Consumers Save - Photos & Ideas

Solar Panel Aerial Gallery

GenRenew, LLC

Exterior home photo in Philadelphia

Gallery

CoverMyPatio.com

The Arcadia Louvered Roof enhances the beauty of any style home and provides the flexibility of having an open roof when the weather is good or a solid roof to keep the rain off your patio when the weather turns bad. Eco-friendly Construction The Arcadia system is made up of recycled aluminum making it an extremely Green product. It is also eco-friendly, helping consumers save on passive solar heating and cooling. We Think Green Arcadia is proud to continue the company's tradition with its approach to Environmental Innovation. From the choice of lightweight materials and lean production methods to the efficiency of its drive system and designs, Arcadia is committed to operating as a more sustainable business and reducing its overall environmental impact. High-quality Building Materials Each Arcadia system is a work of art, constructed with care and attention to every little detail. Our system is powered coated, extruded aluminum with stainless steel components giving us the most durable louvered roof on the market today. From our superior drive system, which is UL & CE certified, down to the stainless steel tex screws that secures the system together. Nothing but the best! Our low-maintenance components eliminate painting, staining, and waterproofing of traditional shading structures. Using powder-coated aluminum construction prevents warping, cracking, and corrosion. Photographed by: Roger Chafin

Gallery

CoverMyPatio.com

Find the right local pro for your project

Find top design and renovation professionals on Houzz

Modern Luxury in Alys Beach, FL

E. F. San Juan

This project called for a very modern interior with minimal visible wooden millwork, save for a few focal points such as the spectacular interior doors built by E. F. San Juan. We also supplied Loewen windows and exterior doors and custom E. F. San Juan Invincia™ impact-rated wooden entry door systems. Challenges: The interior doors were the greatest design challenge of this project. Interior designer Cindy Meador and the homeowners envisioned very modern, flush, European-style doors made of rich walnut with veneers for the bedrooms and bathrooms. The original design called for a brass inlay border to separate the horizontal panel veneers from the stiles and rails of the door; however, after some discussion, it became clear that this would not create the most stable construction to stand the test of time and use. Solution: We worked with the team to determine that a white maple inlay would create the desired contrast and enhance the all-wood simplicity of the door design. The most challenging part of building these doors was the time-consuming process of laminating the veneers and incorporating the maple inlay. As you can see from the photos, the entries become art displays along with the other beautiful art pieces that Cindy and the owners have incorporated into the home’s interior design. The Loewen windows and exterior doors are sleek and fit well with the home’s modern feel. These windows and doors, along with the sizable Invincia® main entry door built by our team, are made to impact-rated standards that will fortify the home and its occupants against the Gulf Coast elements. The completed home is a masterpiece by architect Tom Christ, interior designer Cindy Meador, and the Davis Dunn Construction team. The team here at E. F. San Juan was honored to be a part of it and we are proud of our artistic contribution. The residence has been featured in national publications such as VIE magazine as well as the Alys Gazette. Photography by Chris Luker

Los Feliz

Deirdre Doherty Interiors

Inspiration for a timeless bathroom remodel in Los Angeles

North 9th Street

Tatyana Gartner

http://www.houzz.com/pro/oleg-march/oleg-march-photography

Gallery

CoverMyPatio.com

Sponsored

Columbus, OH

Hope Restoration & General Contracting35 Reviews

Columbus Design-Build, Kitchen & Bath Remodeling, Historic Renovations

Exterior Painting in Seattle

CertaPro Painters of Seattle

The 'before' shot of this period home covered in lead based paint that we stripped off.
Inspiration for a timeless exterior home remodel in Seattle

