They will be trying their hand at home building as they help hang siding on our LIFEhouse™ for a Hero, being built at Newport Cove for a wounded vet.

Players will be working on the house between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The LIFEhouse™ is being sided with durable, sustainable LP® SmartSide® Trim & Siding, all coated with Wausau’s factory-applied Diamond-Kote™ finish. Thanks to LP Building Products and Wausau Supply Company for this great donation!

The Cottages at Newport Cove feature the new 100 Series Windows from Andersen Windows. We feel good about choosing the 100 Series products. And, we feel grateful that Andersen has donated all the windows and patio doors for Newport Cove’s LIFEhouse™

A carpenter installs Andersen 100 Series windows in the LIFEhouse™ for a Hero

for a Hero, a home now under construction which will be donated to a wounded American war veteran.

Andersen’s 100 Series windows are made from the company’s new Fibrex® material. The Fibrex® composite frame and sash contain 40 percent reclaimed wood fiber. The glass used contains 12 percent reclaimed glass. An added plus is that the windows are made right here in the United States. (Newport Cove is committed to using American-made products in its homes.)

Andersen 100 Series products are twice as stable and rigid as vinyl, yet the maintenance-free Fibrex® ensures that the windows and doors will look as beautiful in 10 years as the day they are installed. Seamless corners, low-profile hardware and an attractive matte interior finish add beauty and durability to this product.

Most window and door warranties are prorated and end when a home is sold. Andersen’s warranty keeps its full value for 10 years and transfers from owner to owner. The company is well-known for its outstanding warranty service.

Andersen Windows is a privately owned business that was founded in 1903 by Danish immigrant Hans Andersen and his family in Hudson, Wisconsin, where logs used to manufacture the windows arrived via the St. Croix River. Today Andersen Corporation employs some 9,000 people at more than 20 locations.  It is still headquartered along the St. Croix River, now in Bayport, Minnesota, in a 2.8 million-square-foot facility that covers 65 acres. Andersen annually manufactures more than six million windows and doors, making it the leader in its industry.

If you want to live in a lake house and live there for a long time, you might take a look at the LIFEhouse. This special concept house has just opened in Newport Cove, a waterfront community on the Chain O’ Lakes. The LIFEhouse is a home for all ages, designed to be especially safe for those under age six, over 60 and everywhere in between. It offers universal design features that make everyday living a little easier and that can accommodate more people for a longer time in their lives. Builder New American Homes calls it “a home for ALL of your life.”

The home was built in collaboration with the internationally renowned Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA CENTER), which is affiliate with the College of Architecture at the University of Buffalo, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

It is a 2,000 square –foot living laboratory of a safer home that is more user-friendly for a wider range of people.
Susanne Tauke, owner of New American Homes, said that IDEA Center experts (architects, engineers) took a standard Newport Cove house plan and “tweaked” it to make it adhere to universal design principles.

“It makes sense to design accessibility into every home ,” she said. “Too often this means an ‘institutional’ feel. The goal of the LIFEhouse is to provide an attractive, stylish, yet easier-to-live-in house .”

From the outside, the LIFEhouse appears as a charming cottage. Tucked into the landscape and front porch design is an unobtrusive bricked ramp ready to accommodate those who might have issues with steps. Another plus is that the ramp makes moving things in an out of the house easier.

 Far from ordinary : The LIFEhouse at Newport Cove on Bluff Lake looks like an “ordinary” lake cottage, but special features inside and out make it unique. Throughout, special features like a kitchen where everything can be reached whether standing or sitting, are built in to the home . The LIFEhouse design helps residents of all ages and all abilities enjoy the home for more years of their lifetime.

The front door is 42 inches wide. There is no “step up”. Also making the ranch home accessible is an interior elevator that stops on the first floor, the garage and the finished lower level. The kitchen has a contemporary trendy look, yet it meets universal design satandards. The appliances – dishwasher, cooktop, oven, refrigerator ,microwave and warming drawer – are all within reach where a person is sitting or standing. The space is exceptionally well-lit with over cabinet, under cabinet, celling, pendant and natural lighting. Faucets, sinks and cabinets are compliant with the American With Disabilities Act (ADA).

