Bathroom Design Innovations

Bathroom remodels are typically popular for their ability to severely increase your home’s resale value.  But they are also popular for their ability to increase your enjoyment and relaxation in the space.

Products to watch out for when remodeling your home’s bathrooms include:

• Cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing drainage systems
• A wider range of stylish, durable tiling options
• A greater selection of high-design bathroom fixtures
• Recycled glass bathroom counter tops

Eco-Friendly Investments

While eco-friendly materials and appliances typically cost a bit more up front, the savings afforded over time are quickly converting more and more homeowners.

Some of the top eco-friendly innovations to consider working into your home remodel include:

• Tankless, energy efficient water heating systems
• Spray-in insulation to seal gaps and prevent heat loss
• Energy-efficient radiant flooring systems with programmable thermostats
• A wider range of affordable, rooftop solar paneling options

Getting Started

A great place to start is by finding out who the designers are behind some of your favorite homes in your area.  Talk with friends, neighbors, relatives and ask about their experience and the outcome.

You will also want to consider each architect’s experience building in your area as well as the home styles they are well versed in.  Another great factor to consider is eco-friendly designing experience.  Finding an architect who has completed a Certified North Carolina’s HealthyBuilt Home will mean that not only is the firm up-to-date on the latest in green technologies, but will also leave a lighter footprint.

Meet and Greet
Now that you have narrowed your list down to a few key players, you will want to spend some time getting to know each firm.  A home build can take months, so you will want to be sure that the lines of communication are open between you and your home architect.  Any conflicts that arise in the initial meeting could be good indications of things to come.  So be sure to meet with firms until you find one who you believe understands your vision and will be open and honest with you to bring that creation to life.

Track Record

Even if an architect utterly impresses you, it may be good to know whether their prior design projects went smoothly as planned.  Ask for references.  Look for a firm who has a track record of being on time, on budget and easy to work with.  With the right teams in place, your home build can be exciting, not stressful.

Green Home Design

While greening your home remodel is highly recommended, having your new home designed from the start with green in mind may prove more affordable and effective.  Newer homes can even be easily retrofitted to accommodate popular green design elements like recycled glass tiles and bamboo flooring.

Here are some of the ways in which your custom home architect can incorporate green living into your new home from the ground up:

Orientation

The orientation of a home on its lot can have a huge impact on the home’s energy efficiency.  Especially with Western North Carolina’s hilly landscapes, positioning the home offer sun in the winter and shade in the summer can reduce energy costs exponentially.

Foundation

There are many ways to manipulate a home’s temperature via good foundational planning.  Some of the options include the incorporation of geothermal wells, insulated concrete and framed basement walls.

Windows and Doors

Proper placement of doors and windows can prevent overheating in the summer and too much heat loss in the winter.  Your custom home architect will know just how to expertly locate doors and windows into your new home to avoid winter heat losses of up to 25%.

Layout and Design

Working with a custom home architect who is experienced in building HealthyBuilt Homes in Western North Carolina can ensure your home’s layout and design also contribute to its energy efficiency.

ACM Design Architects have years of experience expertly incorporating green appliances, materials and features into homes in the Asheville area.  If you’re thinking about building a greener home, be sure to consult your home architect.

ACM Designed Green Home

Perhaps you’ve been considering a home remodel, but are concerned about the cost and what the ROI will be.  If this is the case, you may want to consider a “green” remodel.  Incorporating green features into your existing home may cost less than you think and save you a lot of money in long run.

As experienced HealthyBuilt Home architects ACM Design can help you to weigh the costs and benefits of “greening” your home renovation.  There have been some great advances in green home building over the past few years, so you will want to consult with an expert with experience in green home building and in the Western North Carolina region.

Green is More Affordable Than Ever

While the definition of a green remodel may vary from one source to another, one thing is certain; the rise in popularity of green home products has lowered the cost.  A common misconception is that green homes cost more to build, but in many cases you can get green products for the same prices as alternatives, plus with tax credits, long term energy savings, and longer product life-spans, you will have a much better ROI.

Green Can Even Mean Luxury

Apart from being a better overall investment, green products are also more luxurious than ever before.  In fact there are green homes popping up all over the Asheville area in all price ranges.

