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During the 1950s and 1960s, a sure sign that a family had “made it” was a swimming pool in the backyard. Spring forward to the 2020s, and this former “badge” of affluence is now worn by a lot more people, many of whom would be considered middle-income families. 

Making a home more eco-friendly is no longer a “go for broke” proposition. Consider the opinion of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who created Sherlock Holmes, literature’s master of logic and deduction. He said, “The little things are infinitely the most important.” They also tend to be the most economical. For those who want to make their home “greener,” the ways to accomplish this are elementary, my dear Watson.

Those tastemakers who influence home design trends—bloggers, hosts of home improvement shows, social media mavens, and high-profile architects—are leading the charge toward the “European” look of painted brick. Most of these “influencers” still love the natural warmth of traditional brick, but creative people, like architects, designers, and homeowners who are their clients, crave choices! 

For more than 30 years, homeowners have loved the look and durability of porcelain tile. Now, this flooring product has found even more fans. The home design experts attribute this to its “regenerative” capacity.

With millions of workers operating full-time or on a hybrid basis from home, and online shopping being immensely popular, the number of home deliveries is higher now than at any time in history. This avalanche of shipping boxes and document envelopes is often sitting, in plain sight on the front porch, for any passerby to notice. It’s easy pickings for modern-day robbers.

Few manufacturing processes have had the impact of brick on civilization. Some estimates date brickmaking back to 7,200 B.C. It’s part art and part science. The rich hues are quintessentially natural and vary based on the area from which the clay is mined. This affords architects and builders a stunning design palette.