Water Conservation: Another Trend to Watch

Residential water use accounts for more than half of the publicly supplied water in the United States. As a result, the EPA has finalized the voluntary WaterSense specification for new homes in December of 2009, which reduces water use by about 20 percent compared to a conventional new home. This is achieved by installing specially designed shower heads, toilets, faucets, and even landscape irrigation practices, which are all made to conserve water.

Managing water is a growing concern in our daily lives. Communities across the country are starting to face challenges regarding water supply and water infrastructure. Many of the states that have projected population growth increases also have higher per capita water use.

Houses built with the new homes specifications include WaterSense labeled toilets and bathroom faucets and ENERGY STAR labeled appliances and other water-efficient features indoors, as well as water-efficient landscaping outdoors. WaterSense labeled homes are built to use 20 percent less water than conventional new homes.

KKC Fine Homes is active in this movement, and we provide our clients with every opportunity to choose wisely when it comes to Water Sense.

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KKC and Dean Nota: Creating Together

Olivares Project

KKC Fine Homes has teamed up with local Architect, Dean Nota, to design and build a single family residence for longtime residents of Manhattan Beach. The Olivares house has undergone an 8-9 month planning process, and it will entail a modern style construction, with a clean and an open living plan, level changes, and an abundance of light.

Dean Nota graduated from Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1973. Nota went on to design the much recognized Marsh Residence in 1988, in Hermosa Beach, CA. He has been featured in many forums, books, and periodicals. Nota is known for his sculptural building plans, which are gorgeous and light filled.

“Living in a modern house is a choice of lifestyle”, says Nota, and “the most important thing for a client to do is to take some time to figure out how they want to live and what they need, and then find someone who understands that”

With all the focus on “green living”, Nota says in his Beach magazine interview, “The ultimate green building is a modern building, with the idea of doing more with less”. In June 2007, Nota created the Harless residence, which was subsequently featured in the book, “Green is Beautiful: Building Sustainable Houses”, by Claudio Santini.

Our current collaboration with Mr. Nota is sure to be yet another work of art, and we are confident that Manhattan Beach will yet again appreciate the concept of Southern California modernism.

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Green Building Trends Are Taking Over

We have talked quite a bit about Green living and building in concurrence with this trend. Earth Advantage Institute has released “Top Green Building Trends” and we are very excited to bring these ideas to you.

Energy conservation has been a concern of homeowners for many reasons in the past, and now, more than ever, we are hearing how our clients are conscious of this. There are a lot of ways to save energy, but one of the more recent concepts is called a “smart grid”. This device uses custom and web-based display panels to show real-time home energy use, and even real-time energy use by individual appliances.

We will continue to discuss these exciting new trends in the coming months. Topics will include such things as reclaimed flooring, water conservation, and eco-district communities.

Our beach is precious to us, and everything that we can do to help conserve our beautiful community is a step towards preserving and honoring that. KKC Fine Homes uses only the best designers and architects in order to provide our clients with options which serve the community, as well as their individual needs.

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Storage Space: Another Trend We Like

Lack of adequate storage causes a myriad of problems

Can you ever have too much storage? Sure, you can increase the storage in your home by adding shelves, installing cabinets, and buying wardrobes and armoires. But the best time to think about storage is while you are building or remodeling your home.

One way to increase storage space is by looking up. As in, higher ceilings, and taller cabinets. A kitchen or great room can be designed to accommodate this easily. Many homebuilders are incorporating this into their designs, as the demand increases. We also find storage under the stairs, and in the attic.

The garage is also an important part of today’s home storage design. Many people, especially two-car families, have at least one SUV, and the largest of these vehicles would not fit in a standard garage. Additionally, with our active beach lifestyles, garage storage is essential for the variety of surfboards, bicycles, and exercise equipment which we collect.

KKC Fine Homes is committed to helping you to find the right design for your home storage needs, and beyond. Our talented team will create beautiful storage solutions which are tailored to your, and your family’s, needs.

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KKC Partners With Reuse Network

Workers remove items from 112 Manhattan Avenue

As we discussed in the previous segment, Reuse Network and KKC Fine Homes has partnered to deconstruct the 112 Manhattan Avenue property in an eco-conscious way. The process of deconstruction is commonly misunderstood, and most people don’t realize how easy it is to donate their homes in this way.

You might assume that this process is much more time-consuming than the standard demolition. In fact, it is only slightly longer. Most jobs take approximately 3 weeks to complete. Reuse Network works directly with your contractor in order to make the duration of the job as short as possible for you.

You might also be under the misconception that your house couldn’t possibly be worth donating. In fact, almost all houses have something to donate. At the same time, you can feel good about keeping reusable materials out of landfills, and into the hands of someone who can make good use of them.

KKC Fine Homes is very pleased with the deconstruction process, now completed. Every step we take is mindful of preserving our beautiful beach community, as well as serving our clients as efficiently as possible.

