This photo has only three colors: brown, green, and a touch of blue. It’s the textures that bring this picture to life.

Take a look at the building itself – barely lighter than the ground in front of it but so intriguing with the old plaster peeling away to expose the stone underneath. Each of the two wood doors has its own personality. The roof with its varied tiles creates a rich contrast to the bark of the foreground trees – all brown but still so different.

Do you think of texture in your home? Combining rough with smooth, knobby with even, shiny with matte finishes adds interest as much as contrasting colors. No, you can’t have a roof like that in your living room, but look for a pillow in dupioni silk with its uneven threads and warm glossy tones that make any color or neutral more interesting. You may not have a tree in your home, but a turned-wood bowl provides a warm accessory.

Do you have carpeting on your floor? Add in smooth and shiny touches to contrast. With a wood floor, a variety of textiles add personality and interest. How about an old bronze bowl from an antique store filled with glass marbles contrasting color and texture?

The warm earth tones of this photo would work beautifully in a home, as long as you also add in the rich patina of texture shown here to make your room interesting and inviting.

Have you noticed that some homes feel light and bright while others feel dark even on the sunniest day? Some of that comes from the number and types of windows in a home, but your decorating choices also have a big influence.

This photo shows what you can do to create a sense of lightness and sunshine in your home. The predominance of white, the use of pastels and bright colors, and bringing in shiny surfaces make all the difference. Let’s see how you can translate this for your own home.

Start with your windows. Do you have window coverings that let in the light without the glare? Cellular shades with translucent segments work well for controlling the light depending upon where the sun hits your windows. Make sure to keep your blinds or shades completely open on lovely sunny days.

Stay with light colors for surfaces and accessories to make the sunshine move through the room. This table has a white surface and the four vases are a simple cream tone. The flowers are mostly pastel or white and the few colors are bright and cheerful. Yellow says sunshine so be sure to include some of that color in your plans.

Add in some shiny reflective elements. The shiny metal keys in the photo reflect the sun. Add in bright silver candlesticks or small decorative mirrors to multiply the impact of the sun in your home.

With a little thought, you can decorate to create a light and bright feeling in every room of your home, no matter what the weather outside!

We’ve outlined our different communities before in previous blogs, but what we didn’t mention was our interactive map.  If you click on the “Our Communities” tab at the top of our homepage, you will be directed to a page that displays a map on the left side and a list of the different communities on the right hand.  The map displays houses that are forsale at their location.  If you drag your mouse over the house icons, each listing will pop up individually.  We do this so you can understand exactly where the house is and you can choose your location first!  We hope you enjoy this tool!

Leading Arizona Homebuilder Launches Multi-week School Supply Drive.

Fulton Homes has partnered with KEZ 99.9 FM Radio for its annual Stuff the Bus campaign, aimed at collecting school supply donations for needy Valley students.

While public education is free in the U.S., there can be substantial costs associated with heading back to school. A U.S. Department of Agriculture report says it costs $12,738 annually to raise a school-age child. Of that figure, the report says nearly a quarter goes toward clothing, child care and education expenses.

Fulton Homes Stuff the Bus looks to help Valley families offset those costs by accepting your donations. This year’s drive runs from July 6 – 31 at Chandler Fashion Center, with a kick-off event Wednesday, July 6 from 6:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

A full-size school bus parked inside the Macy’s Court will bear painted handprints representing a child, and a list of items needed for a successful school year. Supporters can donate to a specific child or make a general contribution of pencils, pens, notebooks, backpacks, school uniforms and shoes.

Volunteers will also collect the supplies, clothing and backpacks for children in need at Bethune Phoenix Elementary, Dunbar Phoenix Elementary, Lowell Phoenix Elementary and Galveston Chandler Elementary.

“Heading back to school should be an exciting time for all children. They deserve to focus on learning and discovery without feeling deprived of the basics,” said Fulton Homes CEODouglas Fulton. “‘Stuff the Bus’ provides an easy and rewarding way for the community to make a huge difference in Valley children’s lives.”

You can donate outside the school bus at the Macy’s Court daily during mall hours. KEZ’s Marty Manning will be broadcast live on the following dates:

• July 6th 6:30am – 8:30am — kick-off event
• July 9th 1:00pm – 3:00pm
• July 12th 6:30am – 8:30am
• July 16th 1:00pm – 3:00pm
• July 20th 6:30am – 8:30am
• July 23rd 10:00am – 12:00pm
• July 26th 6:30am – 8:30am
• July 31st 11:00am – 1:00pm — finale

For more details about Stuff the Bus, visit www.kez999.com and search keywords “stuff the bus”. For more information call (602) 452-1000 or go to www.fultonhomes.com and click on the “Fulton Foundation” link.

Happy day after the 4th of July!  We hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend with your family and friends!  We also hope you were able to get in some qualilty grilling time!  Just in case you or someone close to you accidentally dropped some barbeque sauce on the floor, we thought we’d share some advice on how to properly remove it from your carpet!  We hope you don’t have to use this information; however, if you do, we hope you find it useful! 

Solvent – A non-flammable spot removal solution, or dry cleaning type solvent, is preferred. Exercise caution when using a solvent. Never pour it directly onto the carpet or allow it to reach the backing, because it can damage the latex that holds the primary and secondary backings together. Acceptable solvents include Carbona®, Energine®, K2R®, Goof-Off®, etc.

