Image Design LLC Wins Best Of Houzz Award for 2017

A new year and a new surprise … a thumbs up from Houzz for Design!  It’s our favorite type of award because it’s a thumbs up from millions of people  around the world that like our design work on Houzz.  Here are the details:

Image Design, LLC Awarded Best Of Houzz 2017

Over 40 Million Monthly Unique Users Nominated Best Home Building, Remodeling and Design Professionals in North America and Around the World

Gran Rapids, Michigan, January 18, 2017 – Image Design, LLC of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has won “Best Of Design” on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The 18-year old sustainable residential design firm was chosen by the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best Of Houzz is awarded annually in three categories: Design, Customer Service and Photography. Customer Service honors are based on several factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2016. A “Best Of Houzz 2017” badge will appear on winners’ profiles, as a sign of  their commitment to excellence. These badges help homeowners identify popular and top-rated home professionals in every metro area on Houzz.

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HERs Score of 27 for the "Oak Savanna" Project!

Our projected LEED for Homes  "Platinum" "Oak Savanna" Project just received a  HERs score of 27 (Making it 73% more efficient than a new code built home) Thanks to the newly installed 6.0 kW ground mounted solar array with  8 OutBack EnergyCell 220GH Grid Hybrid batteries in a custom prewired encloser. (The battery cabinet can expand to 12 batteries if the customer wants more capacity) All tied into a 8kW OutBack Grid interactive inverters system.  The system was installed by Mike Linsea of Solar Winds Power System. And our HERs rater was John Kuiper from The Home Energy Assessor. Our project team would like to thank both Mike & John for their part of this amazing project.

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Image Design, LLC New YouTube Channel

Please subscribe to our new YouTube Channel and watch some of our past video from our River Escape and the Glenn Retreat Projects
and watch-out for some new videos that we are currently working on producing.

Image Design LLC YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/ImageDesignLLC

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LEED For Homes "Platinum" Turtle Lake Cottage Up For Sale

Now is your chance to own a LEED for Homes "Platinum" Cottage Designed by Image Design, LLC on Turtle Lake in Beulah, Mi. for $439,900.00. Below are some of the key features of the home and the Realtors contact information.



Key Features
LEED for Homes "Platinum" Certification.
National Wildlife Certification.
5+ Energy Star Certification.
HERs Score of 36
Lifetime Designed
Geothermal heating & cooling

ERV ventilation
ICF foundation
Solar System - Net Metering - Passive Solar Design
Agri based open cell insulation
James Hardie fiber cement siding
Dual flush toilets and low flow plumbing fixtures
Zero VOC paints and sealants
Stapleton Realty
Christine Stapleton
christine@cdstapleton.com
Cell: 231.499.2698
Office: 231.326.4000Click Here for List Information!

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Rennie Lake Retreat Finishes Construction

Our projected LEED for Homes "Gold"  "Rennie Lake Retreat" project in Traverse City, Michigan has completed construction. We are in the process of finishing up the LEED certification on this project. Below please find some highlight for the project.

Superior Wall Xi precast concrete basement walls.
Insulspan Structural Insulated Panels (SIP) main floor walls.
Andersen 100 Series Energy Star windows.
ERV - Energy Recovery Ventalator.
7.54 Kw of Photovoltaics supplied by Coffman Electrical Equipment
HERs Score of 21 (Which means this home is 79 % more energy efficient than a code built home)

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East Grand Rapids Remodel Under Construction

Old Front Elevation

We are excite that our East Grand Rapids remodel with builder Joel Harner of Let Us, Inc. is now under construction. The homeowner's had us in phase 1 re-design the front facade, add a new foyer, enlarging the kitchen, redesign the roof with a covered entry which has just been completed. In phase 2 which just start last week the homeowner is adding 000 sq. ft. addition off the back of the home which will include a new, main floor laundry, two remodel bedroom with a split bathroom, master bedroom and bath, and a new basement with a large family room and a future guest bedroom and a future bathroom. The exterior elevations will all be updated to match the front facade and there will extensive regrading then new landscaping to complete their new look.

