A community of timber home enthusiasts and those who love energy-efficient homes

March 2009 Blog Posts (5)

An Eco Friendly Paint I Love!

My 30 year career as a certified interior designer has included endless hours of research to find new products for my projects. I read over 25 magazines a month, subscribe to many product newsletters, I go to design markets, meet with manufacturer's reps and go to product showrooms. My studio is stuffed with samples of materials and products that we are using or testing. My criteria requires products that perform for the specific space and use, support my design concept, meet the given budget… Continue

Added by Cindy Trimble Kelly ASID IFDA on March 25, 2009 at 6:30pm — 2 Comments

Today's Low Flow Shower Heads Save Energy, Water Without Seinfeld-like Results

If you’re a fan of the Seinfeld comedy series (by federal law, now in syndication at least four times a day on various cable channels), you may remember the episode where they were installing low-flow shower heads in Jerry’s building. As a result, the show's characters hair soon looked like it had been plastered down with crude oil. Seinfeld's talented writers were tapping into nearly everyone’s first experiences with low-flow shower heads. Remember those back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s? Those… Continue

Added by Charles Bevier on March 10, 2009 at 11:57am — No Comments

Fixed Bid or Cost Plus? Sorting Out How Construction is Bid

Investing your life savings in a dream home is near the top of life’s fear factor scale. You don’t want to be taken advantage of, or waste money.

Oddly enough, the builder you select to construct your new timber home is fearful too. Their success is far from guaranteed, since transforming a raw building site into a warm and inviting home can be fraught with a host of challenges. The industry is awash in stories of contractors going out of business thanks to mismanagement, litigious… Continue

Added by Charles Bevier on March 4, 2009 at 6:18pm — No Comments

Hindsight is 20/20: Homeowners Reveal What They'd Do Different in Designing Their Dream Home

There’s plenty of joy at the prospect of making your dream home a reality, but it’s likely you have some anxieties as well. You may worry about making a blunder—some mistake that could leave you with a home that’s less than the dream you imagined it to be.

That’s why we contacted new homeowners to ask what they did right, what they did wrong and any ways they discovered to save money along the way. Keep their lessons in mind when you’re designing your dream timber… Continue

Added by Charles Bevier on March 3, 2009 at 3:19pm — No Comments

Strategies for Finding the Right Land for Your Dream Home in This New Housing Economy

Along with Dow Jones Industrials, land is another commodity that is becoming less expensive to buy. Finally, an upside to the cratered economy! But before you head out to locate a parcel where the buffalo roam, prepare yourself with knowledge. In this new housing economy, many of the rules have changed. To enable you to see the forest through the trees, we’ve compiled a list of strategies to use when land shopping, gleaned from veteran builders and real estate pros.

Make a list,… Continue

Added by Charles Bevier on March 2, 2009 at 11:30am — No Comments