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For each custom home design plan, he sends his team of stone and timber experts into the forests of Northern New England to find giant boulders, entire trees or 8-ton Granite stones that become the signature elements of each custom built home. When asked about the use of such unusual materials in his design Nold said, "When a client wants their weekend, or second home to provide retreat and renewal far from their primary home - this distance is not measured just in miles, but in the emotions their home evokes.

According to statistics from the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association, about 28 percent of U.S. households have home theater systems, which include everything from basic box kits for a few hundred dollars to more elaborate custom jobs costing upward of $250,000. But despite the growing legions of high-tech-hungry viewers, a dedicated home theater isn't practical for most people. So here are some tips from the experts on how to create a living space that integrates style and comfort along with your big-screen dreams.

Someday I'll be able to purchase a house in Southern California whether it will be a fixer-upper, tract home or custom built is still yet to be determined. But when that example of cottage, Craftsman, adobe or colonial design comes to fruition, one of its shining points must be the garage.