Open-concept floor plans have definitely hit it big in recent years. Homes and businesses are saying no to walls and yes to open-concept. If you’re a builder or architect in the Manhattan, NY area, you’ve likely already adjusted your building plans to accommodate this trend, but have you put plenty of thought into the result?

The result of open-concept layouts is, simply put, noise. Without walls to muffle sound, the noise from electronics, footsteps and most importantly, speech, are all amplified within the space.

So what can builders and architects do to deliver home and office building designs that your customers will love for years to come? Incorporate acoustics into construction (in this case, sound masking in particular).

Motorized shades are definitely hitting it big in Manhattan lately. It’s quickly going from a rare sight to something I see in most properties.

You know what else I see a lot? Smart shading installations done the wrong way.

You don’t want to look back at your installed window treatments and wish you could have a do-over. So let’s avoid the time machine and dig into the most common problems I see on a regular basis – if you know what they are upfront, you can take steps to avoid them!

The home remodeling site Houzz conducted a study last year, and the results were pretty neat: nearly half of American homeowners want to add smart technology during their next renovation. And guess what the most popular type of smart device was? Yep, that’s right – security and surveillance.

One of the most requested custom home installations is a dedicated home theater. Homeowners love the idea of being able to watch their movies with optimal audio and video quality. But if you’re an experience builder in Bergen County, NJ, you know that the way a theater sounds is about more than just having the best gear. It’s about the acoustics of the room and the construction of the building. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the benefits soundproofing can bring to your construction process, so you won’t have to spend time on costly re-work.