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Trends from the 2011 International Builders’ Show

February 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you’re in the market to remodel your Atlanta home, you’ll want to research current building trends and update your space accordingly. The 2011 International Builders’ Show is a great place to start seeking inspiration.

Houselogic, a website sponsored by the National Association of Realtors, recently summarized the hottest featured trends from IBS 2011. Orlando, FL hosted the show again, and it ran from Jan. 12 – 15.

“A survey of 2,000 consumers conducted by Better Homes and Gardens found that buyers don’t want any ‘wasted space’ in their next home. They are seeking more value for their dollar, said editorial director Jill Waage, who presented the study’s findings…Affordability remains a high priority as well as energy efficiency, which was ranked highest to 68% of the consumers polled,” says Houselogic’s Erica Christoffer.

In addition to practical storage space and energy efficiency, several other residential design trends are emerging in 2011:

  • Outdoor living areas and entertainment spaces. Outdoor amenities such as grills, sinks and even showers ranked high in polls.
  • Bathrooms with separate, free-standing tubs and showers.
  • Open floor plans continue to be popular, but ceiling accents – such as molding, domes and medallions – are gaining favor.
  • International design – especially Asian influenced.
  • Earth tone color schemes.
  • Organized, functional media space.

“The top – ranked living space features listed by consumers are a separate laundry room, additional storage space with walk in closets or build-ins, a home office or workspace, outdoor living areas, at least one bedroom with its own private bath, and everyday eating space in or close to the kitchen,” says Christoffer.

When working with your Atlanta contractor, be sure to ask about current building trends. While it’s important, of course, to remodel your home with your family’s needs in mind, it’s equally important to think about increasing the functionality and value of your home, as well as it’s future appeal to home buyers.

Something Extra

In conjunction with the National Association of Home Builders IBS, The New American Home is constructed. 2011 marked the 28th TNAH, and this year, it was constructed for specific owners.

“As NAHB’s official show home, it displays design trends, construction techniques, and materials that the building industry can use in any new or remodeled home…In keeping with increasing demand for energy- and resource – efficiency, TNAH 2011 is being built to attain ‘Emerald’ status of the National Green Building Standard…TNAH 2011 also will showcase the latest breakthroughs in green building and construction technology and will utilize a state – of – the – art energy efficiency package,” states the IBS website. You can catch a glimpse at this environmentally friendly dream house here.

To bring the 2011 design and building trends featured at the IBS and within TNAH to your home, contact Glazer Design and Construction at 404.683.9848 or Randy@GlazerConstruction.com.

Filed Under: In the News, Uncategorized

Glazer Builds Construction Business From Ground Up

June 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Featured in: The Jewish Times
Written by: Jason Butt

Randy Glazer used to be referred to as “Handy Randy.”

And for good reason: He was a handy man. He did numerous hands-on jobs for anyone who needed them when he first moved to Atlanta from Connecticut.

As the handy man jobs increased, the referrals did too.

“My business started growing from, if you can do a deck, why can’t you do a sun room?” Glazer said. “If you can do a sun room, why can’t you do a second story addition? It kept growing. Then it became custom homes, custom kitchens, bathrooms and basements.”

But it was falling off of a ladder while performing a manual labor job that led Glazer to become a contractor.

Read Full Story at the Jewish Times

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Atlanta Jewish Carpenter

May 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Featured in: The Jewish Times
Written by: By Marcy J. Levinson Brooks

Randy Glazer has worked magic on various remodeling projects in town

The plunging economy may have knocked the wind out of home and new construction sales, but for one local Jewish carpenter, business is on the rise. “Handy” Randy Glazer, owner of Glazer Construction in Atlanta, says that his business has increased by about 30 percent since the economy took a dive, and he doesn’t expect things to slow down anytime soon. One of the reasons he credits for booming business is that people are deciding to keep their current homes instead of selling, and simply adding on or doing remodels.

“My remodeling business has picked up a lot; the new building is pretty quiet,” he said. But, he says, people will get their money’s worth. “They know (in renovations) they are going to get their money back.”

Right now he said there are a lot of people adding second floors to their homes, remodeling kitchens and baths and building other additions.

“Last year was my best-ever year. Every year there are more and more people, especially from the Jewish community,” he said. “The Jewish community has supported me. I think because I am fair priced, and the work is done so well. I guess they want to keep it in the ‘tribe.’”

Glazer’s construction here in Atlanta officially began in 1995 after he moved down from his home state of Connecticut, but he got his hands into the construction business in 1989. He received his degree in design and building from E.C. Goodwin in Connecticut and then trained with other carpenters and design professionals.

Glazer said working with his hands is not only a process he enjoys, but a passion. He even refurbishes roadside finds into new furniture treasures and builds furniture of his own design to use in the home he shares with his wife of a year and a half, Meredyth.

“It’s more of a passion for me. It’s a fulfillment for me to see something when it is finished,” he said.

Early in his career Glazer began buying homes, renovating them and selling the. To some this is known loosely as “flipping” houses. By 1995 Glazer was in Atlanta, and reaped the rewards of a changing city skyline and the 1996 Olympics.

But a fall from a ladder left Glazer unable to work with his hands, thus he learned more about managing construction projects and leading a team of top quality professionals to add more to his successful design and building company.

Glazer says he gets his share of silly jabs about being a “Jewish carpenter,” but in the long run it’s paid off. Now he says his clients joke about a “Jew that is handy” and Randy says he reaps the rewards by being fed “a lot of matzah ball soup.”

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Jezebel Liveable Lifestyles

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Featured in: Jezebel Magazine
Written by: Beth Weitzman
Photography: James Klotz

Imagine life in the residential embodiment of JEZEBEL style. You’re surrounded by sleek architecture, modern furnishings, brand-new technology, a chef’s Viking kitchen and, naturally, a crystal-clear view of the city through floor-to-ceiling glass.
Imagination can do wonders, but no longer is it necessary. Reality is here in its finest form.

