Tiny generators, vanishing walls and refrigerators that heat water are showcased at the International Builders’ Show
By DAWN WOTAPKA and ROBBIE WHELAN
Bioethanol candles that heat an entire room. Refrigerators that pour hot water. Glass doors that slide around curves.
At the annual International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas this week, tens of thousands, suppliers, distributors and builders convened to examine new innovations in home-building materials, appliances, fixtures and technologies.
The mood was optimistic: Construction of single-family homes climbed 18.5% in December from the prior year. The annual sales pace of new homes was on track to be 23% higher last year than the record low in 2011. And a number of exhibitors who sat last year’s show out, such as GE Appliances, were back in force.
The new designs highlighted the changing priorities of today’s homeowners—and could point toward a new set of standard home features. Generators, increasingly seen as a home essential, are getting smaller. Kitchen appliances have a greater ability to multitask. And the standard electrical outlet could be going the way of the dinosaur.
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