The Valley’s Most Ample Showroom Opens its Doors to Remodelers and Potential Homebuyers and Prospective Homebuyers

Fulton Homes invites all Valley residents to their Design Center for “Browse Night” every first and third Thursday of the month from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Design Center is a comprehensive showroom that features affordable design trends and tangible models for every home floor plan. “Browse Night” is open to the community with no appointment needed, giving the Design Center the opportunity to showcase how their magnificent showroom to potential homebuyers and those looking to remodel. Fulton Homes Design Center is located at located at 1241 W. Warner Rd. in Suite 106.

“As the leading home builder in Arizona, we see it as an obligation to have the most innovative and inclusive showroom for prospective homebuyers and those who are looking to modernize their homes.” said Dennis Webb, VP of Operations for Fulton Homes. “Browse Night is the perfect occasion for the community to discover what the Design Center has to offer, view hands-on displays and find out what it will potentially cost to redecorate their homes.”

Since the Design Center’s inception, it has been the Fulton Homes’ goal to be the greatest design showroom in Arizona, providing incomparable display models and samples than any other showroom.  Fulton Homes instills this initiative by continually evolving their style to keep up with trends. The 13,000 square foot showroom showcases a bountiful of home design selections including kitchen fixtures, countertops, appliances, flooring, cabinets, lighting and bathroom furnishings.  Professional Design Consultants assist each client by working with their personal style and budget to redecorate their home. Designers counsel on simple home upgrades as well as complete remodeling projects.

The Fulton Design Center is the first showroom in Arizona to provide an online tool to preview present design options.  Customers are able to create a “Wish List” to gain better understanding of what is available at the Design Center, and what would be best fitting for their home.

“Designing a home is a process that should be enjoyable to the client,” said Patrick Crowely, the Design Center’s Director of Business Development. “At the Fulton Homes Design Center, we enjoy undergoing the design process with each client, making the experience of remodeling a home pleasurable, informative and affordable.”

For more information on Fulton Interiors complimentary Browse Nights, please call (480) 302-3333 or go to www.fultonhomes.com and click on the “Fulton Interiors” link.

Replacing light fixtures can be as effective as painting for changing the mood of a room. Lighting sends a message on style, period and taste. Outdated flooring is the most obvious sign of an outdated space, and lighting fixtures come a close second. Barring major architectural factors, update the flooring and lighting and you have an updated home.

When it’s time to change your light fixtures, take some time to consider certain issues before you make your purchases. Here are a few factors to take into consideration:

Budget: Calculate the lighting budget for your home, and determine how much you can afford to spend in each room. Sometimes you can save money by using a simple light in one space to allow you to splurge in a key area such as the dining room or master bedroom.

Style: Do you want all of your lighting fixtures to coordinate throughout your home? If other elements have a consistent style and approach, continue that pattern with your lighting. If your rooms have different styles, you can be more flexible with your lighting choices. Notice how well this chandelier fits with the style and architecture of the room in this photo.

Need: Do your light fixtures serve a specific need? For example, do you need lighting for make-up in your bathroom? Would you like a ceiling fan in your family room? Don’t let style – no matter how appealing – distract you from the room’s lighting requirements.

Personal preference: When choosing a light fixture, remember that you will be looking at it for years. Be sure to shop until you find fixtures that you like. This may include making choices such as waiting to replace some fixtures so you can purchase a more expensive option that you love.

Remember that your fixtures are more than a source of light – they’re a statement of your style and taste. Make choices that work for you. What are your experiences with updating your lighting?

Last week, we posted a post about how you can use our website tools to help you find your perfect home, specifically our community section. This week, we want to talk about other sections of our website, like the “Find Your Home” section.

In this section, you can sort by Floorplan, neighborhood, city, number of square feet, price, number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms.

When you find something you like, you can even share this information with a friend to get another opinion!