What Do I Need To Do To Sell My House In Laveen Arizona

Top Price Buyers

What Do I Need To Do To Sell My House In Laveen Arizona September 20, 2019 By brianpascal You want to sell your Laveen house, and you want to get top dollar. Excellent! But “What do I need to do to sell my house in Laveen“? Woman holding tablet pc with question marks hiding her face Here are some tips on how to get your home ready to sell if you’re looking for top dollar that the market will bear: *NOTE: These instructions are if you’re looking to get full retail value for your house sale. However, if you don’t want to do the things below… or don’t have the time or money to do the things below… you can still sell your Laveen house fast for a fair value in a win-win sale that’ll save you time and expense. What Do I Need To Do To Sell My House In Laveen Arizona - Cleaning the Floor 2) Cultivate a cohesive, neutral style. You don’t have to paint everything off-white. In fact, some subtle colors can really help change the perception of spaces – for example, a soft yellow will help brighten up a dark kitchen, while a deep dark blue or green will help a bright bedroom to feel like a calm place to sleep (but be careful, dark colors will also make rooms feel small). Spend the money to get high-quality paint and professional help. Subconsciously people will pay more money for a property with just the right colors and very neat lines – it makes the home feel better built, even though it’s just paint. Optical illusions are real, and psychologists study this stuff. Don’t believe me? Look it up. And don’t neglect the outside and just do the inside, or anything else that’s unbalanced. 3) Fix or replace anything that’s broken. Yeah, it might feel like a waste of money to spend an extra couple hundred bucks on a dishwasher that someone else might just pull out and replace again. But really, quite a few buyers will get a home inspection and use the opportunity to negotiate with you. As the seller, you’ll often end up paying more if you try to hide neglected maintenance from the purchaser – and of course you don’t want to be guilty of fraud. Make sure you stay in compliance with all the laws. It’s often a good use of money to hire a home inspector to come through before you put the property on the market. If you ask in advance, they’ll often charge you a tiny rate to come back after you’ve done a bunch of minor repairs and deliver you a clean bill of health. Prospective buyers love to see an independent report on the condition of the house – it makes them feel very comfortable with the purchase. 4) Make only the necessary improvements. The biggest mistake people make when getting their house ready to sell is over-improving. They often spend too much money on customized frills that can’t be recovered in the sale. Paint is about the only safe investment – it’s easy to overspend on almost everything else, and it’s easy to get ripped off by unscrupulous contractors. It’s important to know what improvements will produce a return on investment to avoid wasting money. 5) Get expert opinions. You should definitely find at least a few decent real estate brokers who will help you price your property, but be honest with them. If you’re going to market the property on your own, don’t make enemies by lying about your intentions. Great brokers are rare, but they make more money for their clients than they earn. 6) Have a really great marketing plan. Again, great brokers earn their value by doing this work and spreading the advertising expenses across many clients. It’s pretty expensive and time-consuming to start from scratch on your own, but if you’re already a marketing expert you’re ahead of the pack. If you’re not, spend the time listening to what the best brokers do to sell houses in Laveen – just to educate yourself on the options. What Do I Need To Do To Sell My House In Laveen Arizona - Cash Offer7) Get a cash offer. We buy houses all over the Laveen area, and we do all the work so you don’t have to deal with any of this stuff. ——————————————- Don’t Want To Do The Things Above Yourself? But Still Want To Sell Your Laveen Arizona House Fast? While everyone wants to get as much as they possibly can from their house sale… not everyone can do the things or wants to do the things required to sell it at full retail value to an end buyer. Doing the repairs, cleaning the property up, upgrading the property, marketing the property… those all take money and can take lots of time. If you have the funds to do these things... AND you can wait the 3-9 months it takes to sell houses in this market… then you’ll be better off financially to do those things then list it on the MLS (the main property listing service that real estate agents use). If you don’t have the funds to do these things... AND can’t wait months to sell your house… then you may be a perfect fit for our local Laveen house buying service. You’ll submit basic info about your house over here on our website, we’ll evaluate your house, we’ll make you a fair all-cash offer on your house, and you can decide if it’s a fit for you. What Do I Need To Do To Sell My House In Laveen Arizona Exterior House Arizona Photo Then we can close FAST (often times within 7 days) if you need us to. Take a look at what we’ll pay you not to do anything versus the time, expense and hassle involved with doing it on your own. So if you’re still asking “what do I need to do to sell my house in Laveen“… now you have 2 solid options. Either… Fix the property up and get it all nice and ready with the steps above to sell it at top dollar Let us do all of the work and we’ll make you a cash offer on your house in AS-IS condition. This saves you time, money, and gets the hassle off of your hands. If you need to sell a property near Laveen, we can help you. We buy properties like yours from people who need to sell fast. We’d like to make you a fair offer on your Laveen house Give us a call anytime at (602) 560-9260 or fill out the form on this website today!

Myths About Smart Homes

Electronic Design & Consulting, Inc.

