Light and Bright Laundry Room

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light-and-bright-laundry-room-webWhen you’re choosing your cabinetry, remember that your choice will also be part of your laundry room. Selecting a light painted cabinet like this soft cream creates a light and bright laundry room that is a pleasure to work in.

Whether you are sorting and folding clothes or using the space for other activities, the bright feeling of painted cabinets makes the mood inviting. With this light neutral you can choose almost any color for your laundry room, from a soft blue or mint green to darker tones such as navy blue or even metallic gold or copper.

Consider adding a washer and dryer in rich red and adding red accessories to allow that color to pop throughout the room. You could also go with black, letting that contrast make the room’s décor more dramatic and exciting. The color choices are almost endless.

This laundry room provides plenty of built-in storage. What would you use these cabinets for in your home? If you sew, the shelves could hold your fabric stash and equipment. Crafters would benefit from places to fit tools and supplies. This space could also be gift-wrap central or an easy place to put any gifts you buy on sale until you need them.

For a closer look at this laundry room and others, why not visit the Peninsula models at the Oasis at Queen Creek community? We look forward to seeing you there.

Listelles add Personality to your Tile Choices

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listelle-in-Peninsula-model-at-Queen-Creek-webUsing a listelle that includes glass tile, like the one shown above in the kitchen backsplash, adds a touch of personality to any space.

Listelles, or pre-designed strips of stone or tile, provide an easy way to create a mosaic effect anywhere in your home. The listelle shown above combines the sparkle of glass tile with a soft matte finish cream and dark brown tile to create an interesting and contemporary look.

The Fulton Design Center showcases a broad selection of listelles to highlight your home in stone and tile. Styles range from modern glass pieces like this one to more traditional choices. With the variety of options, you can find just the right choice to fit your taste and style.

By using a listelle, a simple tile placement becomes interesting and unique. Listelles work well on kitchen backsplashes, in bathrooms or fireplace surrounds. Listelles are pre-designed and cut, making them easy to install and ensuring that they look perfect in your home.

Notice the strip of electric outlets running along the top of the kitchen backsplash at the top of the page. Selecting this option for your home allows you to have plenty of outlets without breaking up the lines of your backsplash. While you’re at it, take a look at the under-counter LED lighting to give you great task lighting for your kitchen.

To take a closer look at this, visit our Peninsula models at our Oasis at Queen Creek Community.

Wainscoting Warms up Guest Bathroom

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wainscoting-in-guest-bath-webGuest bathrooms are often the smallest rooms in a home, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t pack a powerful decorating punch. You can take advantage of more expensive flooring and tile choices because the smaller square footage keeps the cost down.

This guest bath takes full advantage of the small space to create an inviting look. Wainscoting makes a room feel cozier and just a bit old-fashioned. That mood is extended by the use of oil-rubbed bronze for the faucet and fixtures.

wainscoting-in-guest-bath2-webThe interesting choice of metallic tile for the border, shown in detail in the photo to the right,
carries the bronze finish further while adding an additional element of style and texture to the room.

Kohler’s old-style toilet and pedestal sink fit well with this bathroom with their retro styling and traditional lines.

Here’s what makes this bathroom really interesting. Although much of the mood captures an earlier time, other elements are more current. The art, for example, has a contemporary vibe, with clean-lined frames. Installing the wood flooring on a diagonal, which makes the room feel larger, is also a more modern approach.

Altogether, this transitional bathroom with its eclectic approach provides an appealing space that speaks well for the style and taste of the owner. You can see this bathroom in person when you visit this and other Fulton Home models at Peninsula at Queen Creek.

Inviting Space for Family to Gather

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inviting-space-for-family-to-gatherwWhen you’re choosing your next home, be sure to look at more than room size, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and the amount of storage. Take the time to think about how you and your family will really use the home.

Do some members of your family work from home or have demanding school requirements? Then be sure that you have planned for space that allows them to work or study quietly with minimal distractions. Do you and your spouse enjoy having a cup of coffee together in the morning to discuss the day’s plans or maybe a quiet conversation in the evening to relax before getting ready for bed? You may want to take the time to scope out where you can comfortably have that rendezvous.

