BY KIMBERLY RODGERS
An excellent source of business for hearth retailers is custom homebuilding, since it represents the strongest sector of the sluggish housing market.
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| Rich Napier Owner, Napier
Signature Homes
Powhatan, Va. |
As the media continue to paint a dismal picture of the housing market, it’s important to note that one sector of that market is actually performing exceedingly well: custom homes. Just ask Rich Napier, owner of Napier Signature Homes in Powhatan, Va., and immediate past president of the Home Builders Association of Virginia. Even though there’s a surplus of inventory of new homes and resale homes throughout the United States, custom builders like Napier had a good year in 2007. “I’m just as busy as I was in the boom years,” Napier says.
Napier builds about six to eight custom homes a year, mostly in the $1 million to $2 million range and ranging in size from 4,500 to 7,000 square feet. The first thing that one notices about these homes is that fireplaces (of all types and sizes) continue to play a major role in their decor. One home, built recently, had 13 fireplaces.
“Because they serve as a focal point and gathering place, fireplaces will always be important for homeowners,” Napier says. “Now, my customers are requesting a greater number of them and want them installed in nontraditional places, such as in master-suite bathrooms near whirlpools, kitchens, studies and outdoors.”
One of Napier’s customers had a vent-free fireplace installed in his two-story foyer. According to Napier, this Heat & Glo designer-style hearth with a turbo flame serves as an attention grabber as guests enter the house.
Consumer Preferences
Although Napier still gets requests for wood-burning masonry fireplaces, the majority of his clients prefer direct-vent or vent-free gas hearths. “Since there have been major improvements in the design and look of direct-vent and vent-free fireplaces, homeowners have gravitated toward these because they’re clean, more energy efficient and require less work than wood-burning fires,” he says.
Napier particularly likes ventless fireplaces that don’t require chimneys, because it means that architects can be more creative with their plans. Thanks to vent-free fireplaces, homeowners are incorporating just about everything into the space above the hearth, from beautiful shelving and big-screen televisions to aquariums and mini waterfalls.
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| Indoor fireplaces continue to be one of the most
sought-after amenities for custom home buyers. |
Napier adds that increasing numbers of clients are adding electric fireplaces, many of which have built-in heaters. Some of these models simulate a three-dimensional fire by bouncing flame-like reflections off a refractory mirror mounted behind realistically smoldering embers and logs.
Napier reports that one customer put three electric fireplaces in a house and loved them because there was no need to worry about venting anything. Electric fireplaces now come in a wide range of decor styles, from those that resemble traditional wood-burning fireplaces to Euro-styled models that can use frosted-glass beads instead of logs.
Buyers of high-end homes are also interested in the embellishments of a hearth, particularly the mantel and surrounds. Many of these finishing elements are designed to match the decor of the home closely. Pewter and bronze are popular metals for fireplace fronts, and surrounds of natural stone, gypsum and luxury woods (such as maple and walnut) are widely used in custom homes.
Warming Up Outdoors
Homebuilders such as Napier are also noticing continued growth in outdoor fireplaces and firepits. In the past, customers focused primarily on the interiors of their homes, but Napier’s customers have elaborate plans for their backyards. “We’ve seen a huge increase in requests for outdoor-living designs and products,” he says. “They want outdoor kitchens, pools or spas and spots for entertaining, which usually include a fireplace or firepit.”
In the past few years, individuals purchasing custom homes have had many different choices in outdoor hearth products. Many are attracted to products that are portable and can be stored. Others are drawn to new features such as those of the Dimplex Symphony electric fireplace, which features a poolside design with compartments for a towel warmer and a cooler.
With such an array of hearth products available for custom homes, builders could find it daunting to help customers with their selections. Napier admits that today’s style-savvy home buyers are much more knowledgeable about hearth products than they were years ago. He credits the Internet for helping to educate consumers about different manufacturers and their products. “Many of my customers come to me already knowing what types of fireplaces they want to include in their new homes,” he says.
On many occasions, Napier advises customers to visit local fireplace retailers to see the products in person. Viewing a photo on the Internet or in a catalog is never the same as actually seeing a fireplace on a showroom floor.
Teaming Up With Retailers
Napier believes that since custom homebuilding is strong, it pays for hearth retailers to team up with contractors who work directly with residential builders. He prefers to work with contractors who subcontract to other suppliers (including hearth retailers), since this is more efficient and cost effective for him.
“There are a lot more contractors today who offer multiple choices for customers in terms of products,” Napier says. “For example, my irrigation contractor used to handle only irrigation, but he’s now a full-service contractor who has expanded into fountains, outdoor grills, ponds, outdoor fireplaces and firepits.”
Although the lackluster economy has negatively affected overall hearth sales, Napier stresses that this is the perfect time for retailers to assess which products are the most successful and broaden their inventories based on consumers’ preferences. The fact remains that home buyers continue to be enamored of fireplaces.
A recent survey of clients in the custom-home market revealed that the most asked-for rooms include home offices, outdoor living rooms, great rooms and multipurpose family rooms, all of which are well suited to hearths. “Fireplaces are always on my customers’ lists of must-haves,” Napier says. “I don’t expect this to change, now that there are so many choices driving demand.”
PHPR January/February 2008
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