More and more home systems are adding voice control technology. Let’s look at the pros and cons. The star of this year’s International Builder’s Show was a smart lady by the name of Alexa. As you know, she’s the personal digital assistant that lives inside Amazon’s Echo smart speaker, and we seemed to bump into
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PC Magazine has called 2016 The Year of the Home—the start of a flowering of wireless devices that will make home life easier, healthier and more fun. This growth is thanks mostly to affordable wireless technology. Home tech devices now cost a fraction of what they did a decade ago, and most offer a simple smart phone or tablet control interface.
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Residential solar electric systems have seen phenomenal growth in recent years, with those distinctive panels now a common feature on American roofs.
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Why did Castle Homes choose LP to partner for the Southern Living Showcase Home at Dorset Park? Superior engineered wood floor components that build straight and stable floors. “We’re a big believer in using an engineered floor system,” said Brett Wright, project manager for Castle Homes. “All of the pieces of LP’s floor system worked
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Great design inspiration for your own home awaits you when you step inside the inviting seeded glass, knotty alder door of the Nashville’s only Southern Living Showcase Home open daily through Sunday, November 6. So, slip on the shoes covers, grab your camera and be prepared to take some great notes. First, from the tour
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Who doesn’t love that huge room over the garage? For many, it is a catch all for toys and dust-gathering work out equipment. However, Nashville’s only Southern Living Showcase Home has embraced the space with a clever “envelope of color” approach being implemented by experienced Bradford’s Interiors’ designer Treesa Hudson, Allied ASID. The approximately 400
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In a truly southern home, the kitchen may as well be called the ‘living room.’ It’s where we gather and chatter, commiserate and contemplate. I’ve been to many events in grand homes with palatial sitting areas, decks and views yet all I can recall are the kitchens. Maybe it’s the anticipation of what’s cooking or
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For years premiere home tours have been touting home technology advances which still required the company’s special control pad and remote gizmos. Step into Nashville’s only Southern Living Showcase Home, open through November 6 in Brentwood, pull out your iPhone or iPad, loaded with a Control4 app, and you can turn on, up and off
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Want to make sure your new home doesn’t feel dated in a few years? Then you need a good interior designer. 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
A few key devices and some basic wiring will make your home ready for just about anything Homebuilders 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
How a new custom home helps you breathe easy 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
Stricter code requirements and modern materials have raised the stakes for today’s builders 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. They’re about to become even
This is an important question for everyone involved in a new home project 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