Category Archives: About Fulton Homes

Let Lighting Create Style

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Kitchen from the Rancho Mirage model in the Oasis at Queen Creek Community

Kitchen from the Rancho Mirage model in the Oasis at Queen Creek Community

Because of its position just above eye level, pendant lighting tends to capture the eye. This is even more true when they are lit. So be sure to pay close attention to your options when selecting pendants. Here are some factors to consider when making your decision.

Style: Are you a staunch design traditionalist? If you want to create a traditional feel, be sure to stick with standard shapes and only choose light colors such as white or amber. On the other hand, if you like the old-style farmhouse look, consider the old-fashioned schoolhouse lighting. And if you want to be more cutting-edge, take a look at these light fixtures from Kichler. While they are effective task lights over the island, they also cause guests to take notice with their daring design.

Finish: What metal have you chosen for your kitchen faucets and pulls? You may want to stay consistent with your lighting, particularly when going for a traditional look. If your style is more eclectic, you can mix it up a bit.

Coordinating pieces: Do you want to link your pendants with other lighting fixtures in your home? If so, be sure to take a look at all the coordinating lights in the package. On the other hand, as long as you don’t go too far, different choices can work well together. Be sure to take the time to see how your lighting coordinates from room to room.

Light level: Will these pendant lights be primarily decorative or will they need to double as task lighting? Make sure the size of your pendants and the level they hang at meet your specific lighting needs for your island. After all, style may be important but light comes first!

For more ideas of what’s available in pendant lighting for your Fulton Home kitchen, take a look at the options offered at the Fulton Design Center and visit our models at Oasis at Queen Creek. You’ll see these lights and many other intriguing choices for your island.

Introducing Slate – GE’s New Appliance Finish

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Rancho-Mirage-kitchen-webFor the last decade and more, stainless steel has been the preferred finish for kitchen appliances. Other choices have appeared, but none with the staying power of stainless.

At the same time there are disadvantages to stainless. It’s a magnet for fingerprints, which requires daily wiping if there are children in your home. The bright shiny surface looks good against dark wood cabinetry but isn’t quite as effective with painted or light cabinets.

Now GE Appliances has introduced Slate. This darker look combines a charcoal tone with a matte finish that hides fingerprints and smudges. It also works exceptionally well with a kitchen that has grey colors. This cooler tone has grown in appeal lately.

Slate doesn’t demand the attention that stainless does. If you want your open-concept home to include a kitchen that incorporates itself into the rest of the space, Slate is more low-key.

Most important of all, so far this new appliance finish seems to have staying power. Introduced in 2012, the response has been so positive that GE continues to expand its Slate line. With its sophisticated look and feel – including just enough bling with glossy handles – Slate creates a feeling of cutting-edge style.

Thanks to its cool tones, Slate can also be used in a mix-and-match approach with stainless if you want. For a close-up look at GE’s new appliance finish in this kitchen, we invite you to check it out in our Oasis at Queen Creek community, where we showcase this and many other kitchen ideas designed with you in mind.

Design Your Dream Master Bath

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bath_montage_blogHave you ever thought about what you really want in your master bathroom? How about natural light while still maintaining privacy? This bathroom accomplishes that with the trio of square windows near the ceiling over the shower.

Would you like a bathroom that doesn’t feel cramped? The nice amount of square footage and open entrance gives you plenty of space. Using flooring on the diagonal adds to the sense of abundant room.

What about a roomy shower? Take a look at this option with room to move around and a subtle built-in niche that’s perfect for shampoo and body wash.

How about a mirror over the vanity that doesn’t look institutional? Take a look at how framing the mirror in the photo above adds an appealing finishing touch to the vanity area.

Would you like a spot to sit in the morning to apply make-up, or just to relax for a minute while chatting with your spouse before breakfast? This bath has just the place for a comfy chair by the mirror.

And what about style? Have you thought about the colors and finishes you would like in your master bath? What about the soft gold and rust tones of this space? Or maybe you’d rather have gentle green colors. With all of the Fulton Design Center options, it’s your choice.

While we’re at it, let’s add plenty of vanity storage, a double vanity/sink so you don’t have to share, and plenty of good and attractive lighting.

Is this your dream master bath? Want a closer look? Then how about visiting Oasis at Queen Creek Station to see it for yourself?

Imagine Never Stopping at a Gas Station Again

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energy_center_carWhat do you think of pulling into your own garage and adding fuel to your car right there? How about being able to drive in the carpool lane even if you’re alone? Add in the savings – paying the equivalent of $2.09 a gallon for fuel, no matter the price at the pump, and there are plenty of incentives to put a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) system in your garage.

