Kitchen Clean-up Center

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kitchen-clean-up-centerwFew people really enjoy cleaning up the kitchen, but if you have dirty dish duty, it’s hard to beat this kitchen clean-up center from Seaboard at Cooley Station. Let’s take a look at the advantages offered with this savvy layout.

Plenty of counter space: With room on both sides of the sink, dirty dishes and pots can go on one side and clean items can fill a drainer on the other. Which side? Why don’t you pick? There’s plenty of room in either direction. With a dual sink, use one for rinsing and the other can be filled with hot sudsy water for things that don’t go in the dishwasher like your sharp knives.

Silverware drawer: A drawer for your silverware right on the island is a real step-saver. Clean silverware can move right from the dishwasher to the island drawer to the table when it’s time for dinner. Or maybe you prefer that drawer closer to the table for silverware? Then how about using that drawer so that your sharp knives and other prep utensils are always handy?

A nice view: A sink that faces the wall may make the person who draws clean-up duty feel isolated. But this island location helps keep the cleaner entertained with an easy view of the television or other activities in the family room. It’s more fun if you can make chores a family event.

One final wipe of that appealing stainless dishwasher door and you’re ready to head out of the kitchen for the evening. It’s not so bad getting clean-up duty when you’re working in a space like this one!

Inviting Open Kitchen

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Inviting-open-kitchenwWhen you have room for an island in your kitchen, the end result is an open space that makes spending time there cooking and cleaning more pleasant.

Kitchens that are totally enclosed feel limiting. Very few people fit in such a space and often you find that more than one person working leads to awkward movements as people try to stay out of each other’s way. Holding a conversation can be difficult as there is no good place in an enclosed kitchen to put someone who is not working.

But with an open kitchen like this one, there are a number of convenient places for people to sit or stand, whether they are helping out or not. Park guests on the other side of the island and position some cheese and crackers handy. The cook has plenty of uninterrupted space to work yet he or she can still have a great conversation with family or friends.

If you have helpers in the kitchen, an open kitchen design like this gives you plenty of room for them to work in the space, yet you never feel crowded. This kitchen has lots of task lighting, but you also have a generous amount of ambient light because there is no wall blocking your access to all of the open floor plan windows.

Kitchens tend to be the warm center of a home, and this open and friendly kitchen certainly encourages everyone to spend time in it or nearby. To see this and other inviting open kitchens, visit the models at Cooley Station.

Inviting Open Kitchen

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Inviting-open-kitchenwWhat makes a kitchen pleasant? Stylish cabinetry helps, along with lovely countertops and lighting that pushes the envelope like these pendants. It’s also fun to have your own walk-in pantry to make it easy to grab your ingredients as you need them.

Hard-core cooks really appreciate the advantages of a kitchen island. That wealth of counter space without any upper cabinets to block your view makes it easy to prep meals. There’s enough space with this island to throw two or three sous chefs around chopping up vegetables and fixing a salad of an evening.

For the non-cooks in your life, a comfortable stool or two on the other side of the island gives them just the perfect perch for chatting while you whip up a quick snack for everyone to munch on till dinner’s ready. And it’s only a step or two after the meal for them to help with clean-up, which is only fair if they didn’t pitch in before dinner!

Clean lines, luxurious appliances, good lighting and a smart layout – what else could you ask for in a kitchen? Well, it helps if it’s attached to a well-built Fulton Home. Come on out and take a look at this one and others at our Cooley Station community. Visit: http://www.fultonhomes.com/our-communities/cooley-station for more information.

Integrating Space in an Open Floor Plan

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integrating-space-in-an-open-floor-planwLiving with an open floor plan has so many advantages.  The space works well for families and entertaining and arrangements can be modified to expand and contract living and dining areas to meet specific needs. However, open architecture does present decorating challenges. Here are some tips to make your open living space work well.

Define living areas: Use furniture, area rugs and artwork to define each living area. Without walls you can have the back of a sofa, a bookshelf, or a table set limits for a particular space.  Notice in this photo from the Cooley Station community how the sofa defines the end of the dining area and the start of the living area. Large pieces of furniture like sofas are some of the best tools for defining each space.