New Front Elevation

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Happy 149th Birthday - Frank Lloyd Wright

Today is the 149th birthday of Frank LLoyd Wright. Widely regarded as America's most influential architect, Frank Lloyd Wright left behind a rich legacy of homes and buildings, and created a distinctly American style of architecture that continues to influence architects to this day. He was born June 8, 1867 and pasted a way in April 9, 1959. His work has influence my life since I was a young teenager. I have been and still am inspire by his work. Some of my favorite works of his are Fallingwater, Meyer May House and all the Prairie Style and Usonian houses . Wright's philosophy in architecture promoted harmony between the building, its inhabitants and nature. His homes became part of their surroundings. He minimized their presence and maximized their practicality. He revolutionized modern architecture with the essentials of ecological design and green building.

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Image Design Awarded Best of Houzz 2016 for both Design and Customer Service

Over 35 Million Monthly Unique Users Nominated Best Home Building,

Remodeling and Design Professionals in North America and Around the World

January 11, 2016 – Image Design, LLC of Grand Rapids, Michigan has won “Best of Design and Customer Service” on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. This Sustainable/Green Residential Design Firm was chosen by the more than 35 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best of Houzz is awarded annually in three categories: Design, Customer Service and Photography. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 35 million monthly users on Houzz. Customer Service honors are based on several factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2015.. A “Best of Houzz 2016” badge will appear on winners’ profiles, as a sign of their commitment to excellence. These badges help homeowners identify popular and top-rated home professionals in every metro area on Houzz.

“We are honored to be recognized by the online community at Houzz.com for our work in the design arena. Thank you very much.” – Eric A. Hughes, President at Image Design, LLC

“Anyone building, remodeling or decorating looks to Houzz for the most talented and service-oriented professionals” said Liza Hausman, vice president of Industry Marketing for Houzz. “We’re so pleased to recognize Image Design, LLC, voted one of our “Best of Houzz” professionals by our enormous community of homeowners and design enthusiasts actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

About Image Design, LLC

Image Design, LLC is a national award winning Sustainable/Green Residential Design firm that is known for designing LEED certified, Zero Energy and Lifetime Designed homes throughout the United States.

Follow Image Design, LLC on Houzz

http://www.houzz.com/pro/eahughes/image-design-llc

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Rennie Lake Retreat Under Construction

Our "Rennie Lake Retreat" project in Traverse City, Michigan is now under construction. The home is a Projected LEED for Homes "Platinum" project. The homes foundation is a Superior Wall Xi precast concrete wall, the main floor wall are Insulspan Structural Insulated Panels (SIP) and the homes windows are Energy Star Andersen 100 Series.  Stay tune for more updates.

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2015 Spring Parade Home Wins Award of Excellence from HBAGGR

We were excited to hear from our builder, Adaptable Homes that the 2015 Spring Parade Home house won two awards this year from the Home Builders Association of Greater Grand Rapids (HBAGGR) 2015 Awards of Excellence for a $200,000 - $250,000 Home in the following categories below.

• Best Interior Elements
• Best Kitchen

These awards were judged by a panel of a dozen industry experts, the Awards of Excellence are highly sought after by the Parade of Homes participants. We would like to say congratulation to Adaptable Homes for a job well done.

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2015 Spring Parade Home designed by Image Design, LLC

Image Design, LLC is excited to have a home we designed on this years 2015 Spring Parade Home. We worked with Bruce  Grifhorst of Adaptable Home to create a Universal Design Home that offers an Aging-in-Place Independent Living Solution. Some of the key features of this home are.

Exterior:
• Zero Step front porch and entry door
• Zero Step garage entry
• Oversized garage – larger square footage for storage, wheel chair use, van parking
• Easy upkeep-simple design, easy to maintain.

Kitchen/Dining/Living:
• All doorways 36” minimum
• No hallways
• Open spaces for maneuverability (5ft turning radius in each room)
• Lever style door handles (easier to operate)

Master Bathroom:
• Dual vanities: Roll under design with angled mirrors
• ADA comfort height toilet
• XL curb less (no lip) walk in shower

Extras:
• Main floor and basement laundry hookups
• 2nd main floor bedroom can be used for kids, guests, office or in home care giver
• Daylight basement can be customized for future use (more bedrooms or more living space)

Please come and visit us during this years Parade of Homes.