Fulton Homes is the first builder in the country to provide the opportunity to add a CNG system to your home with the new homes in the Queen Creek Station community. This fuel choice is cleaner, noticeably less expensive, and allows you to eliminate that gas station stop, saving time and money.

Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of CNG for you.

Save money: In addition to the lower fuel costs, you receive a reduced rate for your car registration and license fees. You also eliminate the 18% excise tax included in all gasoline purchases.

Save time: No stops at gas stations; refuel at your convenience at home. Also, enjoy shorter commutes because your CNG vehicle has 24-hour access to the HOV lanes across the state.

Save the environment: Natural gas is abundant and much cleaner than gasoline, reducing our dependence on oil and reducing carbon dioxide by 20-30%.

You can buy cars designed to run on Compressed Natural Gas, or have a car converted to handle this new fuel choice. For more information on this exciting new option from Fulton Homes, visit our Energy Center in the Peninsula model park at Queen Creek station.

Keep Kitchen Light and Bright

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la quinta kitchen webWhat are you looking for in a kitchen? There are so many choices. If you want a light and bright kitchen, this one from the La Quinta model at Oasis at Queen Creek provides a great example. Let’s take a look at what makes this kitchen design work.

Painted cabinets: The look of stained wood is lovely, but nothing says clean and fresh quite like a white painted cabinet. The crisp color also creates a remembrance of kitchens gone by.

Light countertops: This light granite choice fits well with the cabinetry and the veining provides a gentle contrast. The edge treatment feels substantial and works with the crown molding at the top of the cabinets.

Light backsplash mosaic: By including white and primarily light tones in the backsplash, the bright impression is carried forward. Notice that there are a handful of dark tiles in the design. This contrast makes the backsplash more interesting.

Stainless steel and brushed nickel metal choices: By staying with the cool and crisp feel of stainless appliances and brushed nickel faucet and pulls it’s possible to provide contrast without going too far. Black appliances or oil-rubbed bronze metals would be too strong a conflict with the other choices in this kitchen.

Warm but light flooring: While this porcelain tile plank flooring is light, it also adds warmth with its wood-look. The tone works well with the kitchen, providing just enough dark elements to anchor this flooring in the room.

You can make a careful balance of choices to create a light, bright and inviting kitchen like this one. To see it in person, visit our models at Oasis at Queen Creek.

Turn a Hall into Something Special

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Hall-view-1Most people think of halls as simply a way to get from one room to another, but they can be much more than that. A thoughtful approach to hall design opens up possibilities throughout your home. Here are a few suggestions to make even the halls of your home a special experience.

Flooring: As an area with limited square footage, halls are a perfect place to splurge on flooring. For example, the mixed-width wood flooring in this hallway provides an inviting path to cross from room to room. Hallways also provide opportunities for border patterns, available in tile and stone as well as wood.

Hall-view-2Art: Consider a hall as a running photo gallery. The length and standard distance of the walls allow you to run a series of art pieces along one side, creating something interesting to look at on the way from one room to another.

Room views: Be sure to stop and take a look at how each room looks from the hall. That glimpse through the door generally provides a guest’s first impression of a room. In both these first photos, the rooms have some furniture facing the hall, making each room seem welcoming from that vista.

Hall-view-3Mirrors: Using a mirror at the end of a hall can make the space seem larger and reflect light, adding brightness to the hall.

Consider trying one or more of these options to make your halls much more than just a passageway. Make them an integral part of your home’s design.

Photos taken at the Whitewater model in Oasis at Queen Creek. We hope you’ll visit for even more design inspiration!

Queen Creek Station: Looking to the Future

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Queen_Creek_montageFulton Homes believes in building homes and communities that will last, with a focus on the future. That’s one reason why all Fulton Homes are Energy Star® certified, and Fulton builds the only homes in Queen Creek that are Indoor Air PLUS® certified. These two valuable certifications allow you to benefit from state-of-the-art energy efficiency and the opportunity to live in one of the healthiest homes available.

Fulton Homes continues to take the lead in innovation in master plan home building with Queen Creek Station. We are pleased to build the first community in the United States to include a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling station in all of the homes we build. Fulton Homes is proud to partner with Honda and Southwest Gas to bring this first-of-its-kind program to Queen Creek and the nation.

Visit Peninsula model park to see the Energy Center there. You can take a look at the 2015 Honda Civic and learn how you could fill the car with compressed natural gas right in your own garage. This will eliminate stops at gas stations, save you dollars over standard gasoline and allow you to use the HOV lane during your commute as well as giving you reduced auto registration fees.

