Trust in Trilogy

Trilogy Partners design-and-build professionals carefully study interior and exterior trends for home and commercial buildings. Existing and new decor is every homeowner’s priority when building or remodeling. We are seeing ten striking home interior design trends for 2013:

1. Brass is the metal of the moment! From accent pieces to lighting, hardware and railings, brass is timeless and affordable.
2. Elegant florals and graceful tapestry-look fabrics are in demand for every room.
3. Computer-generated fabrics are all the rage on fashion runways, so look for these materials in upscale living rooms.
4. Move over modern because everything old is new again. Vintage looks in the kitchen (weathered concrete, slate, irregular flooring) are popular design choices.
5. Antique furniture and period pieces mix beautifully with your modern decor.
6. “Gloss! High gloss! Shine! Polish! Lacquer!”  – Jeffrey Bilhuber
7. Bright, hi-resolution computer-like colors are front and center.
8. James Mont furniture is over-the-top and has been called chic-savage.
9. Art pieces are no longer for the rich and famous. Investing in complimentary and affordable art for your home is trending.
10. Man Cave decor goes high tech this year and includes media rooms full of boy toys, wine cellars, and even hibachi-grill islands for the chef in every man.

image via Flickr

Solar panels are an alternative energy system that reduces your energy costs and actually increases the value of your home. In fact, buyers will “pay a premium” to own a solar-paneled home.

No longer considered “ugly,” solar panels can now be attractively incorporated into your green home design. Another option for larger roofs are solar shingles that look like traditional shingles.

Trilogy Partners combine sustainability and visual ambiance in Colorado solar power installations. Internationally, six home designs have been recognized for incorporating eco-friendly solar panels into attractive and striking home design:

1. Activehouse, Austria and Denmark – Solar panels actually generate more energy than the families need.
2. Malibu 5 Modern Beach House – Roof solar panels and hot water collectors are invisible in this home built from recycled materials.
3. Enertia Home, Blue Ridge Mountains, NC – Solid-wood walls are energy efficient and the roof solar provide electricity.
4. Cornell University Solar Decathlon Home – Solar power is the only energy source for this 800 sq.ft. home.
5. SunPower – Westport, CT – A 5kw solar system using 225-watt solar panels works well on smaller roofs.
6. SRS Energy Palm Springs, CA – Solar roofing tiles blend into the home’s tiled roof.

Is your home a good candidate for solar panels?

Our clients have always requested more durable and aesthetically pleasing bathroom design as they build or renovate their Colorado homes in the past. But now, more and more people — including Trilogy Partners — want sustainable, eco-friendly and energy-efficient bathroom areas in addition to a visually appealing space.

We want to work with our environment while saving money, and there are several ways to achieve this sustainable bathroom design:

• Multi-spray showers are so wasteful they are banned by the DOE (Department of Energy). For your shower, choose low-flow fixtures.
• Eliminate your bath tub to save water and space. But if a luxurious soak is one of your greatest pleasures, remember, less is more. Smaller, not spa-sized tubs are trending.
• Older toilets can use as much as 5 gallons of water per flush! Install water-saving toilets for your bathroom.
• As you design your new bathroom, choose natural materials. Other considerations include recycled material tile or post-consumer glass tiles. Avoid carpeting or hardwood flooring in your bath; waterproof materials and good sealing will save you repair costs 20 years from now.

We are designing and building now with consideration for the future. By specializing in sustainable/green design and materials, your home will have beauty today and energy savings for life.

Photo Source: Apartment Therapy

image via Flickr

Sustainable design has become popular among high-end architects for good reason. Eco-friendly furniture is good for the environment and also your health in the long run. Furniture designed with sustainable materials preserves forests by repurposing materials. Sustainable furniture design also avoids toxic chemicals used in most furniture today. Here are a few of our favorite furniture pieces from a new face in sustainable design.

New York-based designer Michael Robbins creates one of a kind handmade sustainable furniture from reclaimed wood. He got his start in New Mexico while building stools and chairs for his adobe home. Each piece of  furniture is handcrafted from his work studio, an old barn in the Hudson Valley. Robbins focuses on the art of form and simplicity in his design. His collection is quite new, and was just released in 2012.

Though Robbins designs and crafts each piece of furniture himself, every piece has its own unique feel. Some dark wood, some light wood, others are blends of dark and light or even painted neon green. More recently, he has added tables and lighting to his portfolio. Robbins take a classic twist on traditional furniture, by giving it the look and feel of abstract art.

Think about adding a reclaimed wood coffee table to your home

If you’re looking to bring some visual interest and a traditional vibe into your kitchen, think about introducing reclaimed wood.  We’ve gathered a few ideas to get you started.

One of the best places to start is with the kitchen table.  Bringing in a traditional farm table (which is easier to find than you’d think) will serve as a focal point and a conversation piece in the heart of your home.  Or, go ahead and build your own table with reclaimed wood, which, as long as it’s structurally sound, will sand down and finish into something beautiful and unique.  Using reclaimed wood to build shelving or cabinet fronts is another fine way to make your kitchen both traditional and unique.  Architectural salvage shops are good places to find old wood; some people even re-use wine crates and older palettes.