JEZEBEL teamed up with celebrity designer Jim Weinberg–an award-winning industry veteran and a man whose furniture designs are featured in New York’s Museum of Modern Art–along with the city’s finest in renovation construction, audio/visual and fine arts, and together, the first JEZEBEL Liveable Lifestyles residence was created.

For the premiere space, we chose Mezzo, a Buckhead luxury high-rise rental condominium building developed by Tivoli Properties and managed by Williams Residential Management. The property’s modern architecture, high-end finishes and lavish amenities provided the perfect backdrop for the original designs by the JEZEBEL Live- able Lifestyles team. The result is a home that we can proudly call our own. And we did it in less than 30 days–start to finish.

Glazer Construction was selected as one of the construction partners to help complete the project.

mezzo via pdf article

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Renovation business on upswing in Metro Atlanta

March 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Featured in: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Tammy Joyner

Metro-area homes may not be selling, but many are getting makeovers.

While a report released Friday said spending on home renovations is trending down nationally, Atlanta contractors say the number of projects here has gone up the last six to 12 months, and that business has heated up even more this spring.

More homeowners, it seems, are deciding to wait out the recession and hunker down at home with some added creature comforts. Instead of going out to dinner and a movie, folks are popping their own popcorn in fully loaded home theaters. They’re entertaining in kitchens that take a page out of House Beautiful. And now that summer’s here, they’re looking to move outdoors onto patios with built-in stone grills, wet bars and refrigerators.

Helping fuel the renovation rush: Many projects are now being done for far less than they were a few years ago when the housing market was humming. Contractors are competing fiercely for work, and homeowners are pushing for lower prices.

Fulton County officials say they haven’t seen a noticeable increase in work permits for home remodeling. But that doesn’t mean work isn’t happening, said Bobby Smith, development service manager for the Department of Environmental and Community Development. Many jobs don’t require permits; some people don’t know to apply for one, Smith said.

“There could be a lot of remodeling going on and we wouldn’t necessarily know about it,” he said.
Renovators like Randy Glazer say they are finding steady work, but of a different sort.

Instead of big jobs like additions, his company, Glazer Design & Construction in Brookhaven, is doing more kitchens and bath restorations and earth-friendly projects.

One reason: the credit crunch. In the last five months, Glazer said, he’s noticed that “it’s hard for people to get loans to add a second floor to their home. Banks aren’t willing to extend loans right now.” Banks that are lending are asking homeowners to fork over 30 to 40 percent in down payment on their projects.

“A lot of people can’t do that,” Glazer said.

Read the entire article here:

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Artistic Expression

January 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Featured in: Jezebel
Written by: Karon Warren

See how one Atlanta artist applied his talents to home renovation

When artist Martin Dawe and his partner of 14 years, Chris Yokom, purchased their Loring Heights home in 1999, they knew a renovation project would follow. While they loved the basic structure of the home, particularly the octagon shaped room on the front of the house, Dawe knew the structure held more potential.

However, he didn’t rush into a remodeling endeavor right away. Instead, he took his time, getting to know each space in the home, learning how the natural light played throughout the day, checking out the exterior views from every angle of each room. Only after Dawe knew every aspect of every room was he ready to tackle the re-design of his home. So, in 2005, he sought out Randy Glazer, president of Glazer Design & Construction, and the two got started on what would become a personal artistic expression.

Structurally speaking, Dawe and Glazer basically gutted the house, raised the ceilings and added the master suite to the back of the house. Dawe’s goal was to create a home with a “modern medieval” essence to it. Much of his inspiration came from the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii. The overall result is reminiscent of a personal art gallery, which the lighting and colors reinforce.

jezebelarticle

Filed Under: In the News

Remodelers crafting a new niche

January 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Featured in: Atlanta Business Chronicle
Written by:Lisa R. Schoolcraft, Staff Writer

A slumping economy may be hurting the home-building business, but area remodelers say work has been steady. One reason, they believe, is because with houses so difficult to buy or sell, homeowners needing more space are opting to remodel their existing homes.

“Remodeling has always been a strong industry, even in a down economy,” said Rocco Sinisgalli, CEO of Oneida Builders Inc. in Dunwoody and chairman of the remodeler’s council of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association.

The change has been clients are scaling back the upgrades, spending about 20 percent less, said Sinisgalli. “Instead of an $8,000 stove, they pick out a $6,000 stove.”

The remodeling business seems to fare well “every time we have a recession,” said John Beach, a partner in Paces Construction Co. LLC in Buckhead. “People decide to nest, not buy a bigger house.” Despite the financial turmoil, some families still need more space, he said.
“By far, what we see the most of is [adding] ground-floor master suites,” Beach said of current remodel jobs.
Kitchen and bathroom remodels also remain popular, Beach said.

Another big remodeling trend is to “go green,” Sinisgalli said, and make homes eco-friendly and energy-efficient. “We know energy is going to increase in cost.” The financial turmoil has had its effect, however.

In the past month, with the financial markets tanking, “we’ve seen some jobs postponed until the first of the year,” Beach said.
Jay Rhoden, principal of Macallan Residential LLC, sees it, too.

The remodeling work he’s done on higher-end homes, those $1 million and up, hadn’t changed much until about 60 days ago.
“I think people are starting to look at their stock portfolio and postponing [projects] until they see how things shake out,” he said.
Remodelers are also seeing a lot more competition from former home builders.

Randy Glazer, owner and president of Glazer Design & Construction, is both a home builder and a remodeler.
“Right now, remodeling is on fire and new-home construction is dead,” he said.

Read the whole article here:

Filed Under: In the News