Category Archives: Design Inspiration

Add a Creative Space for your Family

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

Customize your Kitchen or Bath with Listelles

Posted on by

Would you like a kitchen backsplash with panache? Listelles provide a great way to make your kitchen unique. Listelles are pre-designed borders in tile or stone with designs and even images. They are pre-set on a mesh backing so that they are easier to install.

Take a look at some of the listelles available at the Fulton Homes design center. Our designers will work with you to create the perfect look to complement your cabinets and countertops.

Listelles are a wonderful design tool and a budget-saver also. Choose a less expensive tile and then incorporate a listelle to make everything stand out.

If you’re having trouble figuring out how to incorporate this concept, Fulton Homes provides a number of examples of listelles as design tools in a bath in the display shown in the photo to the right. Add interest to a shower by running a listelle through it. As this photo shows, your options are only limited by your imagination.

Listelle styles are available in both traditional and contemporary styles. Metallic tiles are often incorporated with a listelle, bringing a subtle sheen to your home’s tile or stone installations.

We invite you to investigate our rich selection of listelles and other enhancing options for your home during one of our browse nights at the Fulton Homes design center. Give us a call for details on dates and times. Come in and take your time discovering just the right listelle to match your home’s style and design.

Build Style and Function into your Kitchen

Posted on by

How do you decide what you want your kitchen to look like? Today’s classic look includes stainless appliances and granite countertops, but within that mix you have a wealth of choices.

This kitchen vignette from the Fulton Homes design center blends white and dark painted cabinetry with a rich stained wood floor. While many people may worry about having a wood floor in the kitchen, it can work well as long as you protect it with a good polyurethane finish and wipe up serious spills immediately. Wood flooring is actually a floor with give so it’s great for a cook’s feet at the end of a long day of cooking and cleaning.

The wipe-clean painted white cabinets use differences in depth to create personality. That is enhanced by the intriguing dark painted island in the center. More and more kitchens are taking advantage of a mix and match approach to help kitchen cabinetry integrate with the rest of the home, and this is a good example. Fulton’s crown molding for cabinetry is also designed for customization, as shown here with the special addition of dentil trim.

A generous fridge, the large gas range and a double oven makes this space ideal for a serious home chef. The tile backsplash is decorative and also easy to clean. The island is ready for a couple of bar-height chairs, so that friends and family members can chat or help. Come visit our design center on one of our browse nights and experience this inviting kitchen for yourself.

 

Does Your Front Door Make a Great First Impression?

Posted on by

When people visit your home, they start to get a feeling for the place before they even walk inside. The outdoor landscaping in the front yard, the look of the outside of your home, and the entranceway as they walk up to your front door all color their first impressions. Don’t forget, your front door makes a statement about what they’re going to find inside.

Have you thought about the impression you want your front door to make? The photo above shows two door styles available in the Fulton Homes Design Center. The door on the left is strong and formal. The panels give it a Mediterranean look. On the right, the door is more casual with an Arts and Crafts flavor. The glass panes add a welcoming touch to the outside and natural lighting inside. Both are beautiful, bold and still send very different messages about the home inside.

The photo on the right shows other Fulton door options. The first door makes a bold statement. The style, as well as the bronze door handle and ornaments, creates an old world look. The next door is more conservative, but the simple design is still striking.

Whichever style you choose, you will want what people see when they walk into your home to connect with that door. An important part of your home’s style is consistency. As you make a selection, you may want to consider how you plan to decorate your foyer to help link the outside and inside of your home.

Every one of these front doors says something about the house and the people who live in it. Have you thought about the message your front door sends? It’s about style, but it’s also about the impression you want your home to present to the world.

Making a Great Room, Great

Posted on by

If you enjoy having the whole family together, want plenty of space for parties and gatherings, and want to be able to cook dinner or fix a snack without being cut off from everyone else in your home, a great-room design is perfect for you. But it’s very easy to end up with a disconnected look if you don’t plan your overall space design.

In spite of the roomy space, this room feels integrated and comfortable.  It provides a generous kitchen, an island that allows people to pull up and eat or talk, an expansive fireplace area, and a flat-screen television for entertainment. What elements help this room pull it altogether?

Color: The soft beige and brown throughout, help the entire room feel coordinated. There is a rich rust color on the kitchen wall to the left that is echoed in the niche holding the television. The granite, tile and carpeting all have shades that link together. The dark wood tones of the cabinets show up in the darker elements in the family-room area such as the mirror and table toward the back. Color is one of the strongest tools for integrating spaces.

Flooring: The kitchen floor tiles appear again as part of the fireplace surround, which makes the room feel even more cohesive. The carpeting provides a subtle separation between functional areas with no distracting breaks in the sight lines.

Lighting: The entire room is well-lit with ceiling spots – one of the best tools for providing useful and interesting lighting throughout a great room. The kitchen pendant lights and the fireplace sconces are from the same design group, further helping each room to feel connected with the other.

The architectural features and overall style of this great room helps create a space that really works. Make sure you think about integration when you plan your great room design.