Green Benefits the Community

One final benefit to using green products in your home remodel are the lowered health and safety risks to your family and your contractors.  Choosing safer materials can also mean doing your part to prevent ingestion of toxic chemicals by the teams you hire to build or renovate your home.  So by doing your part for the environment and your family, you will also be helping out the community.

Green Plumbing Trends

While you have likely heard of Western North Carolina’s HealthyBuilt Home Program, you may have missed the word on green plumbing, including new residential trends like WaterSense homes.

It’s no secret that many people are incorporating green features in their new home design in every area of the house from the kitchen to the yard to the rooftops.  One area of the house you don’t want to take fore granted, however, is the bathroom.

Plumbing fixtures are getting greener by the day and here are some green trends you may want to consider asking your home architect to incorporate into your home plans:

Lead-Free Faucets

Did you know that faucets and brass fittings that serve up your potable water can contain lead?  While California has already set legal regulations on lead content in potable pipes, you may want to make sure that lead doesn’t make it into your water.

Solar Hot Water

With traditional solar hot water collectors being replaced with less expensive plastic models, water warmed by naturally by the sun is becoming a real possibility for most homeowners.

WaterSense Homes

Available in some new residential constructions, as a means of reducing the home’s incoming water pressure, regulator valves are installed downstream of the home’s water meter.

Greywater Systems

These systems can range from the use of dual-pipe technologies to water catchment systems.  Simply put, a greywater system takes water that has been uses within the home (excepting the toilets) and uses them for other purposes such as landscape irrigation.

Start at the Beginning

At ACM Design, we sit down with our clients to carefully weigh costs and benefits.  This process will help to determine which investments are in your best interest today, in order to save money year after year.  Working together to incorporate green home features from the beginning of your home design process is also more cost effective.  Adding these same includes after-the-fact can incur much greater costs.

Avoid Replacement Costs

ACM Design can also help advise you on which green home features will not only save money on your monthly utility bills, but also save you money down the line.  For instance, air handlers and duct work in conditioned spaces can double the life of your heating and cooling system, thus helping to avoid pricey replacement costs.

Take Advantage of Tax Credits

One more way to save money on green includes is by taking advantage of energy tax credits.  By maximizing tax credit eligibility, you may get thousands of dollars back on your initial investment.

No matter the level of eco-friendliness you are considering for your home, by working through the process with your home architect, you are guaranteed a better return on your investment.

Kitchen Islands Offer Extra Storage

If you’re building a new home or remodeling your existing one this year, here are five of the top trends you can really get behind.  And if there’s one thing that these top home design features have in common, it’s energy efficiency.

• Smaller Spaces:  As the home market begins to show signs of improvement, home owners are taking hard-earned lessons with them and seeking out smaller, but smarter spaces.  Ample and well thought out storage space, open floor plans and family-friendly features are just a few of the ways in which smaller homes are taking the lead in home design.
• ENERGY STAR Appliances:  Kitchen appliances alone can burn up almost 10% of your home budget, and investing in the latest energy efficient models is a smart investment.  Most ENERGY STAR appliances quickly recoup their value in energy savings, and prove good long-term investments.
• Better Insulation:  Tightly-sealed insulation is one of the best money-saving investments you can make in your new home.  Foam sealants and better insulation help keep homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer, greatly reducing annual energy expenditures.
• Net Zero Energy:  Net zero or “off the grid” homes actually generate more energy than they use up.  With net zero technologies rapidly increasing, converting your home to an energy maker may be easier and less costly than you think.
• Outdoor Rooms:  With indoor square footage decreasing, an outdoor room is an excellent way to gain useful square footage in an area you may be taking fore granted—your backyard.  Outdoor living rooms and kitchens add great entertaining space to any home.

Eco-Friendly Hardwood Flooring

Bamboo and cork flooring are very on trend, but is hardwood or linoleum a better eco-friendly choice for your new home or remodel?  You will want to consult your home architect for her extensive knowledge of design and experience in working these materials.

It is also important to familiarize yourself with some of the advantages to working with each of these eco-friendly flooring options.  While some will last longer, others may not be as green as you might imagine.

Popular Eco-Friendly Flooring Materials Include:

Bamboo is a very popular choice, but depending on your finished product it may not be as good for the planet as you think.  The speedy growing cycle of bamboo is around just five years, making it highly renewable.  But unless you’re paying for pricier locally grown varieties, your “green” flooring will have to ship from native China.