And if your family values its together times around meals, this kitchen and dining area may be ideal for you. With island seating for quick short-order-cook breakfasts and a roomy table near the kitchen for full-scale family-style dining, this space is suited to whatever meal patterns your family finds comfortable.

Does everyone gather, working together to get dinner ready? There’s plenty of room and counter space for lots of helpers. Maybe some of the younger ones are up for after-school snacks. That island is the perfect place to munch while sharing highlights of the day with other family members.

There’s plenty of space, plenty of light and plenty of seating for everyday eating and larger holiday events. How about staging a buffet on that lovely island? Take a closer look at this kitchen, designed with socializing in mind, at Fulton Home’s Cooley Station community.

View from a Kitchen

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view-from-kitchenwIf you are someone who wants to eat healthfully, and your family to eat healthfully, unless you can afford a personal chef chances are you spend a lot of time in your kitchen. Whether you are one of those well-organized cooks who plan ahead and spend the weekend cooking and freezing meals for easy warming up during the week or if you’re inclined to throw together a salad at the end of a long day, your kitchen often becomes the place where you spend much of your family time.

So when you choose your next home, be sure to consider what you will be seeing when you spend time in your kitchen. First, is the kitchen itself appealing? Will the cabinets make you smile when you open them? Will the countertop you chose feel nice under your hands when you set out your ingredients? Do you like your faucet handle? Will your refrigerator and freezer be large enough to hold what you need it to? What extra features such as under-cabinet lighting would make your work go smoother?

Next, stand in that future kitchen and look out. How do you like the view? We think this view is pretty nice. You may see your kids doing homework at the dinner table or your spouse reading the paper, or even better helping with the dishes. You may be alone in your home and just find enjoying the view out your back doors, or appreciating how your furniture suits your new dining and family room.

When you’re choosing your next home, take a few minutes when walking through our models like this one at Cooley Station to savor the views from various locations, because they will be a big part of your life once you move into your new Fulton Home.

The Delight of Extra Storage

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extra-storage-webWhen you invest in a new home, one smart decision involves the choice to install additional built-in storage. Drawers and cabinet options such as this one can be used in so many ways; you will never regret any extra storage you give yourself.

This smart compact storage area can be used to store craft tools, for wrapping gifts, seasonal decorations, office or homework supplies, home maintenance essentials or anything you want. The biscuit-colored cabinetry is enhanced with a caramel glaze, creating an old-fashioned look that is easy-clean and inviting.

This could be space to store platters and bowls for special entertaining – those items that are too large for regular family gatherings. Or maybe it’s the perfect place for treasured table linens inherited from your mother or grandmother. Wrapped in acid-free tissue, they will be ready for special holiday use.

How would you use this storage space? For a closer look, visit our Peninsula models at our Oasis at Queen Creek Community.

 

Hang Out in this Kitchen

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hang-out-in-kitchenw

One advantage to an open living space is the opportunity it gives you to spend time as a family. This cozy kitchen from the Capital model at Seaboard in Cooley Station is well set up for chatting with family and friends while cooking.

The island has plenty of room for a couple of kids to sit at the end and talk over their day while munching on an after-school snack. No worries about their tendency to kick into the island base with a tile background that is sturdy enough to take a licking from a shoe or two. And at the same time, that mosaic adds a splash of style to the entire space and links the island to the backsplash.

The granite countertop certainly has an edge that looks made for leaning against if you have party guests who are noshing on your appetizer assortment while catching up with you and each other. Just add a couple of trays of cheese and crackers, maybe a little fruit, and you’re all ready for company in this kitchen. The pendant lights add style and ambience while being set high enough not to interfere with conversations.

And if you have a surprise dessert, how about just tucking it in that pantry of yours? After dinner you can sneak in there and pull out your masterpiece, hidden until you want it to appear. By the way, the pantry is also a perfect place to hide all the containers from the other food that you don’t want visible to visitors.