Two of the three full baths serve those with special needs, while the third has many universal design features. The two accessible baths have double-bowl vanities with the bowls at two different levels, showers without curbs and with seats, multilevel faucets and comfort-height toilets, special lighting, memory niches and easy-to-use handles.

The doors, windows and cabinets, security features, green and low-maintenance materials all add to the home’s livability.

The house offers another 1,700 square feet to finished space in an English-style basement with ample windows. Here another bedroom and bath are available should the need arise. “This could be perfect for an elderly parent, an adult child coming home, or care-giver,” said Tauke, noting that the lower level is accessible via the elevator from the garage. A resident would not need to go through the main part of the home to reach it.

Corporate sponsors of the Newport Cove LIFEhouse include KitchenAid appliances, Kohler faucets and fixture Silestone quartz countertops, Pella windows, Sea Gull lighting fixtures, Leviton lighting switches, MidContinent cabinets, Carrier furnaces, Certaneed concrete fiber siding, M&S Tile and Stone, Home Technology System and PerfikDek decking and rails.

Newport Cove is located at Bluff Lake and Elime Roads in unincorporated Lake Country, just south of Anitoch on Bluff lake, one of the 10 lakes that comprise the Chain O’ Lakes. The community offers 67 single-family home-sites on 42 rolling acres. Forty percent of the development is open space, including an 8-acre waterfront park anchored by a community pavilion (with rest room and cooking facilities) and a marina with 100-plus boat slips. Home prices at Newport Cove start at $325,000.
The LIFEhouse, along with Newport Cove’s other model homes are open from noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday or by appointment. For further information, call Newport-cove at (847) 7262727or visit  www.newportcoveonline.com

“Today’s numbers are an encouraging sign that builders are responding to improving consumer interest in new homes and apartments by gradually replenishing their extremely thin inventories in places where demand is evident,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen.

Remember, Newport Cove is offering 10-year hybrid ARM loans, with the chance to lock in your first two years at just 2.5%. As consumers return to housing, prices will rise, so now is the time to make sure you get the most bang for your monthly payment buck.

It’s all about life style. Buyers want more than just four walls. They want fun, fitness, security, technology and maybe, as in the case of a development like Newport Cove on the Chain O’ Lakes near Antioch, a place to park their boat.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, the average size of new single-family homes completed in 2010 shrunk, measuring an average of 2,377 square feet, down about three percent from 2009. By 2015, the association expects the average home size to be 2,152 square feet. After expanding for nearly three decade, the average size peaked at 2,521 square feet in 2007.

So, if the McMasion is “over,” what’s in?

Let’s start with technology. Home technology systems for internet, entertainment, security, monitoring heating and cooling system, and appliances are part of any new luxury home. Ovens that “think” and refrigerators that keep track of grocery needs can be part of the equation.

Energy efficiency is in. Foam insulation, high-efficiency furnaces and appliances, LED bulbs and low-E glass insure a comfortable home with low energy bills.

Security is important. State-of-the-art home security systems are popular. Many luxury buyers want to know their home will operate “off” the grid, so they are installing whole-house generators.

Universal design is another hot button. Features such as elevators, extra wide passageways and large showers ensure that the buyer can live in his or her home for a longer period of time.

Fitness is part of a luxury lifestyle, so expect today’s upscale home to have a spa bath, exercise facilities, a sauna or steam room.

And don’t forget fun – a media area or game room is de rigueur in the new luxury home.

There also are more places for food. Besides the kitchen, there may be a mini refrigerator and built-in espresso machine in the master bedroom, an outdoor kitchen or a fully equipped bar (with refrigeration and microwave) in the recreational area.

Finally, the new luxury home is more likely to be in a community planned around a golf course, a marina or even a race car track.

Newport Cove, a luxury planned community near Antioch, is centered around a lakefront life style. The 42-acre community will eventually be home to 67 upscale residences. Forty percent of the site is open space, including a private eight-acre waterfront park extending along the community’s 1,800 feet of lakefront.

