Though his latest award is for customer service, Tony Caciolo also could be recognized for diplomacy. When your company's mission statement says, "The customer's perception is our reality," you have to have some serious people skills...

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors has recognized 10 projects as recipients of the second annual Merit Shop Award of Excellence in Construction and recognized a contractor and subcontractor for excellence in safety...

Want to build an energy-efficient home? There are a number of options locally. The Department of Environmental Protection has an Energy Star program for homes just as it does refrigerators, washers and other appliances...

One of the features in a house built by Monogram Custom Homes is its heating system. It's a baseboard hot-water heating system, known in the business as a "hydronic" system, and it's a departure from the forced-air systems that are almost standard in the region...

The Lehigh Valley Builders Association has recognized a number of Lehigh and Northampton county companies for quality construction through its Awards for Professional Excellence program. Awards were presented in 27 builder/remodeler categories at the organization's recent seventh annual dinner...

Twenty-five awards also were presented in categories including remodeling and specialty projects at the association's 10th annual awards dinner Monday at the Holiday Inn in Fogelsville. Other winners in building categories were: Monogram Custom Homes Ltd., Coopersburg, excellence in energy efficiency...

Monogram Custom Homes Ltd. of Coopersburg won community of the year for its development, Ashton Woods, in Upper Macungie Township. When complete, the community will feature 54 homes starting at $365,000...

Tony Caciolo of Monogram Custom Homes in Coopersburg is building three upscale houses in Hickory Hill in Upper Macungie Township, a stone's throw from where Beazer Homes USA, a national builder, is building Morningside, an enclave of 31 luxury dwellings...

Lori and Denis Esslinger waited until they had lived in their Salisbury Township ranch a few years and until the kids -- and their toy collection -- had grown some before they finished their home's basement. "We were crowding out with the toys up here," Lori Esslinger recalled...

Scott and Ruth Rice's stone and stucco home in Upper Macungie Township has cathedral ceilings, palladium windows and nearly 4,300 square feet of living space, including the finished basement. Yet the first year they lived in the dwelling, they spent only about $700 for heat and hot water...

Tony Caciolo, a Lehigh Valley native, and Lewis "Chip" Shupe of Wilmington, Del., met when they attended Lehigh University. Today, they build upscale custom houses together as Monogram Custom Homes in Upper Saucon Township...

Sometimes, what you see really is what you get, which is the philosophy of Anthony "Tony" Caciolo and Lewis "Chip" Shupe IV. Caciolo, the 31-year-old co-owner and president of Monogram Custom Homes, Upper Saucon Township, espouses a philosophy of sticking with good materials as standard...

Tina and John Dowd do a fair amount of entertaining. Two years ago, when they built a 17,000-square-foot home in Franklin Township, they wanted a driveway that would do several things: make a grand entrance, provide space for guest parking, and allow for cars to get around those dropping off guests...

More than half of the designers surveyed by the National Association of Home Builders earlier this year said they expect the demand for two master bedroom suites in high-end homes to increase significantly by 2015. According to the NAHB, the demand for two master suites is being fueled by baby boomers...

For 2007, Lehigh Valley real estate agents and homebuilders predict what will be hot - and what not - with homeowners. What's in: Sustainable design. Sustainable design focuses on energy conservation, indoor air quality and resource conservation...

Two builders of upscale homes in the Lehigh Valley, Tony Caciolo of Monogram Custom Homes Ltd. in Coopersburg and Myron R. Haydt of Haydt Development Inc. in Salisbury Township, say they, too, have built safe rooms for clients...

Tony Caciolo and his wife, Penny, love New Orleans' French Quarter so much that they have recreated a piece of it in their Upper Saucon Township home. They have built a room that looks as though it is the quarter's famous Bourbon Street. "It's an indoor room but it looks like you're outdoors," Tony says...