Finishing an Empty Space

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finishing-an-empty-spacewWhen you move into a new home, you may find that there are walls or corners in a room or at the end of a hallway that feel empty. Take advantage of those spaces to create a mood that matches your personal style.

Maybe you have a yearning for retro furniture and accessories. Or possibly there’s a secret ultra-feminine girly girl inside you that would love to hang a wreath of dried flowers and stack antique hatboxes on a spindle-leg table. Or you may go in totally the opposite direction with a contemporary sculpture sitting on a sleek mirrored dresser. This photo shows one interesting choice from the Capital model at Seaboard in Cooley Station. Let’s take a look at the design decisions made here.

Dresser: This piece of furniture might have been used in a family bedroom once upon a time and is no longer needed. Or it could have been purchased at a consignment store. The finish might be original, but if you found a piece and liked the lines it wouldn’t be difficult to refinish or paint something like this. Another option would be to decoupage the front of the drawers with old maps, flower plates or other images. It’s also easy to change out hardware to get just the look you want.

Mirror: A mirror is always a good choice when finishing up an extra space. Everyone appreciates the chance to make sure they are looking their best, and mirrors add light and space to every room. This mirror has extra interest thanks to the framing. It has the appearance of an oriel window, which makes it inviting and worth an extra look.

Accessories: Chances are you have some extra items that you would like to display. Look for a mix of heights, colors and textures that will suit the space.

Finally, consider all the extra storage you’re giving yourself with those drawers. That might be the perfect place to store table linens, extra towels or out-of-season sweaters. We can all use extra storage. Above all, have fun with these surprising spaces and make them your own.

Game Room Ready

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game-room-readywIf you have the study option in your new Fulton Home and don’t really want to use the space that way, here’s a smart alternative, shown in this room from the Capital model at Seaboard in Cooley Station. Create a game room for your family and friends. With a game table in the center and a bookshelf to hold your family’s favorite board or card games, you’re ready for fun anytime.

More and more, people are choosing to unplug in the evening and spend time playing games as a family or with friends rather than watching television. This table is ideal for bridge or other four-person games. If you want to add more people, choose a table that expands when you want it to.

The design choices in this room suit the game-playing mood. The open shelving allows the board games to play an accessory role. The artwork has a playful ambience. Houseplants scattered around the room add warmth. Even the ceiling fan has a game-like style. When designing a game room, why not let the personality of the space reflect its function?

Tucked away from the main living space, this game room is ideal for ongoing Monopoly tournaments or a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle that will take more than one evening to finish.

To see this room in person, why not come down to Cooley Station and check out this model and all of our others? We’d love to see you there.

Finishing Touches Make Bathroom Special

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finishing-touches-make-bathroom-specialwWhat takes a bathroom beyond its function and makes it special? This bathroom from the Capital model at Seaboard in Cooley Station has elements that make it more luxurious and enjoyable to spend time in. Let’s see why.

Interesting flooring: By their nature, bathrooms tend to be the smallest rooms in a home, which means that your design options are more limited. However it also means that you can splurge a bit on options such as flooring because there isn’t as much square footage to cover. This floor is both interesting and unusual. It has the look of rounded river rocks cut flush to make up the floor. The same stone is used for the sink’s backsplash.

By choosing this as both floor and backsplash, this has become the bathroom’s primary design element. The look takes this bathroom out of the ordinary without making its design too confusing for a smaller space.

Mirror frame: Fulton Homes offers this in its bathrooms, and the option makes the mirrors feel more finished. It adds a touch of sophistication and upgrades the feel of the space. Notice that the mirror choice doesn’t match the cabinets. Instead the dark tone provides a welcome contrasting element.

Accessories: The flooring and backsplash send a back-to-nature message, and the accessories support that. The earth-tones of the towels and the flowers at one end keep up the nature theme.

When you’re designing your home’s bathrooms, take the time to make each one a unique and special reflection of your taste and style. Remember that nice things come in small packages.