Create transitions: The plants on the kitchen counter and the floor and artwork make a softer natural transition between the kitchen and the dining area. Without these, the adjustment from one area to another can feel too abrupt. Having two larger houseplants in the dining area also helps define that space and keeps it connected.

Use lighting: Chandeliers such as the one over the dining table also help create a specific mood in one area of a large living space. Often the family room will have a ceiling fan. Our brains turn those light fixtures into room definitions.

Use color: Pulling the same accent colors throughout the space helps everything feel integrated. Throw pillows, area rugs, artwork and accessories in this room all use dark rust and peach tones to tie this living space together.

Guest Bath with Color

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Guest-Bath-with-ColorwYou don’t have to put color in your permanent elements to make a room colorful. Let’s take a look at the savvy choices that make this guest bathroom something special.

Tile mosaic: Although this mosaic contains only neutral tones, the variety of dark and light tiles open the space for color. When you add bright color near neutrals with strong contrasts, the colors will reflect onto the neutrals, pulling color into their space. Take a look at this photo. It looks like the backsplash mosaic has some color in it although it doesn’t.

Art: Art is one of the easiest ways to add color. these two canvases are different yet link together by color, style and subject matter. It’s smart to start choosing your color palette in a room like this one by choosing art. The rest of the color can be drawn out of the selection of prints or canvases you choose.

Towels: Today you can get towels in any color range from vivid almost-neon tones to soft muted shades. It’s smart to choose two or at the most three colors for a bathroom towel set so that the colors work well together yet provide enough contrast to make the space interesting.

Shower curtain: If your bathroom needs a shower curtain, consider adding a floor-to-ceiling decorative curtain like this one. This pulls the colors from the art and towels to another location in the bathroom and adds additional patterns to the mix. Altogether a nice addition to the space.

Accessories: The flowers are a bright spot in the bathroom. You don’t need a lot of accessories for this bath. Just enough to add interest and one more spot of color.

When you decorate your bathroom, don’t be afraid to add color wherever you can. You will also be adding warmth, personality and interest.

Dare to go Dark

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dare-to-go-dark2wJust how daring are you willing to be with your master bedroom’s look? How about painting a wall this dark? It may seem scary but it works remarkably well thanks to several thoughtful decisions.

Natural light: This wall comes between two generously-sized windows. The dark dark wall provides an inviting contrast to the natural light on either side. This is further supported by having curtains on only one side of each window, allowing the dark wall to seem as if it is part of the entire window display.

Light bedding: Yes, there are darker pillows, but the primary bedspread color is cream. Once again this places light right near the dark wall. The pillows pull that spread and the wall together, serving as an effective transition.

Rich color scheme: By bringing rich colors into the room, the dark wall feels like a natural continuation of the color choices. Rich and dark tones complement each other.

Gold: Gold always works well with black. In this case the trim on the nightstands and lamps combine with the dark wood to create a warm rich feel.

Plenty of light: Even at night the ceiling fan with lights and the matching lamps on either side of the bed will keep the room well lit.

Would you like to have a bedroom with this look of drama? How about considering a dark accent wall? To see this room in person, visit Fulton Home’s Cooley Station.

Comics Influence Boy’s Room

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comic-books-influence-boy's-roomw - CopyIf you’re having trouble coming up with a good theme for a boy’s bedroom, take a clue from the comics. With their bright strong-contrast colors and powerful graphics they can quickly turn a room into an attention-grabber. Let’s take a look at how this room became a comic-book lover’s dream with very little effort or cost.

Bedding: Children can shift interests often, so it’s smart to choose lower-cost theme items for their bedrooms, allowing you to change things out in a few years as their tastes evolve. Bedding is one of the quickest and easiest ways to make a change. A bedspread, shams and a throw pillow start the theme off with recognizable yet relatively generic comic-book images such as stars and lightning bolts. The black European shams on the bed work well with the look yet can be recycled when your child moves on to other interests.

Paint: The red stripe on the wall behind the bed does double duty. It operates as a visual headboard and it dramatically links all the vivid elements together with their common red theme. This is also an easy-to-replace choice. Simply paint the wide stripe in another color or paint the entire wall.

