Health and wellness have seized center stage in the homebuilding world. This year's coronavirus scare and lockdown made indoor air quality a top priority even among those who hadn't thought much about it before, and most industry pros expect it will still be a priority after the crisis. Not surprisingly, homebuyers are paying more attention to their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

On the surface, the difference between a production builder and a custom builder is simple. One builds the same basic house over and over, and the other builds a unique home for each customer. But the real differences go deeper. These two builder types are, in fact, fundamentally different businesses.

We’re ready for your virtual appointment! Let’s keep dreaming together. Watch our video and learn how to properly measure for your next big project.

One great thing about a new custom home is that you get to create a space perfectly tailored to your needs. Once that's done, however, your satisfaction with the space will depend largely on what you've put into it. Ensuring this satisfaction is the value provided by your interior designer.

Home builders are sometimes accused of resistance to digital home technologies. That's not quite the case, but we have seen many high-tech devices hit the market with great hype, only to quietly disappear two years later. The best service we can offer is to only recommend technologies our customers will be happy in the long term.

This article is more technical than most, but it addresses an important issue for today's homebuyers: how healthy their new home will be. That concern is no surprise, given that we're getting outside less often than ever. A 2018 YouGov survey of 16,000 people in North America and Europe found that most now spend about 90 percent of their time indoors.

Today's homes are engineered for comfort and health. Their walls are sealed to eliminate drafts, and they include thick thermal insulation as well as high-performance heating, cooling and fresh-air ventilation systems. They're a far cry from older homes.

The internet will tell you to be skeptical when searching for a builder. That's good advice: skepticism is wise at the beginning of your search, just as it is when comparing surgeons, car dealers or other service providers. But remember that the ultimate goal is to find someone you can trust and collaborate with.

The best business relationships are those where everyone has high standards, both for themselves and for the other parties. This is certainly the case when building a new custom home—a complex, expensive and emotion-laden effort in which the homeowner and builder must collaborate closely for months. Successful outcomes demand mutual trust and confidence.

One often overlooked benefit of a high-quality new custom home is that it will better handle severe weather events and power outages. These are a fact of life in all parts of the country.

The health and comfort of a new home has a lot to do with its heating, cooling and ventilation equipment. High-quality equipment will do a better job, but only if the builder works with the mechanical contractor to choose the right equipment type. With today's high-performance homes, that choice is no longer so simple.

A lot of homeowners are looking beyond the basic deck or patio to a complete outdoor experience. They're designing and building homes with multi-level decks, patios connected to decks and pools, screened porches, arbors and outdoor kitchens.