Detergent Solution – Mix one fourth (1/4) teaspoon of a liquid dishwashing detergent per one (1) cup of lukewarm water. NEVER USE A STRONGER CONCENTRATION! Thorough rinsing is necessary to remove detergent residues that may cause rapid soiling. It may be necessary to rinse with warm water several times to completely remove residues. (See Residue Precautions.) Care should be used in selecting a detergent. Never use a laundry detergent of any type, because laundry detergents may contain optical brighteners (fluorescent dyes) that dye the fiber. Do not select an automatic dishwashing detergent because many contain bleaching agents that destroy dyes and some fibers.

Vinegar Solution – Mix one (1) cup of white vinegar per two (2) cups of water. White vinegar is a 5% acetic acid solution. It is used most often to lower the alkalinity caused by detergent solutions or alkaline spills.

Warm Water – Lukewarm tap water should be used in most cases to rinse the cleaning solutions from the fiber. Failure to completely rinse the solutions from the fiber may cause accelerated soiling.

Ammonia Solution – Mix one (1) tablespoon of household ammonia per cup of water. Please note: Be aware that ammonia, if used improperly, can cause a color change. Be sure to test a hidden area.

Call a Professional – Professional cleaners have the ability and the equipment to use more aggressive cleaning solutions to remove stubborn spills. Always consider consulting a professional cleaner regarding any spot removal question. CRI – 1-800-882-8846.

At the top right side of our blog page, there’s a small box where you can subscribe to our blog!  All you have to do is enter your email address and click the “Subscribe” button.  Once you have subscribed you will receive email notification when a new blog is posted on our site!  We’re constantly trying to make it easier for you to keep in touch with us!  Please subscribe to our blog!

Are you drawn to this dining room? People who study colors say that red works well in an eating area, encouraging conversation. Unlike some rooms that choose to paint the walls red, the color here makes a nice accent without overpowering the space.

Let’s take a look at how the owner took advantage of a love of red to move this room from dull to adventurous.

The floor and walls provide a good neutral background. By showing a touch of warm color on the light 24 inch porcelain tile flooring, the room avoids feeling cold. Porcelain tile is also a great dining room floor because it can handle any spills without staining, as long as you seal the grout.

The table and chair frames are not black but a rich ebony wood. This also adds warmth and provides the dark tones needed to anchor the room. The chairs are all padded, adding comfort if you want people to linger over a meal. However using leather makes them almost stain-free and easy to wipe down. Notice that the white side chairs have a slightly different back than the red ones. This adds an additional design touch to enliven a very simple room.

The red choices are all exactly the same hue, and carefully controlled to keep them from taking over the room. Red is such a vivid color that it would be easy to get carried away. But by having only the end chairs in red and just the row of three matching bowls on the table, the red is contained. The bright red abstract art piece also matches the hue but with some texture and color elements to keep it interesting.

How daring are you? Would you be willing to showcase your favorite color this way? Why not take a chance!

Grandmother of Four Who Recently Lost Her Son to Gain Peace of Mind Around Family Pool.

Teresa Shields from Phoenix is this week’s recipient of a free pool fence, courtesy of Fulton Homes’ Fence Patrol program. The fence will make Shields’ backyard a safer place for her four young grandchildren. After the death of her son and father of her grandchildren just a few weeks ago, Shields will now take on many parenting responsibilities. She is very worried one of her grandchildren – all under 4 years old – may fall into the pool and drown, but she can’t afford a pool fence on her own. Fulton Homes will install one for her Tuesday, June 14 at 7:00 a.m.

Friend of the family, Cindy Cassidy, nominated Shields for the program. “After the death of her son, Teresa couldn’t bear the loss of a grandchild drowning in her backyard pool,” Cassidy wrote in her nomination letter. “Another death would devastate her.”

“Teresa has just experienced the painful tragedy of losing a son,” said Douglas Fulton, CEO of Fulton Homes. “To lose another family member because of an unfenced pool is unimaginable and completely preventable. We are delighted to help ease her anxiety by providing this crucial safety measure.”

The annual Fence Patrol program, established by Tempe-based Fulton Homes, aims to improve child safety around pools and promote pool safety awareness throughout the summer, when drowning risk is highest.

Arizona Pool Fence Laws state that all residential pools must be enclosed by a barrier. Families with children under six must also have a barrier blocking access to the pool from the house. Some cities allow door alarms in place of the pool barrier. Also, certain homes are exempt depending on when they were built. However, most homes must be brought up to code if remodeled or sold.

Interested parties in the Fulton Homes Fence Patrol have until July 4, 2011 to nominate themselves or someone else for a pool fence, by logging on to www.kmle108.com and clicking on the Fence Patrol icon. For more information call (602) 452-1000 or go to www.fultonhomes.com and click on the “Fulton Foundation” link.

With the monsoon season upon us, we wanted to take a moment to go over a few helpful reminders to be prepared for the heavy rain and wind.

1. During a storm you will get water in your window tracks. So make sure your tracks are free of debris that might clog the weep holes.
2. Check the drain for the window well and make sure it is not covered or clogged with any debris or trash.
3. Is your sump pump operational? Be sure to check it periodically.
4. Check and see if anything with your landscape may interfere with the flow of water from your window well drain. You don’t want to redirect back into the wells.

Keep your home and your family safe!

Fulton Homes blogs are all separated into individual categories.  We do this so you can find the topic that you are interested in and read all of the articles that relate to that subject.  About halfway down the page of our blog, you will see the heading “Categories”.  Underneath this heading are several topics that are listed, just click on the one of your liking and you will be directed to all articles written about this matter.  We hope you find this information very useful.