Newport Cove has a private marina with more than 100 slips on Bluff Lake, part of the Chain O’ Lakes. With some 7,100 acres of water, 15 lakes and 45 miles of river, this “Key West of the Midwest” accommodates activities for every water-lover: boating, swimming, tubing, waterskiing, fishing, even hunting. Chicagoland’s playground for more than a century (it is about an hour’s drive from the big city), the Chain boasts two State Parks as well as many great boat-in (or drive-to) restaurants and “hot spots”. Newport Cove’s marina is a stone’s “skip” from several.

Award-winning builder New American Homes is building luxury semi-custom and custom homes in the community. Newport Cove offers three distinct “neighborhoods”: the Waterfront (21 waterfront sites reserved for custom homes with 2,500 to 4,200 feet above grade and all with walk-out basements), the Estates (15 custom homes sized from 2,200 to 3,500 square feet) and the Cottages (31 smaller homes, 1,600 to 2,300 square feet in a carefree enclave where the grass is mowed, landscape pruned, sidewalks shoveled and driveways plowed).

All Newport Cove homes have the same coastal-style look: siding, shingles and stone exteriors with white trim and cottage style landscaping. Prices start at $290,000 and go to about $1 million.

Models are open noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays or by appointment.

Kitchen offers many lighting levels

In our last post, we described some of the more common ways in which many Americans face daily physical difficulties. Now we’ll show you a few of the aspects of Universal Design that can make home living much easier for millions of people. Newport Cove’s LIFEhouse, located on our waterfront development on the Chain O’ Lakes and currently open for public viewing, contains dozens of features like these:- Multiple layers of light, especially in active areas like the kitchen. This means that, in addition to overhead lighting, there are lights under cabinets, shelves, etc., giving those with low vision better ability to see what they’re doing. The LIFEhouse has seven different kinds of lighting in its kitchen.

LIFEhouse kitchen and hearth room

- Another improvement on the visual aspect of a home, this time with regard to safety, is a combination of simple, common-sense improvements to stairways. Falling down the stairs is the most frequent household accident, and can be extremely dangerous. To help prevent falls, the undersides of stairway railings are equipped with small lights which are activated by motion sensors any time a person approaches. Additionally, the stair treads themselves are colored in two alternating tones, making it easier to distinguish each edge.

LIFEhouse kitchen and hearth room

 Newport Cove recently opened a home that is an example of Universal Design. The Newport Cove LIFEhouse offers a number of features which make a house more livable, yet do not detract from a pleasant, homelike environment.  The LIFEhouse is a collaboration between custom builder New American Homes and the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA Center), University at Buffalo – State University of New York.

When people think of living in “accessible” housing, images of wheelchairs and false limbs come to mind. But many of us suffer from physical impairments that are not as obvious. According to research that went into the Americans with Disabilities Act, several of the most common impairments are things that affect everyday life, even though they have little to no outward signs. Here are a few examples:- Bad vision, 2.8 percent of all ADA claims: At times this can mean nothing more than slightly blurry vision that’s easily corrected with glasses or contacts. But it can also mean poor peripheral vision, or a limited ability to see anything that’s dimly lit.

Perhaps replaying a scene from a classic movie, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO has made a Trading-Places-esque $1 bet with former Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag that unemployment will fall below 8 percent before the next presidential election due to a strong housing rebound that will breathe life—and jobs—into the economy.

Buffett emphasized that while his bet rests on the job market, the true key is real estate. “I’ve got a bet with [Orszag about unemployment],” he said. “But… that’s because I think housing will come back before that. If I’m wrong about housing, I lose the bet.”

Buffett elaborated on Friday, telling Bloomberg Television that “he sees nothing that indicates any kind of double dip,” adding that he believes the real estate recovery “could begin relatively soon.”

Don’t miss out on your chance to bet with Buffett. Mortgage rates are at all-time lows at Newport Cove, and the only way to avoid losing a lot more than Peter Orszag’s dollar is to lock in those rates now.