The Minneapolis Star Tribune has compiled a list of 10 business newsmakers to watch in 2012, and Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows and Doors, is in great company on that list. The list also includes Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; Omar Ishrak, CEO of Medtronic; and William Cooper, chairman and CEO of TCF Financial Corp.

The Star Tribune writes, “Industry groups have forecast only modest recovery in window and door sales this year. Marvin has kept its financial house in order, which has helped it survive the downturn and positioned it to benefit when the housing market revives.”

If 2012 is anything like 2011 — a year that saw the company covered by an in-depth feature story from the New York Times and discussed in a major speech from President Obama — it’s sure to be another great year for Marvin Windows and Doors.

A stunning restoration and renovation of a historic plantation home on the Eastern Shore of Virginia by Stephen Muse and William Kiwan of Muse Architects, this project was awarded because of its meticulous attention to detail, authenticity and preservation.

Originally constructed in 1784 and expanded in 1829, the brick-ended clapboard structure with twin Georgian entry porches follows a one bay deep linear plan typical of Tidewater homes.

Along with complete renovation and restoration of the original house, the scope of work included removal of recent out-of-character additions and construction of additional living space capturing the view of nearby Hungar’s Creek.

To accomplish this, the twin porches from the drive side of the house were replicated on the waterfront side and a new kitchen with breakfast bay was connected to the existing structure by a one-story hyphen.

Additional work included the restoration of all outbuildings, construction of a new garage and the restoration of all driveways, walkways and gardens.

Marvin products used in the project included Ultimate Double Hung Windows, French Casement Windows, Ultimate Casement Windows, Stationary Windows and Transom Windows.

To see more winners and learn more about the Architect’s Challenge, please visit Marvin.

You’ve never seen a houseboat like this before.

Little and Little Construction of Port Townsend, Wash. is nearing completion of a 2,000-square foot house that’s set atop a six-foot tall concrete foundation and nine 500-pound blocks of Styrofoam. According to the Seattle Times, the two-story home features several bedrooms and baths along with a cinder-block fireplace in a large living room, an upstairs family room, office space and master bedroom bath with breathtaking views.

The houseboat also features Ultimate Push Out Casement windows from Marvin.

Bob Little, president of Little & Little Construction, told the Seattle Times, “In essence, we’re just building a home on a slab. It’s been great fun, and what a fun learning experience.”

Once completed, the houseboat will be towed from the Port of Port Townsend northward to the Boat Haven marina where it will be moored temporarily until it can be safely towed to Seattle.

To see how this amazing houseboat was created, check out the timeline of photos at Little & Little’s website.

[Photo courtesy Little & Little Construction]

Almost everyone wants to eat healthier (we’d venture a guess that it’s among the top 10 News Year’s resolutions). But let’s face it–it can be hard. Despite good intentions, getting a fast food lunch or a snack from the vending machine is sometimes just the easiest thing.

Luckily, good design comes to the rescue (of our waistlines!) yet again. Sabine Staggl designed a modern “lunchbox” that not only carries food, but also tools, in the form of a plate, cutting board and bowl. And the box’s carries can be turned in to a tablecloth.

Very cool idea! It’s perfect not only for things like picnics, but for eating healthier at the office–no more excuses about not being able to prepare your salad in the breakroom.

What do you think of this modern lunchbox/food carrier?

Images courtesy of MocoLoco.

Design-Savvy Kitchen Remodeling On the Rise
CalFinder Blog
“We’ve noticed a huge trend among homeowners lately—that design-savvy kitchen remodeling is on the rise. Whether they’re taking to the web for self-taught strategy, or consulting with budget-smart designers and kitchen contractors before construction begins, homeowners are increasingly involved in the design process. … Some of the trends that we have seen—and loved—include these three design styles.”

15 Posts on Decluttering and Organizing Your Home
Re-Nest
“What’s a better way to start off a new year than to to organize, declutter and simplify your home? Whether you’re looking to live with less or are simply rethinking your space, check out these tips to kick off an organized and clutter-free new year!”

Best of 2011: Before & After
Centsational Girl
Whether it’s decorating or painting or organizing or anything else related to making a house look like an elegant, comfortable home, this woman knows what she’s doing. Get some ideas from her round-up of some favorite projects from the past year.

20 Green Building Innovations of 2011
Jetson Green
“Our team had the great opportunity to report on hundreds of green building innovations in the form of new technologies and advanced materials. We see these innovations as contributors to a world where it’s important to reduce waste and resource consumption. I hope you enjoy this unordered review gathered from our archives of the last year.”

Why Window Replacement is Cheaper Than You Think
CalFinder Blog
“If your home’s heating isn’t running as efficiently as you’d like it to this winter, then you might consider window replacement. Inefficient windows can leak a huge percentage of heat from your home—as much as 30%—and cost you a lot of money every month. … But the idea of window replacement may seem daunting, complicated and expensive. The good news is that you can avoid all of those words by going through the window replacement process intelligently.”

Here’s an interesting story: a company is hoping to be build a new town in New Mexico. Only thing is, you can’t live there. It’s a ghost town.

The town (currently called the Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation) will have all the amenities that a real city would have, including houses and businesses. Everything would be fully functional with utilities. It would even have a mall (not filled with merchandise presumably)!

