Customize your Kitchen or Bath with Listelles

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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.

Choosing Carpeting

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As this photo from Fulton Home’s design center demonstrates, choices today for carpeting are about more than just color. Different textures, heights and even patterns and sculptured effects are now available.

The most common carpet type in use today is still cut pile. This category includes textured plush, which is a  flexible enough look for whole house carpeting in busy households because its’ surface hides footprints and vacuum marks.

Saxony and plush (velvet) are more formal. Plush shows footprints and vacuum marks quite a bit, but the texture is luxurious. This makes it best for more formal spaces and low-traffic areas.

Frieze has become more and more popular. Its textured surface comes from very twisted yarns. This carpeting has a very casual look and also minimizes evidence of traffic on its surface.

Color is a critical component of your choice. With today’s easier-to-clean carpeting, it’s possible to choose a lighter color without risking spots. Lighter colors open up a room and darker colors can make a large space feel cozier. Most people will choose a neutral tone but if you’re feeling bold, why not try a color that works well with your furniture or window coverings? If you have tile and carpeting in the same area, be sure that the colors complement each other.

You will also want to ensure that the carpeting you choose works well with your paint choices. At Fulton’s design center, you can compare your carpet possibilities with the paint option you chose, to ensure that they work well together. Set your carpet samples on the floor so that you can see how they look at that angle.

For more advice on selecting the right carpeting for you, talk to your designer or come to one of our browse nights and take a look at your choices.

Build Style and Function into your Kitchen

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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?

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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

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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.

Large Master Bath with Cozy Feel

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This generous master bathroom has everything you could ask for. Features include a large soaking tub, a substantive shower, husband and wife sinks and vanities with a sit-down make-up and hair station for the wife, lots and lots of drawer and countertop space, and enough room to make sure nothing feels crowded.

What makes this space special is the comfort element–It’s cozy. All of the design details and colors work together to make this bath a spot to relax. Let’s take a look at how various design decisions turn this bath into a haven for its owners.

Start with the colors. The rich selection of warm neutrals provides an instantaneous level of comfort. The tile, countertops, and wallpaper all combine to create an integrated space that says relax. The choice of rubbed bronze for the metal finishes on the faucets and lighting complement the color scheme. The only moderately cool tones come from the bath, sinks and lighting, but they just add to the clean, inviting feel of the room.

The cabinetry’s design and glazed finish make the pieces feel more like furniture. It helps to have the lower sitting area with the comfortable chair. The trim between the countertop and mirror is echoed around the tub, linking every part of the room together.

Finally, there are certain touches that make this bath special. Framing the glass in a way that suits the room, and the glass block windows that provide plenty of daylight while protecting privacy help this bathroom feel warm and intimate. Altogether, this bath is designed to please.

Splash Up your Guest Bath

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With a smaller bathroom that serves as your guest bath, it’s fun to add elements of interest to make it stand out.

This bath to the left, from the Malibu model in the Shoreline community, takes advantage of wallpaper with a strong color and design. While this paper would overwhelm a large room, it makes this small bath pop with color and personality.

A pedestal sink such as this one by Kohler makes the space feel larger because you can see the walls and floor underneath it. A traditional vanity absorbs more visual space. Unlike many pedestal options, this sink provides plenty of room to hold soap.

Choosing a ring to hold the towel also adds interest and has a look more appropriate to the smaller space than a bar towel-holder. The ring keeps the towel away from the switches and mirror but convenient for drying hands.

Finishing touches such as the framed mirror and coordinated light fixture pull everything together. Kohler also includes a toilet with a design that matches this sink, helping to further integrate the space.

The guest bath on the right, from the Tehama model in the Victoria community, shows another more traditional way to add interest. Tile wainscoting adds charm and the wallpaper helps create a coordinated look. The same mirror, faucet and light fixture look completely different in this bath, demonstrating how these versatile options can work well with your personal taste. The pedestal sink is a different style, but still easily provides space for soap.

