Category Archives: Design Inspiration

Dress Your Home for Fall

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It’s hard to believe that autumn is upon us when we’re still dealing with triple-digit temperatures. But you can start bringing the season into your home. To get into the mood, select colors, shapes, products and even foods that create the feeling of fall.

Start with the produce department of your grocery or warehouse store. Look for pumpkins, winter squash and gourds or decorative Indian corn. Set up a display in your foyer or on your buffet. Or if you want to go simpler, just put a large basket or pottery bowl on your dining room table filled with apples and pears – fall fruit.

You can introduce the season to your home right at your front door with a fall wreath or hanging. Many stores have ready-made door decorations, or you can create your own easily. Stop by your local hobby store and select a grapevine or other wreath shape in fall tones. Look for garlands of fall leaves in silk, and wrap it around the wreath. Finish with a bow of wire-edged ribbon in fall colors.

Another simple door option involves selecting three complementary ears of Indian corn and tie them at the top with ribbon or raffia. Hang and your home announces the season to everyone who enters.

If you make a trip north to see the colors, bring some old books with you and press the best of the leaves you discover. Add some pine cones and branches and you have a ready-made centerpiece. For other decorations, press the leaves and scatter them on side tables and in bowls.

Even with our hot summer temperatures, your home can carry the feelings – if not the temperatures – of fall.

Choose the Right Area Rug

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With flooring such as wood or tile, area rugs help soften key areas and create a design focus in a room. Even carpeting can benefit from a rug to highlight a conversation area.

The Fulton Homes Design Center offers a generous selection of area rugs from Feizy, a company with 35 years in the business. Feizy Rugs is renowned for producing the highest quality hand knotted, hand tufted and power loomed rugs in the marketplace today.

This area rug section provides photos of full rugs plus samples that allow you to view the colors and experience the rich feel of these choices.

If you would like to add an area rug to your home, select your permanent flooring first, bringing a sample with you to determine the right rug choice. Rugs range from Oriental style, more traditional patterns and contemporary options.

For a dining room rug, be sure to select one that extends at least two feet past the edges of your dining room table on all sides. This allows your guests to push their chairs back without ending up off the carpet.

Living room rugs can sit inside the sofa and chairs or you can select one large enough to contain all of the living room furniture on it. This way it becomes an island in the space. Be careful to avoid a rug that leaves some furniture half-on and half-off, creating a makeshift look.

If your home is open-concept, area rugs can define specific areas in your space, and add a splash of color or pattern that finishes your home’s design. Take the time to consider an area rug or two to add interest and style to your living space.

Pavers Make Outdoor Space Special

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When you visit the Fulton Homes Design Center, be sure to visit this courtyard, set off to the right when you face the front door. This space was designed to allow you to see the four varieties of pavers available to Fulton Home Owners for use in their outside spaces.

Positioning these pavers on the ground outside allows owners to see the pavers in daylight, set the way they would look in a home. Would you like to make your sidewalk or outdoor patio something special? Fulton Homes offers the option to use pavers to add extra style and personality to your outdoor space.

The pavers are made of concrete, designed to mimic stone. They fit together to create almost a cobblestone effect, adding drama to your home. As you can see from the photo, they work well against either standard concrete or gravel. We recommend selecting your pavers and your gravel in colors that complement each other.

Pavers provide an old-world look and add a feeling of elegance. At the same time their concrete construction makes them a low-maintenance choice. Just a quick rinse with the hose keeps them looking good.

Talk to your Fulton Homes designer about various ways to introduce pavers into your home’s exterior. We also have a number of photos to demonstrate how pavers can enhance your outdoor space. With a little imagination and some planning, you can create a finished look that will be perfect for family use or entertaining.

 

Choosing the Right Wall Art for Your Home

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When it comes to decorating your walls, everyone has their own taste and there is no right or wrong choice – or almost no wrong choice. However, art is more than selection. It is also placement and setting. For example, this gentleman’s fish is positioned against a strongly patterned wall, distracting from the power of his trophy. It would be much more effective against a plain wall, preferably where people wouldn’t have to sit underneath it. Here are some basic tips for making the most of the art on your walls.

