Category Archives: Smart Homes

Home Interior Design Trends

With each new year comes a fresh set of home interior design trends. And those topping the list this year are sure to inspire homeowners making updates big and small. Here’s a recap of the shows at Design and Construction Week along with what’s up and coming in home improvement. Here are some of the themes shaping today’s interior spaces, according to distinguished designers.

Cad Pro’s home design software is an affordable and easy alternative to other home design and remodeling software programs. CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, contractors, and interior designers. Cad Pro is great for creating custom remodeling home plans, floor plans, house plans, outdoor kitchen plans, deck plans and patio designs, and much more.

Home Interior Design Trends

Popular Home Interior Design Trends

#1 Nature-inspired spaces: The hustle and bustle of daily life has homeowners craving the harmony of nature. And what better way to fulfill that desire than by bringing the outside in? In a move toward nature-inspired spaces, homeowners are incorporating stone, white oak and wood-grain elements to create a visual connection to the outdoors. And they’re also embracing natural color palettes with warm whites and serene greens and blues. Scandinavian decor and furnishings are also popular home interior design trends.

#2 Simplicity: Less is more this year, designers are embracing an uncluttered aesthetic that favors clean lines and craftsmanship and honors interest over things. Over-decorating is discouraged. Every detail from the kitchen countertop to the flower vase is meant to serve an authentic and functional purpose. Simplicity centers on creating a visually organized space. Thoughtful storage solutions will help you achieve the look.

#3 Style blending and personalization: Interior design is trending away from a one-style aesthetic, encouraging a mix of fashions new and old. Traditional meets contemporary, industrial meets organic, and rustic meets modern as designers tailor spaces to satisfy homeowners’ unique needs and tastes. This trend celebrates the purposeful mixing of styles, materials, patterns and textures to create a truly personalized home. Combining different metals and finishes is encouraged. Displaying items with sentimental value is admired. And the modern farmhouse look is a favorite of homeowners and designers alike making this one of the popular home interior design trends.

#4 Bold colors: After years of embracing neutrals, homeowners are now looking to incorporate bolder colors to reflect their personalities and liven up their spaces. Paint manufacturers are on point: PPG Paints’ color of the year is a moody indigo called Black Flame; Benjamin Moore’s color of the year is a radiant red called Caliente; and the Pantone color of the year is a bold purple titled Ultra Violet.

#5 Livability: Smart home technology, clever storage and universal design elements are coming together to create a home that is as livable as it is beautiful. Motion-sensing faucets and lights facilitate safety and convenience. Lower kitchen cabinet drawers offer easy access to pots and pans. Designated storage cupboards keep microwaves and other small appliances at arm’s reach but out of plain view. And smart appliances and thermostats make everyday life a little easier all around. What’s more, floating vanities, open shelving and no-threshold showers are not only popular and attractive design elements, but they also make it easier for homeowners to continue living in their homes as they grow older.

Appliances for Home Interior Design Trends
Appliance manufacturers are also following suit, offering boldly colored ovens, refrigerators and more in addition to the timeless stainless steel. Look for bold colors to complement muted hues and warm grays and whites, which are still very much in style. And consider colorful patterns in tile and wallpaper to add an extra bit of oomph.

Share These Home Interior Design Trends
CAD Pro lets you quickly share your home interior design trends and floor plans with clients, contractors or team members using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click. CAD Pro is used by homeowners, contractors and designers for all types of floor plans and home interior design ideas.

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Moneymaking Home Interior Projects

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Energy Star Home Builders

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) honored nearly 200 Energy Star Home Builders and partners for their contributions to public health and the environment.

One of the key Energy Star Home Builders that won an ENERGY STAR Award for Sustained Excellence was KB Home, recognized for constructing more EPA Energy Star Homes than any other builder, with a total of more than 137,000 homes. KB Home also educated customers and real estate professionals through its Energy Performance Guide (EPG), a tool that projects estimated energy savings and utility bills for prospective home buyers.

Energy Star Home Builders and Plans

Benefits of Energy Star Home Builders

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.

And with home-buyers increasingly interested in green building, energy efficiency is the place to start. That’s because the energy used in homes often comes from the burning of fossil fuels at power plants, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and risks of global warming. So, the less energy used, the less air pollution generated. And the easy way to make sure a new home is energy efficient is to look for the blue ENERGY STAR mark, the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency. Learn more about Energy Star Home Builders and how Green Begins with ENERGY STAR Blue.