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Image Design Offers Annual Earth Day Special for 2015

To help celebrate Earth Day on Wednesday April 22nd Image Design, LLC will be taking $250.00 off our design fee for any new design projects that we are hired for between April 20th and April 26th 2015. We hope that you all enjoy the different Earth Day events through-out the next week.

"YOU MUST BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD." - 
Mahatma Ghandi

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River's Edge Project Awarded LEED for Homes "Certified" Certification

It's official we just were awarded LEED for Homes "Certified" Certification for the "River's Edge" project in Mio, Michigan. This is one of four honors you can receive from the USGBC, and this is our 18th LEED for Homes project. We want to thank the members of the "River's Edge" project team for a project well done. Thanks goes out to Sustainable Home Consultants, LLC (LEED Consulting),  Let Us Inc. (Home Builder), R-Value Homes (ICF Contractor), Perma Log (Log Siding) and GreenHome Institute  (Green Rater & LEED for Homes Provider)) for a awesome job! We would also like to thank the Homeowner for allowing us all to be apart of the special project!

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Meadow Vista Project Completed

The "Meadow Vista" project is now complete and the homeowners are in. The picture to the right is of the sustainable kitchen built by WoodWays, in this picture you can see the stained concrete floors, white granite counter tops, LED Edison style light bulbs in island lighting. Below that you can see the dining room and living room along with the 16'-0" ceilings, gas fireplace  and the sun room. More photos to come once the weather gets better.

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Image Design Awarded Best of Houzz 2015 for both Design and Customer Satifaction

Image Design, LLC of Grand Rapids Receives

Best Of Houzz 2015 Awards

Over 25 Million Monthly Unique Users Rated Top-Rated Home Building,

Remodeling and Design Professionals in the United States and Around the World

Grand Rapids, Michigan, January 19, 2015 – Image Design, LLC of Grand Rapids, has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” for Design & Customer Satisfaction by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The national award winning residential design firm was chosen by the more than 25 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 500,000 active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best Of Houzz award is given in two categories: Design and Customer Satisfaction. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 25 million monthly users on Houzz, known as “Houzzers.” Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014. Winners will receive a “Best Of Houzz 2015” badge on their profiles, helping Houzz users around the world who discover and love a professional’s work to learn even more about that business’ popularity and satisfaction rating among their peers in the Houzz community.

“We are very honored to be recognized by the online community at Houzz.com for our work in the design arena. Thank you very much.” – Eric A. Hughes, President at Image Design, LLC

“Houzz provides homeowners with a 360 degree view of home building, remodeling and design industry professionals, empowering them to engage the right people and products for their project,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of industry marketing for Houzz. “We’re delighted to recognize Eric A. Hughes of Image Design, LLC among our “Best Of” professionals as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

Follow Image Design, LLC on Houzz http://www.houzz.com/pro/eahughes/image-design-llc

About Image Design, LLC

West Michigan’s LEEDing residential design firm, Image Design, LLC is a nationally recognized Sustainable/Green Residential Design firm based in Grand Rapids. They specialize in designing LEED for Homes, Energy Star and ZeroStep certified homes.

About Houzz

Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, buy products and hire the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Houzz also has international offices in London, Berlin and Sydney. For more information, visit www.houzz.com

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Image Design becomes a Kent Career Tech Center Partner

Image Design, LLC is now a Kent Career Tech Center Business Partner for their Sustainable Energy System program which is run by Jason Kalis.  As a business partner we'll bring our expertise into the Tech Center to evaluate student work and help keep their programs current.  The Sustainable Energy System program investigate the science and engineering behind emerging technologies in wind, solar, battery and bio-fuels power. Understand the pros and cons of various energy sources and the dynamics that influence national or global energy policy. And prepares their students for new careers in energy generation and distribution at the local or systems level. Please checkout their other programs

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Janurary 2015 is Radon Action Month

This month is National Radon Action Month. At Image Design we are always watching out for you and your loved ones in our designs we always vent for Radon.  Did you know that Radon is actually deadlier than carbon monoxide. List below are some interesting fact you might not know.