If you don’t want to commit to old wood cabinets, using it as a contrasting feature on a kitchen island is a possibility.   Or, if you want to go really big, reclaimed wood makes a great kitchen ceiling, and certainly, floor.

At Trilogy Builds, we’re happy to help you design the right custom kitchen.  View our website for  more information.

photo courtesy of Tom Borowski on Flickr

image via Flickr

Wood makes a wonderful accent for the interior of the home, the natural element provides an unequaled design. When using wood the color palate that you select can make a dramatic difference in how the space is perceived.
To find your most complementary combinations keep these tips in mind:

Grey
Weathered or blonde woods are well represented with this color. It also works well with black stains. Finding a light blue with grey undertones will make walnut pop in a room.

Blue, Aqua, Turquoise
All of these shades are an excellent way to accent the warm honey or amber wood tones.

Whites, Creams, Ivory
These are staples when it comes to wood trim. When using a cream it is important to stay away from yellow undertones and whites should never be bright.

Brown and Beige
Given the natural hues of wood, it is an easy matter to find an acceptable brown, tan, or beige that will blend with wood elements.

Green
Of the colors found in the outdoors, wood and greens are the greatest combination.

You can make the most of your interior design by finding the right color match to your natural wood elements.

image via Flickr

Smooth, round river rocks have been used for centuries in a variety of architectural designs. Such a long history of usage has not made them less popular today. The trend of using smooth river rock lends itself naturally to your Breckenridge luxury home plan.
There are many uses for river rock in interior and exterior design, but do not use them inside a fireplace, because when heated to a high temperature the rocks could explode.
A variety of size options are available, from tiny pebbles to large round stones. The natural assortment of colors makes them fun for planning your palette, regardless of whether you mix and match schemes. Solid colors, such as black can make an impressive statement as a focal point in a room decor.
Imagine massaging your bare feet every time you step into your river rock shower floor. A river rock fireplace will only enhance the natural mountain setting so abundant in your Breckenridge luxury home environment. Consider a earthy outdoor setting with the loose spreading of pea-size pebbles underfoot. Compliment your marble or granite kitchen countertop with river rock walls.
Let the Trilogy Team help you design and build your Summit County home. Contact us today.

Almost everyday we hear news of depleting rainforests and the effects our actions have on the environment. An easy way to stay green in your home design is to use reclaimed lumber instead of virgin wood.

A few reasons why you should incorporate reclaimed wood into your sustainable design include:

• Keeping forests alive. Forests are responsible for turning carbon into oxygen helping, to an extent, to offset the carbon that is released into the atmosphere everyday. In addition, many ecosystems rely on these forests to stay alive.
• Reclaimed lumber can be up to 40 points stronger on the Janka scale than virgin wood. Most reclaimed lumber comes from older construction sites where older wood was used. In comparison, virgin wood is usually taken from first-generation forests.

Where to use reclaimed wood:

• Remodeled bathroom. While builders warn against using virgin wood in bathrooms, reclaimed lumber can withstand moisture levels and is suitable for furniture or veneer panels.
• Wood floors. Reclaimed wood floors look identical to those made from virgin wood. They are highly attractive, durable, and easy to maintain in comparison to carpet, which retains to dirt and moisture.

Contact us at Trilogy Partners for support in creating and building a sustainable design using reclaimed wood.

Image: houzz

Trilogy Partners is a leader in the design and building industry in Summit County, and has proven unswerving dedication to the community in successful, sustainable living since 1998. Our efforts have led us to another Builder of the Year award from the Summit County Builders Association for 2012. This is our second such award including the Builder of the Year in 2007.

Trilogy’s Mike Rath was crucial to the development of SCBA’s global marketing campaign. He established SCBA’s new blog site, which offers invaluable assistance in building a home in Summit County.  His showed his integrity by going beyond his responsibilities to SCBA. Mr. Rath is actively planning all he can to strive to win the award again.

As a active member of SCBA,  Trilogy plans to continue to lend proactive support to SCBA in the popular annual Mountain Home & Outdoor Expo held in June. Equally as important  is the Summit County Parade of Homes that takes place in the fall.

There is no status quo with Trilogy Partners, as an exciting year is already in the planning, and continued community service is at the top of the list. Contact the Trilogy Team to learn more.

Grid-smart appliances are the future in sustainable design and efficiency. They are able to monitor and measure your electrical use in an effort to save on costs and manage the stress on the local energy grid. This will work well if your house is on the grid exclusively or if you use solar panels to lower your use of community power.

The goal of grid-aware appliance use is to be carbon neutral with  zero net-energy growth. To get there this involves new technology for refrigerators and freezers that use natural refrigerants, such as hydrocarbons in place of hydroflurocarbons which are thought to have an affect on global warming.

When it comes to laundry, clothing will be washed and dried faster with grid-smart appliances. Flat screen televisions will use less energy than the old CRT sets and modern thermostats will be better at regulating room temperatures.

Some of the new grid-smart appliances can even be controlled on your smart phone or tablet. You can be notitifed when your home reaches a certain temperature or when the wash cycle is over and it’s time for your clothes to be dried.

Here at Trilogy Partners in Breckenridge we incorporate grid-aware appliances into our sustainable designs and construction philosophy. Feel free to visit our Facebook page for more on green building.

Image: engadget