When working with a guest bathroom, don’t dismiss the design possibilities. These small spaces can give you a chance to experiment with color and other features to create a small jewel box of charm that show off your personality and style.

 

Cool Colors for Hot Days

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We’re halfway through the summer and as our utility bills rise and the sun never seems to set, there are things you can do with your home’s decor to help you and your family beat the heat. Here are a few suggestions.

Bring cool colors into your home. Cool colors include blue, green, purple and pink. These colors help us perceive a space as cooler in temperature. Most rooms have a combination of warm and cool tones. Consider removing some of the warmer color accessories, pillows or linens – red, yellow and orange – and replacing them with cool colors for the summer. A few small changes can make a big difference in the color balance of a room.

Add more white. White is a cool tone, and the more white you have in a room, the cooler it feels. How about covering your sofa or upholstered chairs with white canvas slipcovers? These can be washable, making summer spills less of a problem. Take a look at the room below to see an example of how fresh and cool white can be.

Eliminate clutter. What looks warm and cozy in the winter can feel stifling in the summer’s heat. The less your eyes have to rest on, the more open and cool a room feels. You may also want to remove a few accessories or even small furniture pieces.

Add fresh elements. Flowers, plants or even fruit in a bowl can help a home feel cooler. You may also want to put those fresh items in vases, pots or bowls made of cool materials such as crystal or silver to double-up on cool images.

With just a few design changes, you can help your home feel cooler all summer long. Look for opportunities to bring a cool feeling into every room of your home.

Area Rugs Define Spaces

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An area rug can serve as artwork for your floor. On top of wood or tile floors or even carpeting, area rugs define conversation spaces and pull colors together while adding texture.

This birds-eye view provides some insight into how an area rug can enhance a room’s look. The rug is primarily rust and brown, and it has tones ranging from light to very dark. This variation captures and connects every other element in the room.

The lightest tones in the rug are reflected in the maple coffee table and the fireplace surround. That light wood wouldn’t work as well if placed directly on the warm mid-range wood flooring, but the rug allows it to serve as a dramatic contrast.

The black of the fireplace opening and tools connect with the dark outlines of some of the leaves in this rug. Two different shades of rust making up the sofa and chair hang together well thanks to the choices of color in the rug itself. Finally, the rug clearly defines the living space in this part of the home, providing a frame for the furniture.

The photo to the right demonstrates another way an area rug defines space. This corner is created by focusing on the space left where the rug’s border ends. A comfortable reading chair under a window becomes a special private nook, with a couple of tables for a cup of tea or a pair of reading glasses.

When you use area rugs to highlight specific design features in your home, the extra layer adds charm to your décor.  Contact us or come to Browse Night and take a look at our new line of beautiful and well-constructed Feizy area rugs or just to get more insight into how area rugs can complement your design plans.

Vanity Valet Provides Innovative Solution to Bathroom Clutter

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Hair dryers, curling irons and hair straighteners or crimpers add to clutter and can pose a hazard due to heat and electrical cords near the sink. Fulton Homes is pleased to introduce a solution – the Vanity Valet – that takes advantage of that unused space in front of the sink to store hot appliances away from countertops.

This option easily handles the challenge of multiple cords with individual metal slots designed to hold any hot bathroom appliance and easy-release cord holders to keep everything under control. Open the vanity to remove and use any appliance then you can put it right back without having to wait for it to cool. Close the door and no one will know your secret solution to keeping your countertop tidy.

The Vanity Valet has an optional pre-wire, which allows you to keep your hair appliances plugged in and ready to go within the drawer. This video shows you how the Vanity Valet operates.

Anyone who has accidentally brushed a hand across a hot hair appliance will appreciate the greater safety of the Vanity Valet. From an aesthetic viewpoint, this also keeps your bath looking more like a spa than a beauty salon. This option is particularly valuable in a teen bathroom with multiple users.

For just a small investment, Fulton homeowners can take advantage of this innovation in bathroom storage – exclusively available in Fulton Homes. Talk to our design center designers for more information.