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Your
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BUILDING
Business tips • sAles/mArketinG • remodelinG • sustAinABility •
mAy, 2013
•
PAGE 13
HBA
News
HOME BUILDING
HBA
pdx
.
org
Just say “no.” We have been
telling our children this for
years. Now it is our turn to give
ourselves the permission to say
“no.” Whether it be to a cus-
tomer, prospect, type of job,
location, or situation, we can
say no to things that do not fit
our business. Easier said than
done in this economic and bid-
ding climate – but must every
opportunity be followed? Con-
sider a project or requests’ cost
to time, team, and resources.
Our current and future profit-
ability may depend on saying
no when we “know” the fit isn’t
right. The trick is to seek out
better “yeses!”
By Jon Bell
For the HBA
Through its Vintage Collection, Renaissance
Homes offers brand new, energy efficient
and LEED certified homes in classic Portland
styles. The different floor plans in the collec-
tion cover most of the Portland charm, from
foursquare and gable to bungalow and crafts-
man.
But according to Renaissance president
Randy Sebastian, the company had been
missing one essential piece of the Portland
home puzzle.
“We had the foursquare, we had the bun-
galows,” he said, “but we were missing a mid-
century home that would fit in some of the
neighborhoods that have that kind of a feel.”
Renaissance recently filled that void with a
modified version of its Cleary floor plan. The
home, built on a unique lot in John’s Land-
ing, features many of the attributes of mid-
century homes, including a roof with less of a
pitch, cleaner lines, a unique siding element,
squared off windows — and lots of them
— and more. Yet it also retains some North-
west flair through accents like fir doors and fir
box beam ceilings inside.
“It’s a good look,” said Sebastian, noting
that the home was part of
this year’s Ultimate Open
House new home tour. Re-
naissance also built and sold
another one of the homes in
Sellwood.
The more contemporary
look is just one of the many
popular design and building
trends that Portland area
homebuilders are seeing
these days. From smaller,
single level homes to promi-
nent outdoor spaces, energy
efficient details and even
rooms for outdoor gear,
there’s a little bit of every-
thing out there for everyone
right now.
“People are individuals, and in the current
market, those individuals are having homes
designed specifically for their individual
needs,” said Gary Higginbotham, marketing
director and green building specialist for Alan
Mascord Design Associates. “No two people
or families are the same, so it makes it difficult
to define specific trends.”
Higginbotham said that Mascord’s more
than 700 stock home plans, which vary from
single- and multi-family dwellings to de-
tached garage plans, along with its custom
design services are also evolving to meet
market demands. Quality construction and
craftsmanship are always in style, he said, and
customers also give a high priority to properly
proportioned rooms and usable spaces with
“intentioned functions.”
“Of elements that appear consistently in
multiple projects, it is apparent there is a high
demand for smaller single level homes, with
great outdoor connections and lots of natural
light,” he said.
In addition, Higginbotham noted that
Craftsman homes are still very popular in the
Northwest, though there has been more de-
mand for contemporary styling as well.
Tucker Merrihew, owner of TTM Develop-
ment Company, said he saw how well other
builders had begun to do with contemporary
infill homes in Portland that TTM started in-
corporating some accents into its homes as
well.
“Buyers are willing to pay
more for transitionary style
or even contemporary style
home,” he said. “It seems
there’s a strong demand for
that look right now.”
For TTM, that ’s meant
adjusting some of existing
plans to include contempo-
rary twists like interior sur-
faces and fixtures, various
siding grids, cleaner lines
and more stylish colors.
They’ve also done contem-
porary window grids and
metal roofs. Like Renais-
sance, however, TTM is also
blending its contemporary
styling with a more tradi-
tional Portland feel.
“We like to leave it warm and inviting still,
so we haven’t gone full contemporary,” Mer-
rihew said.
TTMwill be bringing its blend of contempo-
rary and traditional elements to this year’s NW
Natural Street of Dreams in West Linn.
Another trend Sebastian has seen is pro-
spective homeowners looking for a place to
store bikes, kayaks and all kinds of outdoor
gear.
“People move here from all over because
it’s REI land,” he said. “They’re looking for gear
rooms that are easy to get to from the garage
so that they can just pack up and go.”
Kitchens, too, he said, continue to be a huge
focus — and they continue to get better. Re-
naissance finds itself doing more and more
commercial-style kitchens for homeowners
who entertain and often spend the majority
of their time in their kitchens.
The ongoing trend toward open great
rooms, as opposed to separate living rooms,
family rooms and kitchens, continues, accord-
ing to Higginbotham. Formal dining rooms
aren’t in as high demand as they once were,
though some clients still have them on their
wish lists.
Higginbotham said there are also some
trends that have gone by the wayside.
There are definitely designs that look dat-
ed, and some bestselling designs that have
dropped out of favor,” he said. “Homes with
tall, arched-top transom windows embody
the design trends of the 80’s and 90’s.”
Energy efficiency has also continued to play
a role in homebuilding trends. Higginbotham
said many builders have turned to profes-
sional design firms to supply the designs for
the homes they build, which allows them to
then focus on improving energy efficiency
measures and quality construction practices.
Sebastian, too, said efficiency has been big
for Renaissance, too. All of its homes are now
LEED certified, with furnaces and ductwork all
located within conditioned spaces. The result
is a much more efficient home and a decrease
in heating and cooling bills of close to 30 per-
cent.
“That’s real money,” Sebastian said.
Contemporary, efficient and comfortable —
trends in new homebuilding today
This Alan Mascord Design features clean lines, and an open “great room” floor plan. The large doors let the outside in.
Renaissance Homes’ modified their Cleary floor plan to give it
a more modern feel. The St. John property was featured as an
Idea Home in this year’s Ultimate Open House.
“Of elements that appear
consistently in multiple
projects, it is apparent there
is a high demand for small-
er single level homes, with
great outdoor connections
and lots of natrual light.”
—Gary Higginbotham,
Alan Mascord Design Associates
D-9 Chili Cook-off
This event returns bigger
and better, featuring the
HBF All Star Show Band &
Blues Review
—See page 14
Plan ahead and earn $500
ETO offers incentive for builders
who involve a New Homes
program team member from
the onset.
—See page 15
By Scott Dual,
Dual Purpose Construction
BIZ
TIPS
By Erin Davis,
Owner/Designer, Mosaik Design
& Remodeling
BIZ
TIPS
As a business owner for al-
most 20 years, the most impor-
tant piece of advice I can share
is to brand yourself and remain
consistent with your messaging
across all marketing, PR and so-
cial networking platforms. Let’s
say a prospective client sees
your ad, then goes to your web-
site, then calls or emails you,
then eventually meets you. If, at
every interaction they are get-
ting the same, consistent mes-
sage about you and your com-
pany, it will automatically instill
confidence about the process
to come. Consumer confidence
comes when they believe in the
philosophy and attitude that is
your brand.
Also, today’s savvy consumer
not only wants to know who
you are and what you do, but
“why” you do it and “how” you
plan on executing it. Personality
plays a huge role in the type of
client you will attract and even-
tually work with. I believe that
friendly and professional is the
best mix and as Michael Stone
once told me “Use that great
personality of yours to create
some business. Everyone likes
doing business with friendly,
hardworking people, so just get
out there and get after it!”
Tips from
your PROs!