ADDED CONFIDENCE
Home buying is complex enough without having to know all the details of energy-efficient construction. Instead, look for the government-backed ENERGY STAR label to easily identify homes that are truly energy efficient. Find the house of your dreams and enjoy peace of mind knowing that it also meets strict energy efficiency guidelines.

LOWER OWNERSHIP COST
Compared with standard homes, Energy Star Home Builders offer certified homes that use substantially less energy for heating, cooling, and water heating-delivering $200 to $400 in annual savings. Over the average 7 to 8 years you may live in your home, this adds up to thousands of dollars saved on utility bills. Additional savings on maintenance can also be substantial. Financing your home purchase using an ENERGY STAR Mortgage or an energy efficient mortgage can also lead to savings.

BETTER PERFORMANCE
Properly installed energy-efficient improvements deliver better protection against cold, heat, drafts, moisture, pollution, and noise. An energy-efficient home helps ensure consistent temperatures between and across rooms, improved indoor air quality, and greater durability.

SMART INVESTMENT
More than 8500 Energy Star Home Builders have partnered with EPA to construct more than 1 million ENERGY STAR certified homes. The trend is clear. By choosing a home with the ENERGY STAR label, you can be confident that it will have an increasingly valued feature when the time comes to sell.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Did you know that your home can be a greater source of pollution than your car? In fact, 16 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are generated from the energy used in houses nationwide.

Energy used in our homes often comes from the burning of fossil fuels at power plants, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and global warming. Simply put, the less energy we use in our homes, the less air pollution we generate.

For more information about EPA Energy Star homes green building programs, visit nahb.org. And to stay current on the high-performance residential building sector, follow NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building team on Twitter.

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Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, deck plans and much more.

CAD Pro allows ENERGY STAR Home Builders to share their ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of Energy Star homes. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Advanced Smart Home Systems

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Home Building Permit Drawings

If you are building a new home or remodeling an existing home, chances are you will need a building permit. Even some outdoor projects, such as building a fence or adding a deck in the yard, require a building permit and home building permit drawings. Building permit requirements vary from state to state. Some even vary from city to city and county to county. However, all these permits serve the same purpose to ensure that your structure is safe and meet current building codes.

Home Building Permit Drawings and Applications

Creating Home Building Permit Drawings

Building Permit Plans
Come up with a tentative plan. As part of the building permit application, you will have to describe, and submit home building permit drawings. It’s a very good idea to design a set of drawings/blueprints that will provide detailed information for your building project. You can choose to hand draw your plans or we recommend that you use a good drafting software for designing your blueprints. Drafting software allows you to quickly modify your designs if required. Cad Pro is an excellent inexpensive home plan design software.

Building Permit Contractors
Determine what jobs you will need a professional to complete. For example, adding an oil burning fireplace to a home or adding stairs to a building must be done by a licensed professional. You will also need a licensed professional for electrical, plumbing and roofing jobs. It’s always a good idea to contact your local building code enforcement office and discuss what jobs will require a licensed contractor before you start your project and submit your home building permit drawings.

Contact your local building office or code enforcement office. One of these two offices will be the one that issues the permits. When you contact the office, ask if you can pick up an application or have one mailed or emailed to you.

Determine how many permits are needed for your project. For example, if you are adding a bathroom, you will need three permits: a basic building permit, an electrical permit and a plumbing permit.

Complete the application packet and home building permit drawings then return them to the building permit office. When you return it, you will have to remit an application fee. Do this with a money order if possible. Some states require that your check clear the bank before the permit will be issued, which may slow down your permit and put your project on hold. Be sure to keep any payment methods and all copies of your application for future reference.

Schedule a time for an inspection. For most jobs, an inspector will come to the job site before the permit is issued. He may come out periodically while the job is in progress and again when it is completed. It’s well advised to meet with your inspector and discuss any new building materials or construction methods that would better serve your new building project.

Helpful Tip for Building Permits
If you haven’t received your permit within 30 days of submitting your application, contact the office that you filed your applications with and request an update. If you are applying for a building permit for a multifamily dwelling or a public building, you may need a temporary certificate of occupancy to allow people into the building during the renovation. This is important if you want to keep a portion of your business open or if you have tenants living in apartments in the same building in which renovations are going on.

