Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) has constructed its first-ever Innovation Home, incorporating the best of what’s new in building products and smart home technology proven to make consumers’ homes smarter, safer, and more efficient.

Designed by BHG editors, and built in Mequon, Wisconsin in partnership with Lakeside Development Company, the 2015 Innovation Home is featured in the magazine’s October issue.

The house incorporates over 20 innovations in product technology, including Clopay Canyon Ridge^® Collection Limited Edition Series faux wood carriage house doors, which blend perfectly with the fresh, traditional style of this showcase home.

The doors are constructed of a durable, low-maintenance composite material that won’t rot, warp or crack. The five-layer construction features Clopay’s Intellicore^® insulation technology. The 20.4 R-value ensures living rooms attached to and above the garage will stay comfortable year-round.

According to results of a nationwide survey conducted by BHG, energy efficiency, money savings, smart technology, and home security and safety all rank as top priorities for consumers when it comes to home innovation. BHG's Innovation Home gives readers easily-adoptable solutions to address these needs and simplify their lives.

In addition to Clopay, presenting partners Azek Building Products, James Hardie, Pella, and Sleep Number, along with contributors Cambria, GAF, Heat & Glo, Kohler, LG, McElroy Metal, and Plain & Fancy supplied both interior and exterior products for the home's five key areas of innovation including:

• Multi-point monitoring of doors, windows, shades, thermostats, door locks, and lights through sensors and smart home controls. 
• Low-maintenance building materials found in siding, roofing, garage doors, and decking that contribute to long-lasting beauty and function.
• Energy and water saving appliances including a clothes dryer that recaptures energy with a heat pump, as well as high-performance fireplaces that reduce gas consumption.
• Kitchen and bath products with clever and convenient features including hands-free faucets and a tub with hidden speakers for sound you can hear and feel. 
• Cutting-edge electronics including a web-connected, ultra-thin OLED television and a mattress system that monitors sleep patterns.

To learn more about the products and smart home technology featured on the 2015 Innovation Home, visit BHG.com/BHGHouse.

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ABOUT BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

Better Homes and Gardens serves, connects and inspires readers who infuse color and creativity into each aspect of their lives. Reaching 40 million readers a month via the most trusted print magazine, the brand also extends across a robust website, multiple social platforms, tablet editions, mobile apps, broadcast programs and licensed products. Better Homes and Gardens fuels our reader's passions to live a more colorful life through stunning visuals, a balance of substance and surface, and a blend of expert and reader ideas. Better Homes and Gardens is published 12 times a year by Meredith Corporation, with a rate base of 7.6 million.

As part of BHG's continued mission to highlight the best in home technology, the products featured in the 2015 Innovation Home were chosen to eliminate everyday problems while keeping consumer cost, accessibility and ease in mind.

Boasting 3,300 square feet of finished space, BHG's 2015 Innovation Home represents a fresh traditional construction style accented with modern farmhouse twists. Inside, smart design will be incorporated into the home's décor – demonstrating how technology can blend seamlessly into beautiful interiors.

To follow progress of BHG's Innovation Home build and find more information on smart home technology, visit BHG.com/BHGHouse.

Technology for technology's sake? Not for us. To be of benefit, a technology needs to solve common problems, save energy and money, and help us be efficient with our time. Because many home products are longer-term purchases, an innovation should have value and newness, but also popularity so as to avoid being a flash in the pan. Oh, and it should be well styled, too. The products on our Editors' Choice list meet those criteria while remaining simple to use and easy to incorporate into our daily routines.

The editors of Better Homes and Gardens selected smart home products that help homeowners save energy and money, and a good blend of value and newness, to make its 2015 Innovation Product List.