When you click on a particular floor plan you will then be able to:

• View available and quick move in home options
• Exterior elevations and detailed floor plans
• Mortgage calculator
• Interactive Floor Plan
• Online Design Center
• Other similar neighborhoods

We try our best to make it easy for you to look, learn and plan on your time. Stay tuned for more posts on other website tools to help you find your perfect home!

Generally speaking when buying furniture, you see it at a showroom in an appropriate setting. After the furniture is delivered many people feel like they made the wrong choice. Proportion is everything. A room could be filled with beautifully expensive furniture; if the proportion is out of whack, the room will look and feel un-appealing. Usually once the delivery truck leaves your driveway, you are stuck with that furniture. The following will help you make the right choice for your room and prevent you from being stuck. The intention of new furniture is to improve a space; not “make do”.

Step 1: Determine the minimum and maximum dimensions of all the furniture pieces you intend having in the space.

• Using quarter inch graph paper. Sketch your room to scale with the correct measurements. One square on the graph paper equals 12”x12”. Your sketch should include all doors, windows, outlets and anything else that can’t be moved or covered by furniture.

Step 2: Decide what activities are taking place in the space. Place the most important piece in your sketch first and work your way around based on priority.

• *Keep traffic patterns in mind. Walkways should be at preferably 36 inches wide; 30 inches wide is the minimum width you can allow for walkways.

• Place masking tape on the floor as a foot print for the size you feel most comfortable with.

• Measure the outline of tape on the floor. This will give you the maximum dimensions for that particular piece. You know that you can’t go bigger than the max but you can go a couple inches smaller; without disrupting the proportion.

• TIP: Artwork placed above furniture can help balance height, if you are working with a high ceiling.

Step 3: Go shopping and have FUN! Bring the pictures of the room along; this will help give a better idea of your space.

The last part of the year should be called “Decorating Season”.  Fall kicks off “Decorating Season”, with Halloween and Thanksgiving. Around the corner is Christmas and before you know its New Years.

Here are some decorating tips for Thanksgiving:
1. Pumpkins make for great outdoor decorations. You can get very creative with their carving. Save one of your Halloween pumpkins by not carving it. You can carry over intact pumpkins from Halloween through Thanksgiving. Of course incorporate them in your pies and cookies as your seasonal Thanksgiving dessert!
2. A Cornucopia basket makes for a great centerpiece. Fill it with colorful fruits (apples), vegetables (squash) and gourds. This is a simple and easy way to decorate the table. You can turn any basket you already have into a fall centerpiece.
3. Another inexpensive decorating option is candles. There is an array of assortment of shapes, sizes, colors and fragrances. You’ll be spoiled with the choices in stores now. You can use multiple candles and create a centerpiece or scatter smaller candles throughout the house so that the whole house can smell like  apple cider, pumpkin spice, or cinnamon. This is an easy way to put you in the holiday mood!

4. Use colorful fall leaves to scatter on a plain table cloth or runner or borrow the kid’s school idea and iron leaves between wax paper to use for place cards. (small gourds also make great place cards)
5. Lastly add a colorful wreath to your front door. You can make them from scratch yourself or get one pre-made and add your own special touch. Add leaves, greenery, pinecones, nuts (acorns), pheasant feathers and anything else you like! Browse craft stores for inexpensive items that can be added seasonally to your wreath. Use thin wire to attach items to the wreath (wire is also ideal for easy removal). Items you add can be traded out for different holidays. For example you can add fall colored foliage for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Then remove fall items and add Christmas decorations (like plastic ornaments that can with stand the outdoor weather).

Our best advice to you is be creative and HAVE FUN! That’s what the holidays are for.

P.S. We have another idea that isn’t exactly a decorating idea, but it’s a good one. Go outside and grab a good looking branch. (that means one with multiple twigs) Then grab some construction paper and yarn or string.  At Thanksgiving dinner, have everyone write something on the construction paper that they are thankful for, read it out loud at dinner and then hang it on the tree. It’s a simple concept, but you’d be surprised at how happy others are when they hear what you are thankful for.