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Universal Design: Something for Everyone

These kids might need an outdoor shower ........

Universal design means creating spaces that meet the needs of all people, young and old, able and disabled. From the arrangement of the rooms to the choice of colors, many details go into the creation of accessible spaces. Working with talented and creative designers, we can help you to build a space which works for a variety of situations.

No matter how beautiful, your home will not be comfortable or appealing if you cannot move freely through its rooms. Even if everyone in the family is able-bodied, a sudden accident or the long-term effects of illness can create mobility problems or visual impairments.

Many things go into developing a floor plan and custom touches. Make sure you provide plenty of floor space, and include tables or counters that are a variety of heights to accommodate standing, seating, and a range of different tasks. Be aware of installing mirrors and cabinets in a way that they may be reached by a child or a person in a wheelchair.

Working together, we can provide you with many different options, which best suit your individual needs, as well as take into account needs which may arise in the future. KKC Fine Homes and the designers we work with are pleased to offer suggestions and services to make your beach dwelling the best it can be for you.

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Feng Shui and the home design

Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) is an intuitive art. This ancient art prescribes lengthy and complex rules that may strike modern homeowners as quirky. For example, your home should not be built at the end of a dead-end road. Round pillars are better than square. Ceilings should be high and well-lit.

Yet even the most baffling practices have a basis in common sense. For example, feng shui principles warn that a kitchen door should not face the stove. The reason is that a person working at the stove may instinctively want to glance back at the door. This creates a feeling of unease, which can lead to accidents.

Despite the numerous complicated rules, feng shui adapts to many architectural styles. Indeed, the clean, uncluttered appearance may be your only clue that a home or office building was designed according to feng shui principles.

The beach life adapts well to the simplistic feng shui philosophy. KKC Fine Homes, and the architects we work with, are ready to help you implement this into your home and create the “ch’i” or “positive energy” which you desire.

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Keeping Current: Construction Trends for 2010

Over the next few months, we will be discussing some of the current construction trends. We already introduced the “green living” trend, and discussed a few people and companies that are supporting this trend, which support this philosophy, as well.

Other trends we will cover will include topics such as the healthy home design, flexible floor plans, and adaptive reuse design, as well as other relevant building concepts for enhancing our beach lifestyle.

Next week we will discuss the Eastern philosophy and how it influences today’s homes. With the ever-increasing population diversity, all areas of our lives are affected, including our homes.

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Keeping it ‘Green’ at the Beach

We at KKC Fine Homes maintain an ongoing commitment to environmental awareness. We are constantly educating ourselves, attending seminars, and seeking out products that have green certifications, on products such as lumber, siding, paint, tile, drywall, and countertops. We use only formaldehyde-free lumber, and low to no volatile organic compounds. Any spec home we build comes equipped with energy star appliances and high efficiency mechanical systems.

We share our green knowledge with our clients, including the cost and benefit analysis in choosing solar power, water heating and energy efficiency. As a result, 3 out of 4 of our current clients will be choosing to use solar panels, radiant heat or tankless water heaters. These choices have the additional advantage of saving utility costs to the homeowner, as well.

Our goal is to merge customer satisfaction with environmental responsibility. We strive to provide as many choices as possible, without sacrificing performance or reliability. Preserving the beauty of the beach, where we live, work and play, is a top priority.

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KKC Fine Homes Joins Forces With Designer Jon Starr

One of the things we love about living and working in Manhattan Beach (and the surrounding beach communities) is that talented designers are drawn to this area. Many local designers have built national reputations for themselves here, in part because this area has a clientele that gives them the freedom to be truly innovative.

We're fortunate to be living in a place where many clients looking to buy or build a custom home are progressive in their thinking. They are successful at what they do, and that success is a result of their unique way of seeing things.  These customers look for homes that express this individuality – they are not people who will settle for cookie-cutter design; they require talented designers. In the coming months, we plan on featuring a number of these local talents on our blog.

One of them is John Starr. He is prolific in his work, and he designs homes that are truly one of a kind.

“Starr describes a design as a continuously evolving dream, a process rooted in creative problem solving.”¹

To build a home in a place with as much warmth and character as Hermosa Beach, a creative team must truly know the town – they must personally breathe in its fresh sea air, see the soft waves of hills and valleys that define the land, be acquainted with the locals – and understand how to achieve that perfect blend of efficiency (of space), sophistication of design, and casualness that defines beach living.

Like KKC Fine Homes, Starr Design Group lives that description.

We are  excited about our upcoming collaboration with Starr Design Group. We break ground on what will be a yearlong project at 112 Manhattan Avenue in March of this year. If you saw the pictures that accompanied the recent piece on Jon Starr in the Easy Reader, you would know why the already beautiful city of Hermosa Beach has something unique and elegant to look forward to in early 2011.

We’re excited to be a part of Mr Starr’s “evolving dream”.

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¹Kessler, Ashley, Concept and Collaboration, Luxury & Lifestyle, July/August, 2008.

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