Are you going bonkers trying to pick out all the "stuff" for your new custom home? Or do you just want to look up the specifics on products offered by the builder who is building your new production home, and the builder will only allow you a two-hour design appointment? Whether you just want to be the informed consumer, or are in the process of hand-picking every appliance, lighting fixture and even room-fitting piece of furniture, there is a God. The place is called HomePortfolio.com, and it's got just about everything you can think of in one place, where you can browse to your heart's content in the comfort of your own home office computer screen.

I tripped over this site looking for decorating trends for new home buyers and just plain got hooked. The site presents an independent editorial selection of some of the world's best home design products, using electronic brochures created by the manufacturers. It offers a literal wealth of products, great content, is user friendly, and looks to bethe ultimate time saver for agenda-filled shoppers.

Created by HomePortfolio, Inc., this site is on the cutting edge in the home design industry on the World Wide Web. It creates a synergy between consumers, manufacturers, and design professionals, making its use incredibly efficient and personalized. The HomePortfolio team hails from Yale, the MIT Media Lab, and the publishing and home design industries. Its unique products can be difficult to find in the storefront venue, and use of the site can give the consumer access to products and designs they tend to see only in model homes and decorator conventions.

The home page guides you to a plethora of choices for the home. Start by selecting a room of the house you wish to concentrate on; the kitchen, for example. Choose an appliance (or countertop surface, or plumbing fixture, etc.) and make the next choice by selecting either the manufacturer, the style you wish to achieve, or the price range you are shooting for. The site then displays the line of models by list and picture in its "Product Explorer".

The independent nature of this site is comfortable. It doesn't push a manufacturer or product and gives some in-depth analysis to some products as it is continuously updated. You feel less pressured, allowing you to plan well in advance for the items you wish to install in your home. Its detail is seemingly endless, as you click away for more and more information. Buyers left to the mercies of their homebuilder for builder-selected products that may not fit their idea of decorating can print up pictures and manufacturer model identifications and present them to the builder, giving them the control and creative choice in products for their new homes.

HomePorfolio.com is incredibly easy to get around in. It is well written and beautifully displayed, making "shopping" there a pure pleasure. The site can also be accessed through AmentiesWorldwide.com and is present on most major search engines. It's a show you won't want to miss as you plan for that dream home, and you'll feel like a genius for discovering this "insider" web site.

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Published: August 20, 1999

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