You’ll also want to consider that bamboo is actually quite soft in its raw form, and treated bamboo flooring can contain harsh chemicals.

Cork is a great low toxicity flooring choice, but its relatively soft and porous nature make it better for some rooms than others.  Putting down cork tiles with low VOC glue has in the past presented some problems, but recent varieties feature tongue and grooves for lasting installation.  On a greener note, cork is highly sustainable and rapidly renewing.

Linoleum is surprisingly, in its finished state, one of the most natural options available.  Despite its man-made appearance, this linseed oil derived material is actually a favorite amongst activists. Linoleum’s high durability factor makes it a great choice for kitchens and bathrooms.

Natural wood floors are design favorite, and a competitive eco-friendly choice as long as they have the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) seal of approval.  This seal means the wood has been harvested sustainably.  Plus in the realm of longevity, hardwoods outlast like no other, giving them serious green appeal.

Gold Level Healthy Built Home designed by ACM Design

Sustainable living, green building and eco-friendly homes are nothing new. Although rapidly gaining a widespread audience, green living is actually a way of life and can be as simple as changing your eating and recycling habits, or as far-reaching as designing a custom home with environmentally friendly building materials and features.

The benefits to homeowners building green, eco-friendly homes are well-known but worth repeating: lower utility bills, greater comfort, better indoor air quality, tax breaks, and higher resale prices, just to name a few. Green building should not be looked at as yet another home-building fad, but rather a way of making well-informed decisions regarding the ways we think and live. By making smarter decisions we significantly increase our health, wealth and well-being for ourselves and our families.

Green living at its core uses resources more efficiently, eliminates waste and creates healthier living spaces. It goes beyond an energy-saving appliance or a reduced waste home site (although those are great places to begin) and it is about significantly addressing and subsequently changing your lifestyle to live with efficiency in mind.

Building a green home first means understanding the balance involved between homeowner and nature. While benefits for the homeowner are vast, the effects of green building and sustainable living to the environment are equally immeasurable and require a harmonious blend of the two.

A great builder can assist with several materials to improve efficiency, but it is working with a custom home architect that allows the freedom to implement green building design from the very start. Depending on the level at which one wants to add eco-friendly elements into their custom home design, the following should at least be addressed and discussed when building a new green home:

• Ways to design your home with the site orientation in mind
• Ways to save water
• Ways to save energy
• Ways to design a healthy building/structure and air quality
• Ways to reduce waste

One of the simplest ways to add to the energy efficiency of a new home is to consider the site orientation and features during conceptual design. The placement of the home on the property can make a tremendous difference in both the energy efficiency and overall cost of the home itself.  For instance, placing many large windows on a west facing exterior results in significant heat gain thru the windows to the inside of the home.  During the summer months, this design decision adds up to big dollars on the cooling bill.  By simply rotating the home slightly on the property to avoid facing due west or by reducing the number of windows on a west facing elevation, the architect avoids the heat gain, as well as the high energy bill for the homeowner summer after summer.

Saving water obviously benefits the Earth and the homeowner by lowering utility costs. Water conservation can be achieved by incorporating low flow faucets and toilets, but can also be accomplished simply by doing things day to day like turning the water off while brushing one’s teeth.  When architects and landscape architects and designers work together, they can help homeowners conserve even more water by designing rainwater catchment systems that capture rain water from the roof to irrigate plant material in the yard.  Landscaping with native plants helps make the saved rainwater go even further.

Energy savings are ubiquitous in new home design, from Energy-Star-rated appliances to solar panels and geothermal heat pumps, the sky is the limit for incorporating new technologies.  Even basic design considerations can affect energy savings by addressing plans and elevations that optimize passive solar heating and cooling effects.

Designing a healthy home and insuring the air quality is of the highest level can be achieved several ways. Attic spaces should be properly ventilated to eliminate rotting or mold when conditions rise and fall. Properly regulated heat and air conditioning systems are also important, as the size of the system can often cool the air too quickly, creating an unhealthy breathing environment.

Reducing waste when building green is easy to achieve. From recycling the home site materials, to incorporating natural trees, rocks and vegetation into the landscape design, eliminating waste and using recycled materials is one of the easiest green building methods.

Whatever elements you plan to incorporate into a custom home design, keep in mind that designing a green home begins as a concept and ends with a set of drawings that successfully benefits both homeowner and the environment.