DaVinci DMC News March 2024

February kept the building products industry — and everyone at DaVinci Roofscapes — on constant round trips to Las Vegas. Beginning with the International Roofing Expo (IRE) early in the month, where thousands of roofing contractors gathered just days before the Super Bowl, and ending with tens of thousands of building industry pros getting together at the end of the month for the International Builders’ Show (IBS), Las Vegas was THE place to be in February.

To launch show season, DaVinci focused the spotlight on our 2023 DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor Project of the Year Winners at IRE. Having the teams from Umbrella Roofing and FL Specialty Roofing visit the booth gave us a chance for face-to-face congratulations on their award-winning projects.

And, while our sales team showcased DaVinci products to roofers, everyone was a winner with their DaVinci fan chains. The pre-Super Bowl bling was a big hit, expanding DaVinci’s brand awareness throughout the show floor!

Two weeks later, after our Kansas City Chiefs proved Vegas was indeed our lucky city, we were back again for an even bigger show, with a bigger booth!

DaVinci’s displays were included along with stone, siding, trim, window and other roofing solutions products in the Westlake Royal Building Products booth. New product innovations were launched, top industry trends shared and the new Be Boundless^™ campaign was kicked off.

New Ways to Visualize Trends

The centerpiece of the Westlake Royal Building Products booth was a massive Trends Wall, depicting three overarching industry trends that Westlake Royal is anticipated to dominate over in 2024. Design versatility, high performance products and materials, and innovative industry solutions are identified as those top three trends.

In a totally new and unique element to IBS, on opening day there were four hours of live Roofers Coffee Shop coverage from the Westlake Royal Building Products|Roofing Solutions section of the booth. The first interview includes a tour of the complete Westlake booth and introduces the new Trend Wall.

Additional YouTube videos include:

• DaVinci’s Territory Manager Theo Maglio giving a walking tour of the DaVinci section of the booth
• Hear DMC Landon Coggin’s perspectives on the show
• Learn about the new FRESH color e-book from DaVinci’s Wendy Bruch

Three days of non-stop booth visits, media interviews and customer meetings left everyone feeling lucky in Vegas. Moving deeper into 2024, this show sets the stage for all of us to Be Boundless^™ — to think, work, design and grow in bigger and bolder ways this year!

Even an e-book needs refreshing. So, we asked our color expert, Kate Smith, to update her popular e-book, “FRESH Colors for Homes with Brick or Stone.”

Kate outdid herself. She’s provided her expert insights to homeowners with stone or brick exteriors on how to create cohesive curb appeal for their properties. The online guide explores 60 unique color palette combinations. The free 21-page step-by-step guide is a tool you can offer to any customer who is trying to determine the ideal exterior color combination for their home.

“Selecting cohesive colors for a home exterior is especially important when brick or stone are involved,” says Kate Smith, chief color maven at Sensational Color. “There are different color casts for these fixed features on a home. You’re looking for tones that will harmonize with those color casts. And, importantly, you need to take a ‘top down’ approach.

“Start with the roof and then gaze downwards at the entire home. Colors starting at the top of the house all the way down to the siding, trim, doorway and foundation all combine to create a home’s curb appeal.”

FRESH Approach

Author & color expert Kate Smith

As in the other e-books Smith has created for DaVinci, she encourages homeowners to take the FRESH approach when creating an eye-pleasing palette for a home exterior. Smith recommends homeowners evaluate the Fixed Features, Regional Colors, Environment & Surroundings, Style of the Home and the Historic or HOA Colors involved in the property.

“When you use FRESH thinking to choose the right color for the home’s elements, you create a unified top-to-bottom look that exudes curb appeal,” says Smith.

For the updated e-book, which Smith originally created in 2013, the color specialist coordinates different colors of composite shake and slate roofing from DaVinci. She matches them with fixed features such as Cultured Stone^™, Eldorado Stone^™, and Versetta Stone^™. Then Smith offers complementary paint recommendations for trim and accents around the exterior.

Color Support

In addition to authoring the online e-books, Smith provides free color support to homeowners exploring new or replacement roofs. She answers color questions and offers advice to help guide consumers through the process of choosing a color blend to complement their home.

“Oftentimes people have a good ‘gut feeling’ about the colors they want for their home, but they just need reassurance that their idea will work well,” says Smith. “Others seek ideas to unify their colors. I can help provide suggestions, tools and guidance specific to each person, enabling them to feel confident with their decisions.” Explore color with Kate

Don’t miss the latest Roofer’s Coffee Shop “Roofing Road Trips” with DaVinci’s own Mike Vaugh and Landon Coggins from Apex Home Solutions.

Along with host Heidi J. Ellsworth, Mike and Landon discuss how contractors can build their businesses by adding composite slate and shake to their offerings. You’ll hear their tips for success, suggestions for identifying homes that are composite candidates and more.

Don’t miss this conversation, which includes Landon explaining why composites were the ideal solution in Apex Home’s award-winning 2023 top-to-bottom composite project. Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.