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Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive software programs for designing your home building permit drawings. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, deck plans and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders, and contractors plan and design all types of home building permit drawings. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

House Building Cost Guidelines

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Home Remodeling Contractors

So, you’re ready to put in a new bathtub, or you finally picked out that new tile for your kitchen. If you don’t want to do the work yourself, or you don’t have the time or skills to tackle a DIY home improvement project, hiring home remodeling contractors is the way to go.

When you choose a contractor, you’re hiring a new employee for a job. You wouldn’t hire the first applicant for a job at your business, so don’t choose your home improvement contractor without narrowing down the best candidates. Examine portfolios of previous work, check licensing, listen to referrals and gather competitive bids before you make a final decision.

Guidelines for Home Remodeling Contractors

Hiring Home Remodeling Contractors

1: Get Recommendations
The first step in finding the right home improvement contractor is to create a list of 5–10 local contractors who have the right expertise. You’ll gradually narrow down this list to the top home remodeling contractors and ultimately use it to select your contractor.

Suggestions for Your Starter List:

Ask your homeowner friends for recommendations, especially those who have recently had renovations.
Search online for the type of service you need in your area.
Check out online reviews.
Use social media to ask friends or followers for local recommendations.

Red flags
Successful contractors will make it easy for you to get in touch with them and see examples of their work. Be cautious of home improvement contractors who lack basic information, such as a website, social media presence and reviews.

2: Compare Contractor Portfolios
Choose the home remodeling contractors who specializes in the type of remodel you need; someone who specializes in remodeling kitchens might not be ideal for your bathroom renovation. A home improvement contractor with a creative eye can also be helpful for certain projects. For instance, if you want to lay a tile entryway with a detailed mosaic or paint a room with a faux finish, you’ll need a contractor who does that type of work.

Ask each contractor on your long list for a portfolio of their projects from at least the last year. They may have a physical portfolio, or they may direct you to a website with images. A good portfolio should contain at least ten projects. It should include photos of each space before work began, during the remodel and after project completion. It helps if there are pictures of blueprints, sketches or other plans so you can get an idea of how the contractor approaches a project.

Red flags
Look out for a portfolio with too few projects, no photos before the remodel or grainy, hard-to-see images of the final product. Also keep in mind that home improvement contractors only include their best work in their portfolios. If any completed project is not up to your standards, it’s likely their average work is even worse.

3: Ask for Licensing and Certification
At this point, your list should have around six to eight names. One easy way to narrow it further is to ask for contractors’ licensing and certification. The specific licenses or certifications your home improvement contractor should carry will depend on the project. Since legal requirements vary by state, call the licensing/permit division for your community to ask for specific requirements.

In addition to making sure these home remodeling contractors have the correct licenses and certification to complete the job safely and legally, make sure anyone on your list has liability insurance in case they damage your home. The contractor and any other workers should also be covered by worker’s compensation. Ask for a copy of their insurance policies and check that they’re up to date.

Red flags
Cross any contractors off your list who don’t have the right credentials. I also recommend marking off names of anyone who is hesitant or takes too long to get this information to you.

4: Check References
Now that you’ve narrowed your long list down to five or six top contenders, it’s time to start checking references. This is a common practice, so any reputable contractor will expect you to ask for a list of references. A typical contractor reference list includes ten or more jobs with the name, address and telephone number of each customer. It helps if there are dates for each job; if dates aren’t on the list, ask for them.

If the list is very long, select a few recent projects and a few older projects. Keep detailed notes during your phone call; you’ll need to ask some references if you can visit their home to see the project in person.

Questions to ask include:

Did the contractor stay on schedule?
Was the job site kept neat?
Were problems addressed promptly?
Was the contractor punctual for appointments and workdays?
How has the work held up?
Was the cost reasonable and clear?

Red flags
Some red flags include too few references or significant time gaps between references. Ask about these before assuming the worst. A hole in the calendar doesn’t necessarily mean trouble; maybe they were injured or taking time off. These home remodeling contractor’s openness and willingness to give you more information can help ease your mind.

5: Review Examples of Finished Projects
After you’ve called your contractors’ references, cross out any contractors who received poor reviews. Then decide which of the remaining references to visit in person to see their contractor’s completed project. Choose people who seem open and forthcoming, whose projects are like yours and, ideally, who live close to you. It’s particularly helpful if the work was completed at least a few years ago so you can see how it has held up.

