How modern home design is taking the fiction out of sci-fi.

BY: CAMERON ALAVI, WIPLIANCE  | Updated: November 27, 2018

The concept of the smart home is no longer reserved for sci-fi flicks and Jetson-esque cartoons, which just a few short years ago may have seemed lifetimes away. Increasingly more homes are becoming connected, intelligent, and changing the way we live our daily lives, moving us closer to the once fictionalized idea of a technologically advanced home. As demand for smarter homes increases, these ten trends are quickly weaving their way into home design across the Puget Sound and beyond:

1. Advanced Home Networking

It seems difficult to imagine living our lives without access to the internet. Much in the same way that people depend on the internet, so do smart homes and the devices in them. Many experts refer to this as the “Internet of Things”, or the network of devices, appliances, and features that we operate with wireless, mobile and voice controls to create a smart home. The most basic prerequisite for a smart home is a solid internet connection and very good in-home Wi-Fi. Sticking a router in your laundry room and hoping for the best simply doesn’t cut it anymore because every device, from surveillance cameras to thermostats, needs to live on the network if it is going to be integrated into the home. The network structure in today’s smart homes typically consists of enterprise class networking equipment including several strategically placed Wireless Access Points (WAPs) to ensure that the whole home is blanketed in solid Wi-Fi coverage.

Image courtesy of Wipliance

Unparalleled amenities and resident services to be revealed for Downtown Seattle’s 41-story luxury tower

BY YASAMIN BEITOLLAHI on October 24, 2018 at 1:51 pm
Originally in Geekwire 

Individual presales have begun at SPIRE, a 347-unit, 41-story condominium high-rise under construction at 600 Wall St. in the Belltown neighborhood. A new, 5000-sq. ft. sales center has opened at 2218 5^th Avenue. Sales representatives will host public tours beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 27 for this much-anticipated presale opportunity. Prospective buyers will experience a full-scale model home, a design center, a 9-foot scale model of the tower, a context model of the neighborhood and immersive virtual-reality tours on a life-sized display screen to help convey the final product offering.

Leading into the weekend, the SPIRE sales team accepted more than 100 first-position reservations along with several second- and third-position commitments on popular floor plans. Reservation activity recorded more than $125 million in potential presales ahead of SPIRE’s official launch this weekend. These reservations are now being converted into sales along with new transactions for prospective homebuyers that visit the sales center.

“We are pleased to witness such vigorous interest in SPIRE ahead of our formal sales debut,” says Paul Menzies, CEO of Laconia Development and representative of Seattle Realty One, LLC, the developer of SPIRE. “Clearly, SPIRE is Seattle’s next landmark in the making,” he adds.

In a tribute to its famous neighbor, the Space Needle, SPIRE is a landmark in the making. Tall, slender and extraordinary on every level, the 41-story condominium will boast dramatic views and standout architecture befitting of its front and center perch in the downtown Seattle skyline. With progressive design and technology, SPIRE welcomes prospective homebuyers to secure their new residence today – nearly two years before it’s slated for move-ins.

Lutron has announced its 2018 Excellence Award Winners and has added two companies to the Lutron Hall of Fame.

CE Pro Editors  • September 14, 2018

Established in 2003, the Lutron Excellence Awards competition “recognizes the world’s best projects that use Lutron light, shade, and temperature controls, Lutron Ivalo fixtures, plus third-party equipment, voice control, and more,” according to the company. 

More than 100 of Lutron’s residential system providers have won a total of 160 Excellence Awards since the competition’s beginnings.

2018 Excellence Award Winners 

The 2018 Excellence Award winners are:

Originally Appeared in 425 Magazine 

Lisa Patterson | Sept. 21. 2017 

Blocks away from an evolving downtown Bellevue and its ever-changing skyline, and steps from Meydenbauer Bay, is a stunning home perched on a hill overlooking Whaler’s Cove. This year’s 425 Northwest Idea House built by JayMarc Homes of Mercer Island and designed by Medici Architects of Bellevue is a 5,690-square-foot masterpiece — every detail is meticulously thought out and executed to perfection.

“It turned out beautiful,” said Marc Rousso, president of JayMarc Homes. “It has really nice views, especially at night. But my favorite part about this project was allowing people to showcase their talents — that is the coolest part, that the team could come together and really show what they can do.”

Rousso and his best childhood friend, Jay Mezistrano, have been business partners since college. JayMarc Homes has been building homes on Mercer Island and in Bellevue for seven years and has grown to 33 team members who collectively have about “450 years of experience” in the industry.

Celebrates 10 Years of Service and a New Location