Here comes the judge

“Awake your senses that you may the better judge!” — Brutus



LAS VEGAS — When the National Association of Home Builders invited me to help judge the 2016 Best of IBS Awards, I jumped at the opportunity. On one hand, I felt an obligation to give back to an industry that has been very good to me. On the other hand, I could easily get a high-quality, 500-word column out of the experience. (You can be the judge of that.)



It’s not easy to pick a winner from a event as diverse as the International Builders’ Show. One man’s trash is another’s game-changing, recycled building material. And the Las Vegas Convention Center was packed with products, even in the parking lot.



I was one of three judges assigned to “best outdoor living products.” The fist step was to narrow down a list of 40 or so entries into five finalists. I dedicated a weekend to carefully studying the images, descriptions and websites provided by the contestants. Each was assigned scores for innovation, functionality, design and user-friendliness.



Eventually, the process generated five Outdoor Living finalists. (Check out the slide show.) This group features some gorgeous manufactured stone, an impressive folding glass door, a decking product made with rice, a stylish tile deck system, and — your winner — an aluminum batten system from Knotwood.



Proving that a product doesn’t need a big space to make a big splash, the Knotwood booth was the smallest of the five finalists. This fact, in my opinion, reflects highly on the integrity of the judges.



Here’s what I wrote in my official Best of IBS judging form: “Glossy and clean. But more than looks, the innovation here is the system of interlocking pieces that makes the screening or exterior siding easy to install.”



This trend of simplicity and ease-of-use emerged not only in the judging, but all over the show floor. Vendors clearly believe that they can earn your business by delivering products and systems to simplify your world.



(You will be the judge of that, too.)