Kaleidoscope of Homes- Premiere Event 2010

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend the Kaleidoscope of Homes Premiere Realtor Event in Southlake, TX. Realtors and home building industry professionals got a sneak peek of four luxurious $2-3 million-dollar homes in the exclusive neighborhood of Shady Oaks. All four houses were open to tour with the assistance of greeters, product specialist and if you were lucky enough you could catch the actual builder in his respective home to answer any questions.

As I toured the homes I noticed one major trend that is making a name for itself, retractable window walls. I have seen this trend in Commercial applications mostly Hospitality and now in Residential environments. (I just specified this application in a restaurant going in Downtown Dallas January 2011). There are a variety of manufactures that produce this type of application, Nana Wall is the most well known but with this trend emerging others will be following suit. In the custom homes I toured there were several slightly different variations used, one had a collapsible window wall while another had accordion style and the third and final, my personal preference, was the retractable window wall that pockets into the wall creating the illusion of one open and cohesive indoor/outdoor space. Each application used though functioning differently still gave the appearance of indoor and outdoor spaces that were intertwined. This is a trend that I believe will become a necessity in custom homes in warm weather climates giving the homeowner the opportunity to take advantage of the nice weather almost all year round.

Check out the link below to see more about the custom homes and their amenties. I've also added some pictures from the tour! Lots of great ideas!

http://www.thekaleidoscopeofhomes.com/about-the-homes.html