Anders Lasater, owner of Anders Lasater Architects, and Sandra Vila, owner of Sandra Vila Design, saw one man’s neglected 1960s hillside home as a treasure to be restored. This breathtaking oceanfront property defies expectations and exists as a testament to what can happen when creative limitations spark extraordinary design. “This house is special because it shouldn’t exist,” says Lasater. “By all rules, it ought not to be there anymore, but we were able to transform this little ’60s cracker box tract house into the beautiful estate it is today.” According to Iconic Life, The…
Read MoreDay: March 26, 2025
The Kitchen Island: From Behind the Scenes to Center Stage
The backstory of today’s kitchen island has roots in the standalone scullery workstations of large estates in the 18th century. It was architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 20th century, who’s open-plan homes blurred or eliminated physical barriers between kitchen, dining and living spaces. The islands were set serving as important pieces of functional furniture for mingling and food prep. Their mainstream arrival surged in the 1960s as The French Chef hit cooking show featured host Julia Child serving up at-home recipes and radiant joy while stationed at her kitchen…
Read MoreU.S. Sawmill Production Capacity Constant in 2024
Sawmill and wood preservation firms reported lower capacity utilization rates coupled with level production and capacity throughout 2024. Utilization rates, however, have trended downwards since 2017 as sawmills have expanded production capability, despite no growth in production in 2024. Even with more production capability, real output has not followed as output remains lower than 2018. According to Eye On Housing, Capacity utilization rates are a ratio of actual production and potential production capabilities for firms. The utilization rate for sawmills and wood preservations firms was 64.7% in the fourth quarter on…
Read MoreNAR Report Offers Remodeling – Upgrading Insights
In the 6.4% range, modest price gains are the 2025 outlook watchwords for the remodeling market. According to Elizabethton Star, Remodeling gets a space of its own in the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Remodeling Report. The segment on how much it fits into the $118,500 impact each home sale has on the overall economy is $5,460 per sale — 4.5% of the total. Obviously, that’s an average. And it likely understates the local effect. That’s due to the number of older homes in our region and the practice of…
Read MoreU.S. Remodeling Market Continues to Grow as Homes Age
The United States remodeling market soared above $600 billion from the home improvement boom that rode the pandemic. Despite recent softening, is still remains 50% above pre-pandemic levels. However, industry fragmentation, inflation and a shortage of skilled trade labor jeopardize the ability of the industry to fully meet demand. According to Improving America’s Housing 2025, a recently released report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (HJCHS), the resilient strength of the remodeling market has been supported by the aging of homes and households, as well as record-high property…
Read MoreTariffs on Lumber and Appliances Set to Impact New Homes and Remodeling Market
With some of the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China already in place, others are set to take effect in a few weeks. Anticipation is already driving up the cost of building materials used in new residential construction and home remodeling projects. According to AP News, The tariffs are projected to raise the costs that go into building a single-family home in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Such costs are typically passed along to the homebuyer…
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