By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team
When Lance Fort upsized from an apartment to a 2,350-square-foot home in Shoreline, WA, a bedroom community just north of Seattle, he ended up with quite a project on his hands.
The rundown split-level needed significant work, and he spent the first six months hiring contractors to gut and rebuild the interior. By the time Fort finally moved in, he was, as he put it, done.
But as any new homeowner knows, you’re never really done — especially if your home has a yard. As a former apartment dweller, Fort hadn’t given much thought to the home’s one-third-acre backyard until he halfheartedly tried to mow the lawn.
“It was 45 percent moss, 45 percent weeds, and 10 percent grass, with a massive mole problem,” laments Fort. The yard was full of rocks, and so unkempt that it was hard to determine where the lawn ended and the overgrown flower beds began.
Having no interest in gardening, and admittedly inexperienced with yard tools, Fort felt overwhelmed before even making a dent. “All I wanted was to get to the point where the backyard didn’t look like a science project.”
Fort isn’t alone. New homeowners often focus on interior improvements, like new drapes, a fresh coat of paint, and structural repairs. But those who upsize, like Fort, often forget that yards can take a lot of time, money, and energy — things that are often in short supply at the end of a big move.
Once he realized he was in over his head, Fort enlisted the help of a yard-savvy buddy. The two are tackling the yard slowly but surely on weekends, and Fort hopes to eventually get to the point where his property requires little more than occasional maintenance.
If you, too, are upsizing to a home with a spacious yard, consider the following tips for managing your new outdoor space.
Bigger Homes and Gardens: Caring for Your New, Upsized Outdoor Space By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team
By Joe Szabo, Scottsdale Real Estate Team
When Lance Fort upsized from an apartment to a 2,350-square-foot home in Shoreline, WA, a bedroom community just north of Seattle, he ended up with quite a project on his hands.
The rundown split-level needed significant work, and he spent the first six months hiring contractors to gut and rebuild the interior. By the time Fort finally moved in, he was, as he put it, done.
But as any new homeowner knows, you’re never really done — especially if your home has a yard. As a former apartment dweller, Fort hadn’t given much thought to the home’s one-third-acre backyard until he halfheartedly tried to mow the lawn.
“It was 45 percent moss, 45 percent weeds, and 10 percent grass, with a massive mole problem,” laments Fort. The yard was full of rocks, and so unkempt that it was hard to determine where the lawn ended and the overgrown flower beds began.
Having no interest in gardening, and admittedly inexperienced with yard tools, Fort felt overwhelmed before even making a dent. “All I wanted was to get to the point where the backyard didn’t look like a science project.”
Fort isn’t alone. New homeowners often focus on interior improvements, like new drapes, a fresh coat of paint, and structural repairs. But those who upsize, like Fort, often forget that yards can take a lot of time, money, and energy — things that are often in short supply at the end of a big move.
Once he realized he was in over his head, Fort enlisted the help of a yard-savvy buddy. The two are tackling the yard slowly but surely on weekends, and Fort hopes to eventually get to the point where his property requires little more than occasional maintenance.
If you, too, are upsizing to a home with a spacious yard, consider the following tips for managing your new outdoor space.
I still walk in sometimes and can’t even believe it’s the same room. Of course, there have been many other updates and projects to get this look, but the shelves definitely set the stage.
Let’s get started!
But 3D printing could be the silver bullet. ICON, a construction technologies company, designed a 3D printer to produce homes. A single-story home, with a total footprint measuring 600 to 800 square feet, can be printed in underserved communities in less than 24 hours.
The cost? Just $4,000.
“3D printing can deliver a house — and I mean fully deliver ready to move in — for about 30 percent less than conventional building,” explains Jason Ballard, ICON’s CEO and cofounder.
About a year ago, New Story and ICON partnered to print 100 homes in El Salvador. To test the technology, they printed a prototype in Austin, TX this March. It’s the first site-printed, permitted 3D-printed home in the U.S.
“One of our favorite things to hear about as we unveiled it was, ‘Holy cow, I would live in that house,’” Ballard recalls. “And that really made us feel like we had succeeded.”
The prototype shows off what the technology can do — like printing curved walls and a sloped roof as easily as straight lines. The Austin home was printed in 47 hours, with the machine at quarter speed. ICON expects homes to be printed in 11 to 12 hours at full speed.
The prototype was printed to last in a developing country, not just Texas. Made of concrete, it’s strong and cool enough to withstand extreme temperatures, hurricanes and even earthquakes. Bonus: Printing homes produces zero waste.
“We wanted to make this feel like the kind of house you could feel proud to live in,” Ballard adds. Knowing concrete can feel stark and uninviting, they planned the design to incorporate lots of natural light. The windows, roof and doors were added after the printing was complete.
While the homes in El Salvador will be similar in size to the prototype, each design will be custom. New Story hosts workshops in each country they serve, asking families what they want in their future homes.
“Unfortunately, they’re not used to being asked for their input and their opinions,” Hagler says. “But when it finally clicks that we not only care, but we’re actually going to implement what they say — it’s really beautiful to watch.”
Each home will have 1 to 2 bedrooms, a bathroom with a shower and toilet, and a living room. The rest is up for debate.
“It’s about shelter, but it’s also about dignity, respect and ownership of your home,” Hagler adds.
If the printing goes well, more communities will follow.
“This really is a paradigm shift,” Ballard notes. “With this technology, we can imagine for the first time what it would be like to end homelessness as a lack of shelter.”
By 
Nestled on the banks of the Columbia River in central Washington, the roughly 250-square-foot home is hexagon-shaped, perched nearly 9 feet above the ground on three massive steel beams.
Inside, earthlings are greeted by an open floor plan. A breakfast nook has a porthole-shaped window overlooking the river and the hillside; a kitchen with stainless steel appliances provides space to cook up a feast for an astronaut.
A large geodesic dome skylight showers the room with sunlight.
Just off the bathroom, a deep-blue sink and cerulean-colored mirror have a Mid-Century Modern feel (appropriate, considering humans first walked on the moon in 1969).
The bedroom sits down a small ladder and can comfortably sleep two people.
Upstairs, there’s enough room for a small outdoor deck where you can gaze at area wildlife, including eagles and lynxes.
If the space reminds you of the tiny, well-intentioned living quarters of a boat, it’s no coincidence. The lunar lander’s owner and designer, Kurt Hughes, is a boat designer by trade.
He translated his three decades of boat building to home building — in fact, the wooden table in the dining nook is recycled from the Hughes’ first sailboat.
