Builders' Show: Slimmed down show not short on ideas

The 2011 International Builders' Show was definitely a scaled-down version of its former self. When the show last came to Florida in 2009 (it rotates with Las Vegas), it occupied multiple concourses of the Orange County Convention Center. This year, the action was limited to just the West Concourse, with some big names conspicuously absent, including Whirlpool and Home Depot.

The downsizing made the show more manageable, though with some 1,200 exhibitors on hand it was still like drinking from a firehose. One statistic that jumped out and has stayed with us came during the National Association of Home Builders' presentation of its "New Home in 2015" survey. Regarding homes completed in 2010, the survey found that houses are still getting smaller, continuing a three-year trend. But when NAHB asked about new homes started in 2010, it found that the average size had actually inched up, from 2,367 square feet in 2009 to 2,381 square feet in 2010. Those 14 square feet are a possible sign that the housing market has finally bottomed out and is starting to rebound.

That's not to say that the 5,000-square-foot McMansion of recent decades is staging a comeback. "While [consumers] are looking at a larger size home, they aren't looking for something significantly larger," said Jill Waage, Editorial Director for Home Content at Better Homes and Gardens, during her presentation on consumer preferences. "Rather, it is more of a desire for something slightly larger to accommodate their prioritized wish list."

In this sense, the 2011 Builder's Show might be described best as the housing industry's version of a reality show. Very few products made you scratch your head and think "yeah, just as soon as I hit the lottery." In fact, one of our favorite discoveries was a $5 door stopper that promises to extend the life of doors and walls alike. The notion of conservation was evident in other items, including a base kitchen cabinet that resists water damage.

Green in general was dominant, now it's talked of less as a trend and more as just the way things are done. In fact, nearly 70 percent of respondents to the NAHB survey said the home of 2015 will have more green features, with low-E windows, water-efficient fixtures, and Energy Star ratings for the whole house topping the list.

Universal Design was not as conspicuous, with just 20 percent of builders saying the home of 2015 will feature it. But that's likely to change as the population keeps aging (by 2050, 31 percent of all Americans will be 55 years of age or older, up from 25 percent today) and as more manufacturers bring better-looking UD products to market, such as Kohler's Rising Wall Bath.

Speaking of Kohler, the Wisonsin-based manufacturer received a shout-out during the opening ceremonies for attending 66 out of now 67 Builders' Shows. Never one to rest on its laurels, Kohler has always had one of the biggest, splashiest booths, often with raucous, song-and-dance performances. This year, though, it let its products do most of the talking. Sign of the times.

—Daniel DiClerico