-scale installation of a green roof requires an expert—this isn't something you want to tackle if you've no experience under your belt.

Insulated Water Pipes

Insulated water pipes will boost a home's energy efficiency. This sustainable feature will add to the life expectancy of the pipe system as well moderate the water temperature throughout the residence. Foam tubes made of rubber or polyethylene encase the metal piping to offer better quality and use—just make sure an expert does the insulating.

Energy-Efficient Windows

High quality, energy-efficient windows are essential in designing a masterfully crafted home. Many contractors provide windows that help keep heat inside of the home during the winter season and keep indoor temperatures cool during the summer months. Alternatively, poor quality windows can result in as much as a 30 percent loss of energy for consumers. Not all windows are created equal—while many can help reduce some of the energy loss, only high-quality selections installed with skilled precision and the proper equipment can fully protect against heat and cooling leakage. Contractors take note. Check out the windows section on the Champion Home Exterior webpage. This company displays its window offerings clearly and also provides helpful information on the left side of the site. Setting up your offerings in a style like this makes it easy for consumers to navigate your webpage and deliver the craftsmanship they are looking for from a contractor.

Solar Panels

More and more homeowners are requesting installation of solar panels to save money and energy. Photovoltaic panels harness the power of the sun and deliver it straight to the home on which they are installed. Solar power adds value to the property and usually comes with tax incentives, but it should only be installed by those with experience. There are lots of DIY kits out there, but we don't personally know of any that produced craftsman-like results.

When it comes to remodeling jobs, there is no replacement for quality craftsmanship. From the foundation up, work of integrity guarantees high-caliber results. With the right planning, the expertise of professionals and personal commitment, your work will reflect nothing but the best.

3D is the Way to Be: The Future Of Construction Projects

Guest Blogger: Steven Clark is a graphic designer who transitioned to being a work-from-home dad last year, after his triplet boys were born.

Although we can use computer modeling, high-tension bindings, and cranes hundreds of stories high to build super-skyscrapers, construction technology has advanced less far than some might think. After all, the concrete we use today is a result of an invention dating back to the Roman Empire, one that the University of California claims lacked the strength of today's concrete only because our ancestors did not have reinforced steel. As we look forward to the future of construction, much will remain the same -- plans will have to be drawn, foundations laid, and so on -- but many new inventions will change how much time, effort, and resources go into a project.

Beyond 3D

As the movie industry races to develop three-dimensional blockbusters, the construction world has left the third dimension in the dust. The newest trend is one step further: four-dimensional planning, which allows a person to not only see the entire view of a building, but see it from every possible angle. This gives contractors the opportunity to see possibilities they didn't before, plan better for construction, rent any kind of special equipment they might need and plan for supplies and safety. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers reports a new type of paradigm known as BIM, or building information modeling. This paradigm is being used in computer development of construction, and engineer Richard Beattie claims it can boost the approval rate of designs up to 90% percent BIM allows the architect, engineers, and clients to view a building's depth in addition to its height and length.

Building A Better Brick

Bricks as we know them represent one of the oldest human inventions in history, with civilizations dating back over five thousand years having used dried mud and mortar to create buildings. Yet the basic stature of a brick has changed little since then -- until now. Architizer reports that ceramic bricks made by 3D printers may soon replace their traditional red counterparts, since these bricks can be created quickly on the spot with fewer materials, weighing less, and having greater strength. A honeycomb design makes these bricks better able to withstand everything from the weight of its neighbors to a gale-force hurricane. Bricks still need to be attached to everything from window sills to floors, however, and the rubber sealing mechanisms offer a new hope as well. Thermal-bonding rubber seals minimize heat loss when utilized as a bonding agent between composite or traditional bricks. This rubber bonds to ceramic as well as plastic, glass, and wood.

Green Building and Green Products: Understanding and Selling the Many Shades of Green

Contractors and building materials dealers (LBM dealers) have found it challenging figuring out how to tap into the green building opportunity.  Some say the problem is caused by “green washing”.  Without a single and accepted definition of what green building is and what products are or are not green, it’s no wonder they are challenged.  Whether you’re an LBM Dealer, a product distributer, a professional designer or a contractor, it might not really make much difference what you consider to be green.  Before you get all upset at that statement and or with me, please hear me out.

Here’s my rationale

I’m not saying you can’t have your own definition.  What I am saying is if you want to sell green, you better make sure you know how your target customer defines and decides what is green if you want to sell green to them. 

Sounds easy right?  Not really. 

Unfortunately, if you ask 10 people what green is, you’ll get at least 10 different answers!  So, how should contractors and LBM dealers (and even their staff) respond to homeowners who ask for green products when these same customers might not even know what they’re looking for?  Solution; You need to know the questions to ask before you risk providing any answers! 

“What is green and what is not is up to the person with the money!”

On February 8, 2013 I’ll be presenting a seminar at the NRLA LBM EXPO in Boston titled “Understanding and Selling the Many Shades of Green”.  One of my goals at this seminar is to help LBM dealers take advantage of the green building and renovation market that is expected to grow significantly as the economy improves.  Another goal is to help them so they can help their contractor customers sell and use more green products. 

In addition to discussing how different consumers define green and why, I plan to help them decided which products to sell and how to sell them.  To do so I will be offering and discussing the list of criteria below.  Contractors trying to decide what to sell should also find the list very helpful.  The key to success will be matching some or all of the criteria below to the green motivations of the home owner with the money.

Seven Criteria for Choosing Green Products to Sell

#1: Is the material effective in your conditions/climate?

Heat, cold, moisture, insects…

#2: Is the material healthy and safe?

For workers, consumers and the planet

#3: Is the material durable and easily maintained?

Saves time, money, replacement, and disposal costs

#4: Is the material available in your area and can contractors work with it?

Saves time and money

#5: Is the material used efficiently?

Locally sourced, transportation considerations, processing considerations

Efficient use of resources, recycled and/or recyclable

#6: Is the material cost effective?

Now and in the future: maintenance, replacement, comfort, health effects/costs

#7: Is the material aesthetically satisfying to the consumer?

That’s important too!

Remodeling Trends for 2012 For Design/Builders

One way Design/Builders separate themselves from their competition can be the design talents and knowledge they bring to the overall process.   Many remodeling customers are looking for help with taking advantage of new product offerings and trends in the marketplace.  The list below is a collection of links to articles and information regarding current remodeling trends for 2012.  Please suggest any additional links you feel I could add to this list.

8 Smart Budget Curb Appeal Makeovers

Remodeling Improvements That Entice Buyers

Garage Remodeling Ideas And Tips

9 Unconventional Ways to Improve Your Home

25 Manliest Homes in America

Next-gen universal design for bathrooms and kitchens

Interior paint trends for 2012

Top Trends in Home Renovations