• Breathing home indoor radon causes nearly one hundred times more deaths each year than carbon monoxide poisoning.


• Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.


• Some 20,000 people will die this year due to breathing too much radon without even knowing it.
• Radon is estimated to be a health risk in as many as one in fifteen homes throughout the country.
• One in eight homes in Michigan (EPA's map of Michigan radon zones) have elevated levels of radon

Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, invisible radioactive gas that seeps into homes undetected through cracks or openings in the foundation, floor or walls, and can reach harmful levels if trapped indoors. It travels up from underground sources and uranium in the earth’s crust. And can be found in all the county in the state of Michigan see our Radon Map for our state below.
My goal this month is to raise your awareness of Radon and to teach you how we at Image Design take extra steps in our plans to reduce your risks of Radon.
At Image Design we include all these Radon prevention techniques in our sets of plans:

1. Gas Permeable Layer. This layer is placed beneath the slab or flooring system to allow the soil gas to move freely underneath the house. In many cases, the material used is a 4-inch layer of clean gravel.


2. Plastic Sheeting. Plastic sheeting is placed on top of the gas permeable layer and under the slab to help prevent the soil gas from entering the home. In crawlspaces, the sheeting is placed over the crawlspace floor.


3. Sealing and Caulking. All openings in the concrete foundation floor are sealed to reduce soil gas entry into the home.


4. Vent Pipe. A 3- or 4-inch gas-tight or PVC pipe (commonly used for plumbing) runs from the gas permeable layer through the house to the roof to safely vent radon and other soil gases above the house this system is called Passive Radon Mitigation. If , after your house is complete, a test determines that levels are still too high, you may have to convert to an Active Radon Mitigation System by installing a fan than runs continuously which creates low pressure under the slab and increases the rate of gas evacuation..


5. Junction Box. An electrical junction box is installed in case an electric venting fan is needed later.

As our nations builders start moving towards Green Building, builders shouldn’t forget that they can’t truly be green without being safe places for people to live.“It’s remarkably easy to protect our loved ones by testing for radon and building new homes with radon–resistant features that allow everyone to breathe freely and safely.” “It’s simple and cost–effective to build new homes with radon–resistant features“It makes sense to do it right from the start.” The radon threat is preventable with the simple steps above. When building new homes, builders can easily and economically include radon–resistant features during construction. The EPA also recommends that new built homes still be test for radon gas before they move in to make sure the radon–resistant features are working.
For more information please visit these web-sites.
www.epa.gov/radon/
www.epa.gov/radon/zonemap/michigan.htm

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Image Design, LLC New Website Goes Live!

Image Design Website

We are excited to have our new Image Design, LLC website go live!  We have been working on it for a while now and are excited on how it turned out. We would like to thank Chris Haughey from Mindshare Marketing Group for all of the time and hard work he and his team have put in on our website. I would highly recommend them for all your social media needs. Please keep visiting as we will be continually adding new project.

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Oak Savanna Project Receives A HERS Score of 45

We are excited the our LEED for Homes Projected "Gold" Oak Savanna project has received a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) score of 45! This is a very good score indeed! This is about as low as current technology can go for efficiency and comfort. To get this score you have about the most efficient HVAC, lowest duct leakage and great windows. The house is well sealed and the very comfortable. To get a lower score on the scale you will need renewable energy, such as solar or wind.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports that a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index, while a typical new home might rate 100. A home with a HERS Index Score of 45 is 55% more energy efficient than that standard new home, and 85% more efficient than a typical resale and has a annual energy savings of $1,616.00.  We would like to thank our HERS rater John Kuiper for doing a thorough job with the Blower Door Test and the Thermal Imaging of the project. We are finalizing the LEED for Homes paperwork and will have the final LEED certification rating shortly.

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Image Design Offers A 2014 Christmas Discount

We are excited to offer a Christmas Special, we will be offering $250.00 discount (off your initial deposit) for any New client that sign a proposal/agreement from December 1st through December 21st.  Also lock in at our 2014 fee structure before they change for 2015. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

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