The easy walk or bike ride to nearby restaurants, shops and other services can save you even more energy while promoting a pleasant and healthful lifestyle for you and your family.

One final bonus: Fiber-connected ultra-high speed Internet is available at all Queen Creek Station homes, offering speeds up to 1 Gig. So meet the future at Fulton Homes Queen Creek Station. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Fulton Homes at Queen Creek Station

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queen_creek_station_master_planFinding the right home is about a lot more than a floor plan and the number of bedrooms. When you choose a home, you’re also choosing your neighborhood. Would you like to have parks and trails practically right outside your front door? What about living an easy walk or bike ride to a nearby marketplace that includes restaurants, small coffee shops and big stores?

What else are you looking for in a neighborhood? How about easy access to the new Harkins 14 Cineplex, Williams Gateway airport, and Queen Creek Marketplace?

With all this and special amenities such as ramadas, barbeques, basketball courts, toddler play areas and a generous 5000 SF community pool, why not take a look at Fulton Home’s Queen Creek Station? This masterplan community, developed by Fulton Homes with you in mind, also has over three miles of hiking and jogging trails meandering through the area.

Queen Creek Station offers three different series of homes: The Reserve with 1,594 – 3,172 square foot homes from the $230’s, Oasis, with 1,997 – 3,801 square foot homes starting from the $260’s and Peninsula, with 2,714 – 4,204 square foot homes beginning in the $320’s. With 24 different floorplans, you’re sure to find the perfect home for you and your family. And of course, these are all Energy Star® and Indoor Air PLUS® certified Fulton Homes, built with an emphasis on quality.

Why not take a drive out to Ellsworth and Queen Creek Road and see what Fulton Homes has to offer in Queen Creek? Our models are open from 10-6 daily, giving you an idea of how your home could look and feel. Or learn more about Queen Creek Station at our website: http://www.fultonhomes.com/our-communities/queen-creek-station. We look forward to welcoming you.

Family Photo Tips

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family_photo_tipsWhen you look back on your life, photos capture memories like nothing else. For our parents and grandparents, taking pictures was limited by the cost and effort. Now with the advent of digital photography, you can create a record of every event in your life. But are you taking the time and energy to take the best photos you can of your family and all of the important moments you want to keep?

We invite you to visit one of the Fulton Homes Pinterest boards: Family Photo Tips. We’ve collected a wealth of advice from professionals and skilled amateurs, on everything from finding poses that create interest to how to group photos on your walls and share them with other family members.

Do you have a little one or two with family too far away to see their progress as they change with every week, and sometimes it seems with every day? How about creating a series of photos using the same background with pictures taken every month to show the progress and growth? Or consider celebrating your infant’s first year of life with a special photo taken every month in appropriate garb for the season or various holidays. You can then turn those shots into a calendar for fond grandparents as a holiday gift.

Online companies will help you take your photos commemorating an important milestone in your or your family’s life to create a book that captures the moments and excitement of that time – something you can look at and enjoy long after the time is past.

Or how about commemorating your move into your new Fulton Home? Photos of the construction process, the move, and the progress of your decorating efforts can tell a story that you might want to share as part of a housewarming party.

When it comes to bringing the moment to life with photography, the only limits are your own imagination. And for more ideas and tips, we hope you will visit the Pinterest board we developed to help you make your family photos something special, at https://www.pinterest.com/fultonhomes/family-photo-tips/.

Fulton Homes: Proud of our Windows

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Mediterranean-at-Ironwood-Crossing-windows-cropped-webAt Fulton Homes, we work hard to keep improving the homes we build for our customers. One example is the decision to use Vinyl Low-E Windows on all of our homes. We began this in October of 2010, as part of our ongoing commitment to build ever-more energy efficient homes.

The Eco-View vinyl window products include the latest technology in providing energy-efficient frame design while not sacrificing style or function. The Eco-view frame uses a sophisticated system of hallways in the frame extrusion. This creates a stronger frame while providing a method to circulate air throughout the frame, making it more energy-efficient. It also helps make it resistant to warping and fatigue. All Eco-view frames are made of 100% virgin PVC (vinyl) material.

Eco-view vinyl windows carry an LC25 light commercial rating. This means that these windows surpass industry standards for residential applications. These windows are part of Fulton Homes’ Energy Star version 3 program. The windows and door systems are also user-friendly and include features that help to guarantee years of reliable service and security.

Eco-view vinyl windows and doors – one more way that Fulton shows its commitment to building homes that are energy-efficient and designed to save you money on your utility bills. For more information, visit the “Fulton Cares” page on our website.