Red flags

Bathroom Remodels: Dark stains on the walls or ceiling, slanted floors, cheap materials, insufficient lighting.
Kitchen Remodels: Obvious seams on countertop, cheap materials, “kitchen triangle” (stove, refrigerator and sink) not logically laid out, poor lighting, inadequate storage or counter space.
Paint: Overspray, paint runs, streaks, imperfect lines and edges, paint splatter on the floor.
Tile Work: Crooked tiles or lines, tile or grout cracking, excess grout or caulking along edges (meant to disguise poorly cut tiles), inconsistent grout lines, uneven surfaces, obvious transitions between surfaces.
Decks, Patios or Pergolas: Wavy or swollen boards, mismatched edges, gaps between boards or windows, cracks in the floorboards, cracks or separation between the side of the house and the deck, concrete cracks.

6: Get Bids and Hire a Contractor
By now you’ve eliminated anyone from your list who does subpar work. The next step is to price the job with all the remaining home remodeling contractors on your list.

After a thorough consultation, each contractor will present you with a brief proposal and estimated cost for the project, called a bid. Depending on the type of renovation, this might include details on the timeline for the project, the types of materials they recommend and the total cost of the project. It’s best to get bids from the top three or four contractors on your list. You will select your contractor from among these bids.

Remember, it’s not always best to go with the lowest price. Sometimes the materials or amount of work will differ from one contractor to another; for instance, a contractor who uses prefab cabinets will charge much less than a woodworker who makes them by hand, but you’ll notice a major difference in the look and feel of the finished kitchen. Think about your overall goals for your renovation when choosing which proposal is best for you.

After you’ve chosen your home improvement contractor and accepted their project bid, they will draft a contract proposal with more details about how they will complete the project, the timeline, materials, cost and more. Once you’ve reviewed and signed the proposal, your project will be underway.

Red flags
Be wary of any contractor who tries to pressure you into accepting a bid. Some contractors will try to pressure you into signing right away by saying their bids are only good for a limited time. You always have the option to think about the bid for a few days or longer. Quality contractors will let you take your time deciding which bid to choose, and they’ll act graciously if you decline their bid. The same is true of the final contract; be sure to review all the details, and don’t sign anything right away.

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Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive home remodeling design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows home remodeling contractors to share their plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, remodeling contractors, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plan designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Smart Home Security Solutions

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Wi-Fi Smart Home Technology

A recent home builder survey finds increasing adoption of Wi-Fi smart home technology in new homes. 35% of surveyed large-scale single-family builders provide the networking infrastructure to provide a “smart-home-ready home” for their customers.

A new study of U.S. home and multifamily builders that sell or install Wi-Fi smart home technology reveals the most common strategy among large-scale single-family builders (LSBs) is to install a whole-home Wi-Fi network.

Smart Home Wi-Fi Connectivity

Wi-Fi Smart Home Technology Survey

The survey reveals 35% of LSBs provide the networking infrastructure to provide a “smart-home-ready home” for their customers. 29% of LSBs install an interactive security system, which remains popular among builders.

Those surveyed show large and small home and MDU builders throughout the U.S. that are actively involved in specifying, recommending, or installing Wi-Fi smart home technology in their products. The research finds a majority of LSBs surveyed install Wi-Fi routers as a standard feature, while one-third install smart speakers with voice assistants as standard.

All builders report smart-home technology is highly popular with consumers, and connected products are rapidly replacing non-connected models as standard in the home. Additionally, new consumer experiences, such as the current impact of COVID-19 on working at home and the need to monitor loved ones, will increase the value proposition of smart home tech among consumers And while the coronavirus can’t be filtered by an HVAC system, people are thinking more about indoor air quality (IAQ) and how to create and maintain a healthy environment for their loved ones.

The majority of large-scale single-family home builders surveyed offer Wi-Fi smart home technology to increase the appeal of the house and not to add to the sales price. Smart lights, thermostats, door locks, and garage door openers are typically offered as standard, while smart appliances and smart water devices are usually offered as upgrades.

Low price points put Amazon and Google in a good position to expand further in the builder market as a control interface. The low-price points of their smart speaker products give builders an economical means to integrate these Wi-Fi smart home technology features as a standard in their homes to boost their value among home buyers. Leading builders, such as Lennar, KB Homes, and Shea Homes, have all selected smart speakers as the user interface of choice.

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CAD Pro allows anyone to share their Wi-Fi smart home technology ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plan designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Smart Home Design Software Products

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Advanced Smart Home Systems

Advanced smart home systems from Brilliant and Savant allow new home buyers to centralize and quickly control everything from lighting and utilities to security and entertainment. These types of new smart home designs help homeowners integrate their homes with their busy lifestyles.

Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive advanced smart home systems. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their new smart home designs, ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of smart home floor plans. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Advanced Smart Home Systems

Builders with Advanced Smart Home Systems

The New Home Company (NEW HOME; NYSE: NWHM) has unveiled EVO Home Tech, a technology-forward program that integrates modern digital features with connectivity, ease of use, customization and efficiency.

Advanced smart home systems such as the EVO Home Tech package will include the purchase of all upcoming new smart home designs that will include the following:

Whole-home Wi-Fi
Video doorbell
Wi-Fi thermostat
Wi-Fi garage door opener
Smart electronic entry door lock
Lighting control

Home builders can also offer “White Glove” service that will ensure home buyers have the ability to operate their technology components. These options will include:

In-home orientation
Activation of all smart-home devices
Wi-Fi setup and connection to homeowner provided router from service provider
Training for homeowners on all products included in the EVOHome Tech Package

As part of the launch of these advanced smart home systems EVO Home Tech, NEW HOME has partnered with two emerging leaders in the smart-home industry: Brilliant and Savant.

Brilliant offers an in-wall touchscreen control system that makes it easy to control smart devices and experiences throughout the home: lighting, doorbells, locks, climate, music, video intercom, scenes and more. With these advanced smart home systems with Amazon Alexa built-in, Brilliant also offers the option to enable voice control in any room without the need for countertop voice appliances. Brilliant Controls install in the place of a standard light switch and include a built-in motion sensor and camera with a privacy shutter.

Brilliant is designed to evolve with the needs of a homeowner and works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Sonos, Ring, Ecobee, Honeywell, Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, August, Philips Hue, LIFX, TP-Link, Wemo and SmartThings.

Home builders are excited to partner with The New Home Company to bring the best possible smart home experience to every NEW HOME customer,” said Aaron Emigh, Co-Founder and CEO of Brilliant. “By offering new smart home designs with a pre-installed Brilliant Smart Home System and devices like a Ring doorbell, smart lock and smart thermostat, NEW HOME is setting the new industry standard for what a true integrated smart home should be.”

In May of last year, NEW HOME announced that it became the nation’s first home builder to offer Savant Breaker-Companion Modules into its energy efficient residences in California. These highly intelligent modules have been designed to enable homeowners to add energy management services and lighting control solutions to their smart home functionality and enhance their lifestyle while meeting California’s strict Title 24 energy regulations.

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Market Data Sources: National Wood Flooring Assn. (NWFA), Hardwood Floors magazine, Catalina Research, Floor Covering Weekly, U.S. Department of Commerce, Conlumino/Global Data, Statistics Canada, Hardwood Federation, North American Laminate Flooring Assn., Statista.

Smart Home Design Software Products

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Zillow Home Flipping Business

When Zillow Group pivoted from an advertising-based business model to the algorithm-based Zillow home flipping business in 2018, its executives knew this day for the home flipping markets would come. Zillow and other tech-driven companies were able to refine their technology enough to make tiny profits on cookie-cutter houses in deserts and small metropolitan areas.

But to make $20 billion a year in revenue from Zillow Offers within five years as executives boldly projected, the Zillow home flipping business would need to crack major coastal markets, where homes are at least twice as expensive, and prices can change dramatically from one block to the next.

Zillow Home Flipping Business and Home Flipping Markets

Home Flipping Markets are Growing

According to The Real Deal real estate news, Zilllow Offers, the firm’s iBuying arm is moving into the Los Angeles housing market with a field staff and two veteran brokers. More hires are expected. Zillow Offers is already working in 21 other home flipping markets including San Diego, Sacramento, Houston, San Antonio and Atlanta. “L.A. is easily the biggest and most complex market that we are going into,” said Zillow president Jeremy Wacksman. “It is not a market, but a whole bunch of markets. Of the ones that we’ve opened in, it’s the biggest geographically, population and the average home price.”

The Zillow home flipping business iBuying model offers sellers a chance to quickly offload their property, giving them fast access to cash to buy other homes. It’s a business with extremely thin margins, and requires Zillow to set aside large pools of money to make the purchases, perform simple updates to the property, and sell it again, with the ultimate goal of financing the buyer’s purchase through its new mortgage arm.

Zillow lost an average of $4,826 on each home sale in the third quarter, after interest expenses — up from $2,916 in the second quarter, the company revealed last month. Still, Zillow does make money on the home flipping markets transaction fee, which runs between 6 and 9 percent. And that’s the focus.

