Technology

“There are no sissies left in this business.”


That’s the official Home Channel News quote of the month, from Rick Frost, the CEO of Nashville, Tenn.-based Louisiana-Pacific.


St. Louis-based urban redevelopment firm EcoUrban is filling vacant lots in St. Louis with energy-efficient and affordable prefab and modular homes.

The redevelopment project involves a modular building manufactured off-site with green, sustainable features, then trucked to St. Louis, placed on a precast foundation and finished on-site.

The single-family home is getting smaller. Three-bathroom houses are on the decline. And most builders think the living room will merge or vanish by the year 2015.

Those were some of the findings shared by the  National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) during the 2011 International Builders' Show, during a seminar called "The New Home in 2015." In one word, homes will be "smaller," according to the survey data.

Orlando, Fla. -- The 2011 NextGen "Flex-Home" is focused on four home-building buzzwords: green, efficient, safe and digital.

Another term could be "patriotic."

The modular home currently residing in the IBS Show Village in the parking lot outside the Orange County Convention Center here in Orlando will soon be shipped away to a veteran in need through the Rebuilding Together charity and Sears' Heroes at Home.

Hardwood flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators has announced the appointment of Robert Lynch as president and chief operating officer. He will oversee the company's merchandising, supply chain and store operations, including the respective senior VPs of these areas. Lynch, who starts his new position on Jan. 17, 2011, will report directly to CEO Jeffrey Griffiths.

Lenexa, Kan.-based Westlake Ace Hardware, one of the country's leading independent hardware retailers and a company reaping the benefits of a top-to-bottom reevaluation, has been named "2011 Retailer of the Year" by Home Channel News. 

The company will accept the award May 11 at the Golden Hammer Awards breakfast event in Las Vegas, held in conjunction with the National Hardware Show. 

Recent innovations in the paint aisle have led to some differences — and even clashes — among players in the competitive field. 


For instance, Benjamin Moore challenged Sherwin-Williams’ claims that its Harmony line of paints was “no-VOC” or “zero VOC.” Everyone agreed Harmony’s base paint is free of volatile organic compounds, but when conventional colorants are added, the VOC levels increase above the accepted definition.


Williams-Sonoma announced that net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2010 increased 9.7% to $1.2 billion from $1.09 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, including Internet net revenue growth of 27.2% and a comparable-store sales increase of 5.2%.

Williams-Sonoma reported that net revenues for the 2010 fiscal year increased 12.9% to $3.5 billion from $3.1 billion in 2009, including Internet net revenue growth of 26.9% and a comparable-store sales increase of 9.8%.