Art: If you have a talented artist in the family, then you can have them create images like these on blank canvases with acrylic paint. If not, look for the right art in comic book stores and poster shops. You might even want to frame some favorite comic book covers or pictures of heroes to personalize the room.

This is a fun theme, so have fun with it. You could add shelves for action figures or table space for piles of comics. This could be your comic-loving child’s best dream come true!

Ceiling Makes Room Special

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ceiling-design-makes-room-specialwWhen planning a home’s décor, most of us start with the flooring, then move on color choices. We may select a daring paint option for a room like the almost-black on this bedroom’s left wall. Window coverings often come next, followed by larger, then smaller pieces of furniture. We finish up with accessories and art.

But one thing we generally don’t do is worth the extra step. Before the flooring, the paint and the furniture, take a minute to look up. What does your ceiling have to offer in a room? If you’re stuck with one of those popcorn ceilings from a few decades ago, it may be time to hire someone to redo it. That will add value and selling your home will be easier if you lose that dated look. However, what about having a ceiling that makes the room something special?

This master bedroom gains luxury and style before you even notice the walls, floor or furniture with its dramatic coffered ceiling. The molding running along the inside adds interest and a bit of traditional flavor to a non-traditional approach. The lights and ceiling fan create shadows that make the entire ceiling intriguing. The white molding works well with the dark ceiling color to create contrast and keep the room feeling cozy and inviting.

When you’re planning a new home, think about every surface. Adding molding, wainscoting, lighting and ceiling architecture becomes the gift that keeps on giving – making your home a special one-of-a-kind place for you and your family.

Fly the Flag and help Wounded Warriors

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fulton-flag-photo-webFulton Homes has partnered with KSLX, 100.7 for its third annual “Fly the Flag for Veteran’s Day” campaign. From now until Veteran’s Day – November 11 – any visitor to a Fulton Homes’ community who tours one of the new model homes has the opportunity to buy a full-size American flag kit for only $10.  Fulton Homes will match any $10 donation offered up a maximum of $25,000, with 100 percent of these donations going to the Wounded Warriors Project. Fulton Homes wants to encourage everyone to display a flag on Veteran’s Day and make a difference in the lives of veterans too.

“Fulton Homes honors all of our military personnel who defend our country and protect our freedoms,” Doug Fulton, Fulton Homes CEO, explained. “Displaying our flag on Veteran’s Day is a way we can honor and support our troops and show our gratitude, and the donations collected will support those who have been wounded while in service. We are indebted to our veterans and their families for the sacrifices they make to keep us safer.”

The Wounded Warrior Project provides programs and services to meet the needs of injured service men and women and works to provide more awareness of the needs of those veterans injured in service to our country. It focuses on honoring and empowering wounded warriors, encouraging them to help each other. For more information, visit their website at: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/.

We invite you to visit one of our communities to pick up your flag and donate to this good cause.

Balance Formal Casual Traditional Contemporary

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balance-of-casual-and-formal-traditional-and-contemporarywIs this dining room formal or casual? Traditional or contemporary? Actually, it has elements of all four. Let’s take a look at how it’s put together and why it works so well.

Formal: The basic chandelier has classic lines, even crystal pendants, to maintain a formal traditional theme. The table also shows its formal roots with the dark-wood finish, turned legs and detailed edging around the top.

Casual: the choice of placemats and napkins in bright colors and patterns rather than the more classic white tablecloth approach says casual. Also, choosing a simple fabric for the dining chairs’ upholstery maintains a more casual feel.

Traditional: The dining table and chairs as well as the chandelier’s basic lines are classic and traditional but…

Contemporary: Choosing the circular frame around the chandelier takes it out of the last century and bumps it firmly into this one. The stoneware is also modern in line and glaze.

Overall, this dining room combines many design approaches into one cohesive whole. It works for several reasons. The proportions fit well together and there is a nice mix of dark and light. It takes courage to blend these different approaches to décor together, but when it works – as it does in this case – it is a pleasure to see.