At Fulton Homes, we know how much effort goes into finding the perfect home. We are here to show you how to use a little bit of technology to help you find the perfect home for you.

On the Fulton Homes website, you will find a variety different tools to help in your search for the perfect home. Today, we are going to talk about the community pages.

You can search our communities to check out the different neighborhood options.

Within the community page you can:

• See maps (including interactive maps) and directions to the community
• View the sales office hours
• View homes that are available for quick move in
• Learn about the amenities of each neighborhood
• Save to your favorites
• Email the information to a friend
• Print the community information page
• Contact us to ask specific questions

If you register online, you can even win $1000 towards the purchase of a new Fulton Home!

There are so many other great features of our website that can help you find the perfect home. Check out these pages and then look for upcoming posts on other tools on our website designed to help you find the perfect Fulton home.

Bathrooms generally feature plenty of porcelain and tile, with a few pictures and accessories to attempt to warm up the space. But with a little thought, you can create a bathroom with an unexpected and inviting feature to take the room beyond the mundane into something special.

In this bathroom, the unexpected feature is a cozy, feminine easy chair. This simple touch changes the bathroom into a warm, old fashioned space. The modern redesign of a classic claw-foot tub also adds to the characteristic feeling that the room is part of a time long gone.

If you don’t have room for an easy chair in your bath, consider a small table or chest of drawers to hold towels or soaps. You could also hang a small quilt or tapestry rather than the more traditional prints found in bathrooms.

By adding something soft and unexpected, you have the opportunity to make your bathroom more inviting and interesting.

Specialized  bathroom furniture, safety bars and non-slip floors are available for bathrooms that can be used comfortably by people with special needs. In the past, many of these specialized products sacrificed style to functionality, but that is changing.

As baby boomers age, their physical requirements may change, but they are not willing to lose a sense of style in their homes. In this photo, this wheelchair-friendly bathroom is also attractive and interesting.

The sink has open space underneath that allows a wheelchair to slide under it, and the towel bar is an easy reach from a seated position. One cabinet is on rollers, providing the opportunity to move it to a convenient position during a bath, but position it out of the way when not needed.

The side cabinet is low enough to reach bathroom supplies, and a mirror inside the door gives a clear view from a seated position. With the standard-position mirrors and other features, this bathroom is also completely functional for someone standing.

Many people are thinking of universal design issues when redesigning older baths. Even people who have no current ambulatory issues may want to consider universal design features as part of their goal of aging in place – staying in their home as long as possible as they get older.

You can make your bathroom accessible without sacrificing style. Let us know if we can help you see the rich selection of universal design products available for today’s bathrooms.

Neutral colors are not equivalent to dull, as is the common perception. Many homes and establishments have used neutral colors with excellent results. If you have plans to color your home in neutral tones, here are some tips which should ensure an “anything-but-dull” outcome:

Knowledge is power: If it’s neutral you wish to go with, knowing the colors that you can opt for is the logical first step. The grays, whites and earth tones apart, mellowed browns, yellows, reds and greens can also lend the neutral look. Take your pick.

Textures are the key: Neutral colors tend to be subdued. Though the colors themselves lend character to the room, accessorizing to bring in the dramatic effect should be kept as simple as possible. Turn to textures to give your room the character you want. Get creative with those draperies, curtains and pillows and use colors which will complement the room without standing out too boldly.

Bringing life to neutrality: Rooms in neutral shades do not gel well with vibrant shades or artificial tints. This by no means indicates dullness. You can bring in color in the form of greenery; a potted plant here and there will add that dash of liveliness.

The minimalistic approach: Neutral colored rooms have an elegant look to them. Cluttering these rooms with accessories and furniture is a no-no. Go for simple vases or artwork which coordinate with the final look, but keep it simple. Substitute many pieces of furniture for a large one with clean, straight lines to emphasize the right feel.

Light Right: Lighting is a very important feature of neutral rooms. Use ambient lighting can really bring life to a room with neutral colors.