Zillow is looking to move as quickly as possible and earn their money off the transaction fee. And ultimately because this transaction sits at the nexus of all of these adjacent markets that we know so well, that are big businesses in and of itself, they’re dying to be integrated into one thing. For Zillow, the L.A. launch will be a defining test on how far its Zestimate technology has come, and whether it can gain an edge in higher-stakes markets.

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Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive home design software. Cad Pro is great for creating innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

Quickly share any Zillow home flipping business ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of real estate agents, homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of home designs and plans. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Landscape Plans Add Value

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New Construction Technology Innovations

New construction technology innovations such as virtual reality, augmented reality, modular construction, and robots could play a larger role in the construction industry in the coming years. The construction industry is often a late adopter of construction technology advancements and very hesitant to change. However, despite this historical reluctance, there are many technological innovations that have the potential to penetrate the industry and change how it operates.

New Construction Technology Innovations and Advancements

These technologies are already making a huge impact on many industries around the world, and the construction industry is no exception. Buildings are becoming ever more complicated, and these new construction technology innovations are helping architects and construction teams improve designs and detect design errors.

To date these construction technology advancements are assisting architects and design teams greatly improve building design through interactive design and gesture interfacing. You will see these new construction technology innovations influence the industry while expanding even further advancements. This could range from errors in HVAC system design or finding missing elements that have been overlooked during the design phase.

New Construction Technology Innovations

3D Printing
Another tech trend to watch out for is the role of 3D printing in the construction industry. The benefits of it have already been explored and exploited by various construction companies around the world.

The ability to either prefabricate offsite or directly on-site has obvious labor and material cost benefits over more traditional building methods. This type of new construction technology innovations reduces waste and being automated is not restricted by construction worker shift patterns.

Robotics
In the future robotics will make a bigger impact in the construction industry. Somewhat linked to the impact of 3D printing, robotics is also seeing impressive infiltration into the industry. In fact, one report by the World Economic Forum predicted that 2020 could be the year of the robot in the construction industry.

From robotic bricklayers to laying roads, these types of new construction technology innovations are increasingly finding their place amongst the workforce on construction sites. This is interesting as traditionally the construction industry has seen very little automation, relying largely on manual labor. By adding robots to the workforce, construction companies are seeing improved construction times and improved quality of builds. Robots are also being used to help demolish buildings too.

Sustainability
For several decades now, building regulations have been placing more and more burden on building design to reduce their environmental impact and sustainability. This is a trend that will only become more strict heading into the future.

Optimized energy efficiency and a drive for low to zero carbon emissions have driven this type of new construction technology innovations in building construction and service design for years. In response, new, better thermal performance materials are being developed that promise to make the buildings of the future incredibly well insulated for a fraction of the cost of current solutions.

One example from a few years ago was the development of a concrete roof that can generate and store energy. This type of construction technology advancements should make buildings of the future cheaper to live in and reduce their impact on the environment.

Reducing waste or recycling old materials is another area where sustainability is helping drive innovation in the construction industry. For example, last year one architecture firm announced its plans for a new method of recycling construction waste into ton new reusable building materials.

Modular and Prefabricated Construction
Modular and prefabricated solutions are nothing new to the construction industry. For example, the end of the second World War saw something of a ‘Cambrian Explosion’ in prefab design in war-torn cities across the UK.

While it has fallen out of favor over the last few decades, new construction technology innovations such as prefabs have been making something of a comeback in recent years. The promise of faster on-site assembly and higher quality, standardized builds are seen by some as the solution to tackle perceived housing crises around the world.

“Advances in high-tech design and construction mean increasing numbers of components can be manufactured off-site. That means buildings can go up more quickly and quietly, with fewer materials wasted.

To accommodate modular house-building, developers are building their own factories, and architects are getting ever more ambitious in their designs.

Exoskeletons
Another popular new construction technology innovations to watch is the use of exoskeletons. The potential benefits this can afford to a construction site’s workforce are obvious.

Laborers can carry more load than their fragile human bodies would normally be able to cope with, and if it is widely adopted, it would largely increase the safety of construction sites. For construction companies, this will dramatically improve their bottom line by reducing the number of laborers needed on-site as well as reduce lost man-hours from injury.

“ABI Research predicts the robotic exoskeleton market alone will reach $1.8 billion in 2025, up from $68 million in 2014. This year, about 6,000 suits will be sold, mainly for rehabilitation. By 2025, ABI expects to see about 2.6 million on the market.”