So why on earth is this town being built? For research of course! Pegasus Global Holdings will use the town to test energy efficient and green home innovations. MSN Real Estate gives an example of what might take place there:

If it all sounds too crazy, here’s a down-to-earth example: Say scientists want to see if a new kind of smart thermostat can make an entire neighborhood more energy-efficient. They could hand out the thermostats to homeowners in Albuquerque and check in on their meters for the next year. But the results would depend on a lot of factors out of the researchers’ control, such as how warm or cool individuals like their rooms to be or the houses’ insulation quality. And if the experimental system doesn’t work, the scientists would have disrupted people’s lives and maybe increased their utility bills.

But nobody would live in the center’s buildings. Computerized systems would mimic human behavior such as turning thermostats up and down, switching lights off and on or flushing toilets, but they would do so under the scientists’ control. A research team could install the thermostats in a block of the center’s two-story suburban houses, then run multiple long-term scenarios, manipulating the imaginary residents’ behavior to see what the energy use is under different circumstances.

Oh, and since there will be researchers and scientists there to run things in the imaginary city, they’ll be staying in facilities underground.

Although building an entire city that no one lives in might seem odd, having this sort of research space might lead to all sorts of discoveries with energy efficiency in the home. What do you think?

Image courtesy of pascalbovet.com on Flickr.

The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off Tuesday in Las Vegas and some of the most well-respected blogs are making predictions for what to expect.

Over the years, CES has been the site where companies have introduced innovations like the camcorder, the compact disc, high-definition televisions and even the original Nintendo gaming system.

Last year, we highlighted household innovations from the CES floor, which included many smart home technologies that will re-shape the way we live in and interact with our homes.

Here’s some of the early predictions for what we’ll see at the 2012 CES:

Mat Smith, Engadget: “It’ll be what we’re not seeing that looks likely to be the major trend for household tech — namely wires. We’re expecting to see broader (and closer to retail) takes on inductive charging. We’re talking more convenient ways to wirelessly top up your phone, possibly integration into your car and home — all in a way that’s far more subtle than that black industrial mat of yesteryear. We’d expect to see it seeping into many more devices beyond smartphones. Leave those remotes on your coffee table as it charges the batteries for you.”

Matt Burns, TechCrunch: “A smaller but still notable trend for the 2012 CES involves Siri clones inside new product types … Several smart TV concepts have optional voice controls. Using a mic embedded in a remote, viewers are supposedly able to control certain functions with just their voice. We haven’t seen any demos but the company’s limited descriptions lends us to believe that the feature set is very limited and is probably more of a novelty than a useful feature.”

Kukil Bora, International Business Times: “The CES 2012 will introduce enhanced energy management system in your home, using gadgets like thermostats that can be controlled remotely via browsers and smartphones. Broadband companies are also getting into the scene by selling home-automation bundles. In October last year, Verizon started offering a Motorola system for remotely monitoring energy and cameras in the home, which was previewed at the CES last year.”

Welcome to 2012, MLuxe readers! It’s a new year and a fresh start. We want to know if you have any New Year’s Resolutions for your home. Here are a couple of ideas:

• Get organized! Getting rid of clutter will automatically make your home look better, and what better time to get motivated for organization than in the New Year?
• Tackle a DIY project. Just remember to take an honest look at what your capabilities are and start small. A good rule of thumb is that if you think you might need a pro, then you probably do.
• Start planning for a big remodel – a kitchen, a bathroom or even a new addition to your house. You might not get it done in 2012, but you’ll be on your way! Planning is an extraordinarily important part of the remodeling process. You need to think about what you want. You need time to get inspired. And of course, you need to figure out the practical financial aspects. Make 2012 the year to get your remodeling planning in place.

Need some more help with your home plans? Try out the Online Remodeling Planner.

Here’s to 2012 being the best year ever for you and your home!

Happy New Year, dear readers! We have greatly enjoyed talking with you in 2011. Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by our little patch of Internet. All the best to you in 2012!

Image courtesy of jonathanrchang on Flickr.

It’s almost New Year’s Eve! Although it’s a great night to go out and see all that your city has to offer, New Year’s Eve is also expensive and crowded. And who needs the hassle of getting a cab home? Sometimes it’s nice to just relax and enjoy your house on the last night of the year. Here are a few suggestions for what to do:

• Have a chili party: Chili is easy and versatile and pretty hard to mess up. You could assign someone to bring white bean chicken chili, another to bring classic chili con carne, another to bring black bean vegetarian chili, another to bring pork chili with salsa verde…you get the idea. For guests that aren’t big on cooking, it’s easy to bring chili accouterments like grated cheese, onions, cilantro, etc.
• Dessert and champagne party: Whether you are a master baker or just pick sweets up at the bakery, a dessert party will satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth on NYE! Don’t forget lots of champagne.
• Book club: If you have a literary bent, how about arranging a book club meeting for New Year’s? Bonus points if you design the menu around the book’s theme.
• Slumber party: Stay safe and stay off the roads! Invite your friends and their sleeping bags for a night of old-fashioned fun. Board games, movies, etc…the sky is the limit!

Have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve!

Image courtesy of EricMagnuson on Flickr.