Thinking Forward

At Granite Ridge, for example, thinking forward, using sustainable products, recycled and recyclable materials and always keeping energy efficiency in mind, is just part of the job. Designer Kayla Hoffman can tick off a long list of practices and materials that are environmentally friendly and economical: Recycled and recyclable building materials and furnishings, lower cost to operate with LED lights and insulation, using natural materials, energy-efficient windows, fresh air intake heating and air-conditioning systems, low VOC paints, ceramic tile, carpet that is allergy-friendly, window treatments that absorb odors. Many things, like the odor-absorbing fabrics, she said, that used to be difficult to find or for commercial projects only are now available for homes. Granite Ridge, of course, is not alone in its attention to sustainability, nor are its customers the only ones interested in a home that is energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. These topics are important enough in the marketplace that the builders list their certifications on their websites for prospective customers to consider. Granite Ridge lists Certified Green Builder and Certified Energy Star Builder. All three builders are participating in the 2014 Parade of Homes and Lifestyle Show. Star Homes by Delagrange and Richhart lists Certified Green Professional and Energy Star Partner. Timberlin Homes lists Certified Green Professional. Granite Ridge Builders is presenting the Centier Bank Home No. 4 and the WANE-TV Villas Nos. 1 and 2. Star Homes is presenting the Frontier Communications Home No. 7. Timberlin Homes is presenting the Fort Wayne Monthly Home No 9. Star Homes' Susan Moran talks about LED lights as a leading part of the change to using environmentally friendly materials in her design practice, and she is seeing her clients taking to using recycled materials and objects in a big and creative way. They're finding ways to reuse pieces of furniture by repainting or reupholstering them, and "that helps the environment as well," Moran said, along with the more expected things like installing efficient appliances, HVAC and windows. Timberlin's Golm incorporates recycled items and more into her design practice, just as Allen does in his home design by, for example, using wood rescued from old structures like barns. Parade visitors will see that aesthetic in action, Golm said. "There will be repurposed items, not only the siding but even lighting fixtures. The lighting for over the dining nook is actually a recycled trough. It's beautiful. It's really cool. "Just this idea of finding new ways to use old things will be in the home as well." Allen finds his clients respond strongly enough to the reused materials and items in their homes that he declares it to be a trend. "People are reaching for items to decorate their houses and finishes that might have sentimental value or that remind them of 'when I grew up we went to grandpa and grandma's farm or the lake.' There are little things that people zero in on, and it gives them that warm, fuzzy feeling. I listen to the comments of people going through our homes. 'It's just so inviting. It feels like home. It doesn't just feel like a house we are walking through.' We play on those themes to make it feel like you live here, to make it feel like it's new but it's not." The interior design is an important part of that achievement. "Our vendors that we partner with are not all new home decor stores," Golm said. "They are antique stores; they're refurbishers. They are pickers in some cases. Our homes are eclectic. They are never pure anything. There is always a little bit of this and a little bit of that." "It's those contradictions that make it home. We want our homes to look collected and curated." Beyond the beauty and how comfortable people feel in the homes, though, there are business reasons pushing builders to build green homes. Here's Allen's reasoning: "I wanted my houses to reflect what people are looking for in their homes, the buzzwords, energy efficiency, the trying times of energy costs and what we just came out of with the lagging economy and people watching their dollars. "I want to build an energy-efficient home. You are spending the dollar. I am not sneezing at that at all. It's a big ticket item, but if you are buying that you are ensuring yourself that the way that house is built, the way it is insulated, the way it is zoned with the heating and cooling, the type of materials going into your home, everything is either recycled material such as some of the flooring we've got going in or it's natural stuff, it's good stuff. Everything today is a lot more environmentally friendly, and we take a look at that. With my designs, they are smart designs, the placement of the windows, which way is the wind coming, how does that affect the heat and air loss. I hope you will notice when you come to my house it's a comfortable house. Your house needs to breathe but not that much. "I think having that Certified Green Professional is one more thing about which I can have a conversation with prospective clients that you can have a house that will be built with those things in mind for this generation and generations to come."

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	Granite Ridge Builders  by Granite Ridge Builders
	Star Homes by Delagrange and Richhart  by Star Homes by Delagrange and Richhart
	Timberlin Homes  by Timberlin Homes