But they may ultimately lose out to robots and 3D printing alternatives as exoskeletons still rely on a human operator at their heart. That being said, they might offer the perfect compromise between labor unions who will inevitably try to protect their member’s jobs from becoming obsolete.

Building information modeling
Construction technology advancements such as BIM Building Information Modelling, is a process of creating and managing information on a construction project from cradle to grave. This intelligent 3D model-based process has already seen wide adoption by architects, engineers, and other construction professionals.

In fact, many local authorities have made BIM the standard for many of its construction project needs. BIM allows stakeholders and suppliers to more efficiently plan, design construct and manage a building and its infrastructure.

As other new construction technology innovations already mentioned, like AR, and VR, become more popular, their integration with BIM will become ever more important.

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Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their new construction technology innovations and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of designs. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Sites like ESUB of great insight and notable tech trends in the construction industry.

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Minimalist Home Design Ideas

An increasing desire for tranquility and calmness has led to the rise in popularity of minimalist home design ideas. Homeowners increasingly yearn for feelings of tranquility, peace, and calmness in their homes to combat the general hectic and busy nature of other aspects in their lives. This desire has led to a rise in popularity where homeowners achieve minimalist design ideas and plans, according to home-builders. Builders are now offering several ways to achieve minimalist home design, which can aid designers working with clients who want their home’s layout to promote peacefulness.

Homeowners Achieve Minimalist Home Design Ideas

How to elevate your minimalist home design ideas.

The latest trends in home decor reveal a desire for a feeling of tranquility and calmness with minimalist home design ideas, perhaps as a response to today’s overly busy and distracted lifestyles. A return to natural materials in home design, has everyone looking for a way to create a peaceful, less hectic inner space. When it comes to home decor, less is more and soothing.

Simplify Your Design Strategy
When revamping your room to create a more minimalist effect, choose a limited color palette, meaning one to three colors at most. Select mostly more muted or neutral colors, though you can use one vivid color in a piece of furniture or art to grab the spotlight. These are great ideas for how homeowners achieve minimalist design ideas and plans.

Let the textures of the materials that you use for the floors, walls, ceilings and furnishings — whether they are natural wood, stone, ceramics, glass, tile, fabrics or canvas — create the room’s visual interest instead of yesterday’s too-busy colors and patterns.

When planning your minimalist home design ideas, choose a couple of contrasting textures, like glass and reclaimed lumber, or woven fabric and stone, to highlight in the room for the best effect.

De-Clutter Your Spaces
Decide what items you really want and need to be in each room and get rid of the rest or find a way to store it neatly, preferably out of sight. One of the greatest visual clutter culprits today comes from technology. It’s hard to know what to do with the mass and tangle of cords from all the latest gadgets, power strips and chargers everyone uses in their homes.

Minimalist home design ideas for viewing television. To streamline the technology you use for viewing television, movies and more, a product from LG Electronics USA can solve your cord clutter problem and turn your living room into an amazing home viewing theater. The LG CineBeam AI ThinQ 4K Laser Projector (HU85LA) creates an impressive 90- to 120-inch cinematic screen by placing it just 2.2 to 7.2 inches away from the wall, needing no complicated installation. With its streamlined and compact design, the state-of-the-art projector incorporates LG’s ThinQ AI and has the Google Assistant built-in so you can control your compatible smart home devices with just your voice.

Choose Furnishings with Clean Lines
Homeowners achieve minimalist design when selecting new furniture for their minimalist rooms, look for high-quality, standout pieces designed with clean lines, with no fussy design details or busy patterns. Don’t acquire more furniture than the room really needs. Chances are you can do without all those end tables and extra chairs.

Make one exceptional, stylish piece of furniture be the focal point for each room, and don’t over-furnish or over-decorate the space around it.

Then avoid the urge to smother the couch or sectional with tons of blankets and throw pillows. Let the furniture speak for itself.

Streamline Artistic Expression
Art for minimalist home design ideas. Instead of filling every wall with pictures, choose just one accent wall, eliminating excessive decor elements around it. Let one work of art dominate that space, reducing any competition for attention.

The LG CineBeam Laser Projector can display a chosen photograph or work of art on your accent wall. With 8.3 million pixels, it delivers impeccable precision and detail at four times the resolution of full HD, along with incredibly vibrant color reproduction. It works without the need to darken the room around it, using gentle light that produces clear images without any harsh brightness.