Consider proportion and placement: This fish, while centered against the pattern on the wall, is too close to the wall on the right. Be sure to center larger pieces in a room or they can overpower one side of a wall. On the other hand, a smaller piece of art shouldn’t be asked to support an entire large wall. Either place it on a smaller area or combine it with other smaller art to make an arrangement. Another big mistake people make is hanging art too high. If you hang it at eye level you can see it without looking up.

Select the right hanging method: The ropes holding this fish in place create a sense that the fish may not be stable against the wall. This approach to hanging also diminishes the feeling of movement this fish could create. Since all trophy fish are actually plaster reproductions, there would be no issue with adding a bar on the back to create an invisible hanging system.

Take your time choosing the right art and the right placement. This can make a big difference in the look and feel of your home. Experiment before you decide: Set art down on the floor or a table under your selected location or locations. Spend a few days imagining the art where you’re thinking of placing it. If you still like it in a few days, go ahead and hang it.

Add a Creative Space for your Family

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Artistic efforts by children have been shown to improve their reading and math skills as well as their scores on achievement tests later in life such as SAT’s and ACT’s. Unfortunately, limited budgets have trimmed art budgets for many school-age children, but you have a chance to create opportunities for art in your home.

A dining room can become a temporary art studio with the right supplies. If you’re concerned about spills, stick to crayons or colored pencils like the family in the photo above. Some colored pencils have watercolor capability – dip them in water to create art that’s more like painting but with less chance for a mess.

If your dining room table may be damaged by your art plans, invest in an inexpensive vinyl tablecloth or head to your nearest fabric store for a length of oilcloth to cover the table. Either can be cleaned easily with a sponge.

For younger children, look for a corner of the family room or dinette with enough space to set a child’s table and chairs. Set up a shelf nearby with a collection of paper and art supplies. This proportional work space can invite children to bring art into their everyday lives.

To encourage your children to experiment with art, have a place for hanging their finished work. The most common option is the refrigerator, but you may want to hang a cork board as a changing display of current projects. Another option is demonstrated by the photo above. A simple line hung along a hall or family room with clips to hold the pictures allows you to showcase the family art.

Providing an opportunity to experience art in your home can help your child develop, but it is also a great way to get the whole family involved in a fun activity.

Put some Bling in your Kitchen

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Beautiful cabinets and stainless steel appliances combined with granite countertops add to a lovely kitchen space. However, what if you want something unusual and uniquely yours?

How about building some bling into your backsplash? This kitchen provides just one example of what’s possible when you take some chances and add some tiles with personality and shine.

The space behind your range naturally shapes an opportunity to create art in your kitchen. The image-shaped rectangle benefits from some creativity. In this case, small metallic tiles provide an eye-catching display. Adding a few tiles at the corners of the 12-inch stone squares carries the theme throughout the rest of the backsplash.

Carefully-placed lighting catches the brilliance of the simple mosaic with long thin glass pieces acting as a frame. For a minimal cost, this kitchen has moved from nice to stand-out with the kind of wow factor that is irresistible in a new home.

Be sure to add accessories that complement your backsplash choice to integrate it with the rest of the room. Notice the appealing bowl to the right in gold and copper metallic tones. The variety of colors in these tiles open up the kitchen to almost any metallic choice. They connect to the stainless as well as the warmer shades in the granite and cabinets. When you choose your backsplash option, look for versatility as well as personality so that you can make adjustments to your kitchen’s look more easily.

It’s worth taking some extra time and spending a bit more to create a backsplash that will set your kitchen up to be remembered. Enjoy finding just the right choice for you and your home.

Understanding Scale

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When you’re designing your home, there’s more involved than color and texture. Be sure to factor in the scale of your furniture and accessories.

Take a look at your rooms, particularly the ceiling height. If your rooms are large with high ceilings, you can choose furniture that is bigger in scale and it will look just right in the space.

On the other hand, if your rooms are small and cozy with lower ceilings, the same piece of furniture or accessory may look completely out of proportion. For example, take a look at that large rawhide bone in the mouth of the black Great Dane. It fits perfectly in his mouth and he looks content and correct. In the same way a large sofa can command respect in a big open space, but might take over a smaller room.

Let’s take a look at what happens when an accessory takes over by being too large for its location, as in the photo to the left. The same bone that looks so perfect with the Great Dane overpowers the Chihuahua, and makes both bone and dog look silly. Moving back into the home, take a look at the living room below. This room shows how perfect proportion makes even a simply-decorated room work.

