This New Tech Turns Any Countertop into a Wireless Charger
FreePower for Countertop has swept awards for its innovation—and the company claims installing it is "as straightforward as cutting a sink"
Design
Designing, Building, and Installing a Luxury Custom Wine Cube
An 11-foot wine cube enveloping a pantry is the stand out feature of this customized New York penthouse
Products
Marvin Releases Switchable Privacy Glass Window
The privacy glass windows can be purchased from Marvin's Direct Glaze windows
Thought Leadership
Building A Small Projects Division from the Ground Up
Through hard work and careful strategy, Harth Home Services has seen big growth
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Down Under: Making the Best Use of Existing Space
The story is typical: The owners of this 1,500-square-foot English Tudor needed to expand their living space, but setbacks and architectural controls in their Denver historic district restricted what could be done with an addition. So they turned to the 1,280-square-foot basement as the likeliest candidate.
Selling the Interior Design Difference
In each new episode of HGTV's "Designers' Challenge," three designers picked by the producers present their concepts for the same remodeling project to the homeowners. Though the scenario resembles the three-bid sales process that many remodelers prefer to avoid, Construction Concepts Corp., a full-service remodeling firm in Stamford, Conn.
Home Technology and the Home Office
Nearly 20 million people worked at home at least once a week in May 2001, according to the most recent available data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Combined with the number of homeowners who need space from which to manage personal and household finances, you're looking at a lot of home offices.
In Alignment
Reaching full growth potential as a company requires having more than one person — especially if that person is the owner — who can sell jobs. At Blackdog Design/Build/Remodel in Salem, N.H., president David Bryan has a whole team of design consultants who double as salespeople and triple as estimators.
Basement: What Lies Beneath
The owners of this home originally intended to do a relatively minor remodeling of the dated basement, a 1,600-square-foot space with poor lighting and low, beamed ceilings. But when Prestige Custom Builders began the remodel, the company discovered that the foundation was cracking, leaking and inadequate, says president Jeff Santerre.
The Road to Referrals
Superior customer service is the number one way remodelers can (and should) differentiate themselves from inferior competition. In the ongoing battle for customers' trust and — ultimately — referrals, remodelers must distinguish themselves in everything from quality of materials and workmanship to the professionalism of sales personnel and work crews.
Built to Last
Brick: It exudes warmth, character, staying power. Brick often commands a higher resale value and naturally provides thermal mass, which offers some insulation. Under normal weather conditions, it could see a century or more of use, according to Brick Industry Association estimates. But for all its durability, brick is vulnerable to external factors that can decrease the lifespan of a brick hom...
Going Beyond Big
Great design means fit and finish, not square footage. Get ideas on how to win consumers in the West - and the rest - with these elegant elevations and intricate interiors.