From the front, TNAR looks virtually the same as the original 1963 built home.
TNAH strives to deliver a home with more mass appeal.
IBS Showhomes Address the Needs of a Changing Population
Both the New American Remodel® (TNAR) and The New American Home® (TNAH) as well as the products featured in the exhibits on the floor of the International Builders Show® (IBS) underscore the pressing needs for a growing and changing population of homeowners.
As people became more accustomed to spending both more working time and more leisure time at home, the resulting home design trends continue post-pandemic. Whether they’re buying a new home or remodeling their existing home, people are looking for more functionality and sustainability with plenty of living and entertaining space. “Detached ADU” (Accessory Dwelling Unit) is the latest buzzword; these valued structures are flex spaces that can serve as a guest house, home office or studio. Upgraded systems and high performance mechanical systems with smart controls reduce maintenance costs and risks, while increasing comfort and air quality.
Our first stop on media preview night of the two homes built to showcase the latest and greatest in design and products was TNAR 2022. Located in a beautiful neighborhood on the banks of Lake Sue, the original home was a 2,543 square foot two-bedroom, two-bath home with a den built in 1963. “But when you want to have an office, maybe a gym and a pool, you need more square footage,” noted remodeler Eric Gray of Designer Trade Services, who had previously remodeled the same home some years before.
With Architecture by Phil Kean and Designer Trade Services overseeing the home’s transformation, TNAR 2022 remains a one-story home, now with 6,993 square-feet. Much of the original structure, roof and walls of the home were retained including the great room and its original fireplace and the front porch that faces the lake and a bedroom/bathroom. While the home is now five bedrooms and four and one-half baths with a three-car garage, exercise room, exquisite indoor-outdoor living features and a detached guest house and summer kitchen, the home still retains its original Mid Century Modern charm.
Building Savvy National Features editor Beverly Smirnis with remodeler Eric Gray stand in the original part of TNAR interior.
Completely opened up and updated, the home still retains its Mid Century Modern charm.
A prep space behind the main kitchen offers a nice workspace while keeping the kitchen to scale.
Flex spaces are the name of the game!
The home lives around its outdoor living area.
Kitchen in the detached ADU
The expanded area under roof is built around one side of the pool deck and includes a master suite and exercise room. While private, the detached guest house and summer kitchen structure feels like an extension of the master wing, and also affords full access and views to the remarkable outdoor area.
TNAR also does a stellar job at representing the emerging trend of “Performance Remodeling.” Even with all its mass expanses of glass, Two Trails, Inc., a leading energy efficiency consulting firm worked with the design team to earn the remodel home National Green Building Standard “Emerald” certification, ENERGY STAR Certification, DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Home Program Certification and net-zero status plus Indoor airPLUS Certification. TNAR 2022 achieves a HERS Index of -22 and integrates 400-watt solar panels projected to provide 100 percent of the home’s electrical power needs.
Next, it was on to TNAH, showcasing how to maximize the functionality of a large home within a long, narrow 50’ x 120’ lot with an alley load, while preserving privacy from neighboring properties. Located in Laureate Park at Lake Nona, TNAH 2022 was the 38th annual idea home built for the National Association of Home Builders’ annual major home show.
The stated vision for the home, said its builder Steve Earl of Envy Homes, was “simplicity” with a focus on spaces that connect with each other, while providing sanctuary spaces for every member of the family. While it eschews opulence as much as any previously built TNAH model, the home design strives to deliver a home with more mass appeal. Steve and his wife, Serena Hahn, worked with BSB Design to create TNAH 2022 with a price tag closer to $2 million. (Previous iterations of TNAH were priced upwards of $5 million.). The size of TNAH 2022 is also about one-third smaller than the average TNAH’s built within the last 10 years.
Working within a strict master plan design program with tight lot setbacks and long street frontage, the creative solution is a three-story, 4,674 square foot home with three bedrooms, three and a half baths built around a central courtyard and modest sized pool. The home still lives large, thanks to the design team’s remarkable job at blurring the indoor-outdoor living areas and capturing available natural light via its extensive windows and telescoping patio doors. The third story features a rooftop terrace with a smart louvered pergola which pivots to direct or shield from the sun using either voice command or a smart phone, providing yet another dining and entertaining space.
A waterfall wall and landscaping make the space private from the side street.
Watch this video about how Fi-Foil’s Flex Foam Reflective Insulation and M-Shield Paperless Reflective Insulation are two products used to help TNAH achieve its HERS index goals by reflecting radiant heat away from the inside of the home, while providing superior indoor insulation.
As shown in this video the StruXure Pivot 6 Smart Louvered Pergola on the third floor rooftop of TNAH has a louvered roof that pivots over 170 degrees to deliver sun when you want it and shade when you need it.
The third-floor rooftop area is accessed via a stairway or elevator.
Natural lighting and flex space are high priorities.
Outside of the Orlando convention center, the highlight of the IBS Outdoor Pavilion was the NEXCON™ 3D printer actively working to print the Black Buffalo 3D tiny home using structural concrete ink. 