The matching sofas and pair of chairs perfectly fill the available space in the room. The square coffee table is well proportioned to fit among the upholstered pieces. Dark and light tones work well together, balanced across the entire room. When you plan your home design, remember this room and the two dogs. Although they seem to be friends, it’s better if they both stick with bones in the right scale.

Choosing your Countertops

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Think of your countertops as serving two purposes. You want them to look good, but first they need to be functional. Do you want the rich sturdy characteristics of granite? While it may require sealing once a year or so, overall its strength and durability make it an ideal surface for someone who is more than a casual cook.

Perhaps you want something that is totally maintenance free? Quartz and other manmade solid surfaces mimic stone or provide other inviting looks with no sealing or special treatment. This choice is both practical and beautiful.

If granite is your preference, just take a look at a few of your options at the Fulton Homes Design Center. Would you prefer darker tones or lighter? Do you want a consistent design or one with lots of changes in color and personality? The samples in this room are large enough to give you a good sense of each variety and help you decide how you want your countertops to add drama and style to your kitchen.

At Fulton Homes, you have the opportunity to choose your own granite slab. Since every piece of natural stone is somewhat different, this gives you the chance to find one that suits you. Be sure to bring in a sample of the cabinets you chose along with your flooring. You may want to wait to choose a backsplash until after you select your countertop so that you can make sure everything works well together.

If combining all of these selections seems overwhelming, don’t worry. That’s why you have a designer assigned to work with you. This way you benefit from their years of experience and knowledge to ensure that you achieve the kitchen of your dreams.

Dark Cabinets Enrich Kitchen Design

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You have many decisions to make when designing your kitchen and one of the most important is selecting the right cabinet finishes. If you want a kitchen that feels luxurious, consider dark cabinets. The rich tones make the space inviting and the contrast with other features provides a high style look.

This kitchen blends modern choices such as the simple cabinet fronts and the stainless pulls with more traditional features such as the crown molding and the tile medallion displayed over the range. The glass fronts on several of the upper cabinets allow you to bring some color and contrast in those areas depending upon what you place on the shelves.

When you choose dark cabinets, it’s smart to look for contrast with the other options. This floor is a mid-tone light brown porcelain tile with the look of stone. It provides a beautiful and low-maintenance choice for flooring in a kitchen, and also helps the cabinets stand out.

The countertops are white marble with grey veining. This provides the greatest contrast with the cabinets, creating a pop of brightness. The backsplash is a tile mosaic that combines light, dark and mid-tones, pulling all of the elements of this kitchen together. Once again the look is contemporary without being overly modern.

Wrap this kitchen up with stainless appliances, but notice that the refrigerator matches the cabinets rather than carrying through the metallic look. This option has become more common as people realize that the large expanse of metal can be a distraction in a kitchen space. It also eliminates the constant need to wipe fingerprints off the most used door in the kitchen.

If you have a flair for the dramatic and want your kitchen to reflect that, consider dark cabinets as your design starting point.

Let Your Personal Style Lead in your Home

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When you’re not sure where to start when decorating your home, let your closet give you ideas. The style choices you make in your wardrobe can start you in a good direction.

The clothes in this store window speak to a specific style, feminine with an old-fashioned country touch.  The pastel and white colors are common.

Think about creating a room in your home with some of the same taste and style. While you can’t totally recreate the look, you can make choices that will remind you of your preferred clothing.

The bath below offers some of the charm of the clothes in the window. There is a generous use of white, the cabinet and light fixture offer some old-fashioned ruffles and the flooring carries that theme through the space. The only hint of color comes from the artwork on the walls and items in the small cabinet to the right.

This bathroom carries us back to a simpler time with its classic pedestal sink and traditional medicine-cabinet mirror. The crown molding finishes the look.

Take a peek in your closet. Do you have a preponderance of green? Are you drawn to darker jewel tones? Does your wardrobe lean toward beige? Are you surprised by the amount of red in there? Anything you discover can be used as a starting point for your home’s design.

So grab your favorite sweater and those shoes in your favorite shade of brown and let your wardrobe lead the way to your dream home.