This article is posted here with the consent of the author. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, view, or opinion of Crestron Electronics, Inc., or of any of its employees. Crestron Electronics is not responsible for, and does not verify the accuracy of, any of the information contained in this article. By Jeff Singer The “smart” revolution began several years ago with smartphones (a.k.a phones) and has extended in recent years to thermostats, doorbells, alarm systems, and kitchen appliances. Smart devices are so ubiquitous that the term “smart” is overused to the point that it is almost meaningless. Companies are eager to jump on the bandwagon and claim their products are “smart,” and consumers proudly claim they have a smart home because they have lighting control. Misconceptions about smart homes are prevalent and create confusion in the marketplace. This can have deleterious effects on businesses and underserve consumers. Here are seven of the most popular misconceptions about smart homes: 1. Apps are smart Apps are convenient and easy to use. Yes, it seems there’s an app for everything. People expect to be able to download an app and do just about anything. App developers and many companies do not disavow consumers of this myth. On the contrary, they promote this idea with carefully worded descriptions. The promise of having the world at your fingertips for $1.99 is very enticing. Although it sounds too good to be true, it is also too good to pass up for many people. This leads to undervaluing home control and disappointment when the apps don’t work, which undermines confidence in our industry. The fact is that apps are not smart. They do not control anything. They must connect to and communicate with a control system or cloud service that processes, prioritizes, and executes commands. That’s the real magic and what most people do not understand. 2. Smart devices work together With so many smart appliances and devices on the market today, it’s understandable that the average consumer might think that they actually communicate and work together. This is simply not the case. Smart devices are not that smart. They are designed and manufactured by different, often competing, companies. There are no national or industry standards governing these products. Even if they all operate using Wi-Fi® communications, that doesn’t mean they work together. Some companies promote a home control platform, which unites different devices from different companies – in theory. The platform is yet another third-party software totally dependent on other companies developing APIs and writing control modules for their hardware to run on that piece of software. The devices are not independently compatible. Also, when updates are made to either the hardware or the software, functionality may be affected for some period. That’s a nice way of saying the device or system won’t work and there’s no way of knowing for how long. 3. It’s a DIY project Which brings us to the next myth, which is that the average person can do it themselves. Unless you are a skilled professional, I would not advise taking on a smart home project. You want to make a light turn on and off with your Alexa® or Google Assistant™ virtual assistant software, go for it. A smart home takes much more planning and expertise. I have no problem changing a light bulb or hanging a light fixture in my dining room; however, I am not going to rewire my house. I may change the flush valve in my toilet, but I’m not going to replace the pipes in my house. You get it. Integrating devices and systems, establishing different zones, creating scenes, designing the UI with a balance between control, feedback, and simplicity – all takes experience and skill. 4. Need a programmer to make changes Early adopters may have experienced the pain of trying to make a simple change or update to their home control system. Years ago, if the cable provider changed the channel line-up, the homeowner would have to call the dealer or programmer to make an appointment for them to come out to the house to reprogram the system. The system wouldn’t work as expected until it was updated, which often took several days and beaucoup bucks. Not anymore. Technology has evolved so now it’s easy for system owners to change favorite channels, create scenes, rename buttons, update images, and more. While a professional is needed for the initial installation and setup, the system is easy to manage once it’s up and running. This makes life so much easier for both dealer and customer. 5. Tech becomes obsolete quickly Similar to updating the UI, updating firmware or hardware used to be a stressful process. A smart home should be intelligent enough to update itself. Apps don’t become obsolete. Updates are constantly pushed out from the cloud, making them better all the time. The same is true for a good smart home system. New features, functions, and device support gets added in the background consistently, so the system you installed (or purchased) yesterday gets better over time. Swapping out decorative elements, such as keypads, dimmers, and touch screens is also seamless. When a new device is added, all the settings are pulled down from the cloud and it just works. No system interruptions. No sunk costs. No imposing house calls. No surprise bills. 6. Lighting control saves energy and money Lighting control is one of the most popular smart systems, but it takes more than just one system to make a home smart. On the surface, it makes sense that if you dim the lights ten percent, then you save ten percent of energy costs. If the shades are raised during the day to take advantage of sunlight so the lights don’t need to be on (or at least not 100%), but that causes the room temperature to rise a few degrees, which triggers the air conditioner to run longer and more often, was energy usage (or cost) reduced? A smart home integrates all the various systems and technology to optimize comfort, convenience, safety, and sometimes energy. 7. Home technology is easy to hack Security is at the forefront of people’s minds these days. Personal identities are stolen; email accounts hacked; private photos publicized; and more. A smart home must outsmart those who don’t respect privacy. Crestron control systems adhere to the strictest security standards. The same Crestron control system that goes into a home is also installed in secure government and military facilities, global banking institutions, hospitals, and other mission critical applications. When installed correctly by a trained professional, a Crestron smart home is the gold standard for security, comfort, and convenience.

Lubberland's Edge

Kaplan Thompson Architects

Context Norbert and Robin had dreamed of retiring in a Passive House-certified home overlooking the Lubberland Creek Preserve in Southeastern New Hampshire, and they’d done their homework. They were interested in using four integrated Zehnder America (www.zehnderamerica.com) technologies to make the 1,900 square foot home extremely energy efficient. They didn’t miss any opportunity to innovate or raise the bar on sustainable design. Our goals were focused on guaranteeing their comfort in every season, saving them money on a fixed income, and reducing the home’s overall impact on the environment as much as possible. Response The home faces directly south and captures sunlight all winter under tall and vaulted ceilings and a continuous band of slim-lined, Italian triple-pane windows and doors that provide gorgeous views of the wild preserve. A second-story office nook and clerestory provide even deeper views, with a little more privacy. Zehnder, which previously sold its innovative products only in Europe, took on the project as a test house. We designed around Zehnder’s vent-based systems, including a geothermal heat loop that heats and cools incoming air, a heat pump cooling system, electric towel-warmer radiators in the bathrooms, and a highly efficient energy recovery ventilator, which recycles heat and minimizes the need for air conditioning. The house effectively has no conventional heating system—and doesn’t need it. We also looked for efficiencies and smart solutions everywhere, from the lights to the windows to the insulation. The kitchen exhaust hood eliminates, cleans, and recirculates cooking fumes in the home’s unique kitchen, custom-designed to match the ways Norbert likes to prepare meals. There are several countertop heights so they can prep and clean comfortably, and the eat-in kitchen also has two seating heights so people can sit and socialize while they’re working on dinner. An adjacent screened porch greets guests and opens to the view. A roof-mounted solar system helps to ensure that the home generates more energy than it consumes—helped by features such as a heat pump water heater, superinsulation, LED lights and a polished concrete floor that helps regulate indoor temperatures.