Leave Plenty of Open Space
Resist the urge to fill every corner and surface of the room with ornaments and knickknacks. It’s the open space, unencumbered by any visual clutter, that creates the feeling of calm and tranquility you’re craving.

And if you’re lucky enough to have a great view out the window, install only simple, streamlined window treatments or no window treatments at all to highlight that view.

Minimalist home design ideas and decor is all about making careful choices and choosing the best quality furnishings and decor over quantity of items. You can turn any room into a beautiful showcase that you’d be happy to entertain and live in, with some thoughtful decision-making.

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Helping Homeowners Achieve Minimalist Design
Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive home design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, and much more.

CAD Pro allows anyone to share their minimalist home design ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

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Top Home Appliance Trends

Discover the top home appliance trends that home-buyers are seeking the most for new homes and remodels. Popular home appliance designs are a perfect blend of innovation, precision, and purposeful designs that integrate with any smart home design plans.

The most in-demand kitchen appliances combine both form and function with sleek modern looks and smart, trend-forward features. More than ever, homeowners expect appliances to offer customizable capabilities to meet, but not complicate, busy lifestyles. Those features must come without sacrificing style and the top home appliance trends listed below.

CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders and contractors plan and design all types of floor plans for these top home appliance trends. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Popular Home Appliance Designs

Popular Top Home Appliance Trends

Unique Finishes
Though stainless steel continues to be one of the top home appliance trends; some consumers are seeking new options that are still sophisticated. One of the most in-demand alternatives is black stainless, with a rich, matte look that puts a new face, and a sleek edge, on traditional stainless steel. Its popularity hasn’t diminished in fact, it continues to be a popular and a growing color at Whirlpool Corporation.

Purposeful Home Appliance Innovation
Like many aspects of the home, smart features are infiltrating the kitchen and homeowners expect these popular home appliance designs. But consumers aren’t looking for a “gadget” or technology just for the sake of it; they want innovative features that are meaningful and helpful within their lives. Smart appliance advances must enhance their experience with the product and be meaningful to their lifestyle and needs. Also, the technologies must be easy-to-use, intuitive, and customizable.

For example, Whirlpool Smart Ranges help make cooking more accessible and convenient. Select smart ranges feature a touchscreen that learns and adapts to the homeowner’s cooking style and allows for instant access to their most-used settings. In addition to these top home appliance trends, voice control capabilities allow cooks to control their range with Google Assistant or an Alexa-enabled device keeping hands free for prep and other tasks. With some models, homeowners can use their smartphone to access cooking features such as Keep Warm and Yummly Guided Cooking.

Compact Appliances
As homeowners downsize and de-clutter, manufacturers are responding with popular home appliance designs such as compact or multi-use appliances that don’t skimp on capabilities. For example, the Whirlpool 2.8-cubic-foot Smart All-in-One Washer & Dryer washes and dries laundry in the same unit. And because it’s ventless, it can fit into a range of spaces including closets and bathrooms for those with limited amounts of room. Top home appliance trends like this allow builders to save overhead costs by not having to install external ducting/venting and a blower.

Another solution is the Whirlpool 1.1-cubic-foot Low Profile Microwave Hood Combination, which allows building industry professionals to replace bulky, traditional hoods with a microwave hood combination with performance. Despite its compact size, the hood delivers a powerful 400 CFM motor class*. Plus, homeowners free up precious counter space.

Side-by-Side Refrigeration
Though French-door/bottom-freezer refrigerators have gotten a lot of attention in recent years, builders are reporting growing demand for traditional side-by-side refrigeration that keeps most-often-used items at eye level.

With these popular home appliance designs, builders and homebuyers have more options than ever to meet nearly any lifestyle and style preference. Learning what clients are seeking most in their appliances will ensure you can specify the right package to fit their needs while enhancing the look of their favorite room.

For more information about Whirlpool Corporation, its portfolio of brands and other offerings for industry professionals, visit WhirlpoolPro.com.

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CAD Pro allows anyone to share these top home appliance trends, ideas and plans with clients, colleagues or professional remodeling contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.

The terms Whirlpool and Yummly are licensed trademarks of Whirlpool Corporation.

* Appliance must be set to remote enable. WiFi & App Required. Features subject to change. Details and privacy info at whirlpool.com/connect.
* Appliance must be set to Remote Enable. Select recipes only. Look for recipes with the Connected Fork icon in the Yummly app. U.S. Only.

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