Tag Archives: Cooley Station

Shower Luxuries

Posted on by

shower-luxurieswMost of us don’t have the time to take a luxurious bath anymore. Getting ready for the day generally involves a quick hop in the shower. But what if your shower could give you the same luxurious feeling that you used to get in a tub? This shower comes close. Let’s take a look at what it has to offer.

First, let’s just consider how it looks. With oil-rubbed bronze bath hardware and luxury tile walls, it’s hard to believe that you’re not in a spa or high-end resort. Notice the metallic tile trim along the bottom third of the shower – unusual and intriguing – not your standard bathroom fare.

Next, take a look at the size of this shower. It’s definitely big enough for two if you want to share, or if you need to share if you both need to get ready for work at the same time. Although even by yourself  it’s nice to have plenty of space and both wall-mounted and hand-held shower-heads. You won’t find yourself bumping into walls getting through a shower here.

Having a step-in shower is particularly nice also. This works well for aging in place. As you get older it’s great not to have to step high to get into a shower/tub combo. And the extra space just outside the enclosure is the perfect spot to grab your towel and dry off.

Lots of natural light also gives this bathroom a spa-like feel. With the windows set high, you get both light and privacy.

How would you like to have this luxurious shower for your own, to step into every morning? Check it out in person at Cooley Station.

Outdoor Kitchen a Cook’s Alternative

Posted on by

outdoor-kitchen-cooks-alternativewEven the greatest kitchen can get tiring when you’re cooking dinner in it every day. So while the weather is nice, how about making dinner outside for a change? A simple gas grill is a great start, but if you really want to spoil yourself, how about an outdoor kitchen like this one?

This outdoor set-up, at one of the model homes in the Cooley Station community, has pretty much everything you need. The gas grill is built in, making it easy to set your food up both before and after cooking. Guests can chat with the chef while sitting at the comfy outdoor bar. All you need to add are a few barstools to set up for outdoor living.

There’s plenty of room for prepping food with the generous countertop to the left of the grill. How about adding a cooler along the wall so that everyone can help themselves to sodas and drinks?

Everything tastes just a little better when it’s cooked outside, and spouses who are hopeless in the kitchen suddenly find themselves amazingly skilled with dealing with an open flame. Even if it’s just burgers or hotdogs, cooking it outside still makes dinner special.

And there’s a perfect place for everyone to sit and eat – a nice table with comfy chairs – upholstery that can handle the elements. If it starts getting a bit warm, just turn on the ceiling fan to make it a bit cooler.

An outdoor kitchen – what a nice dinner alternative.

Metallic Backsplash Adds Style

Posted on by

metallic-backsplash-adds-stylewBathrooms are by their very nature small. This can make them somewhat of a throwaway room when it comes to both design and decorating. But if you’re smart, a bathroom is the best place to splurge since it doesn’t take much square footage, or dollars, to make a big splash. Let’s take a close look at this bath vanity and see how smart design and décor makes a difference.

Oil-rubbed bronze fixtures: There’s something about oil-rubbed bronze that draws the eye. Maybe because we all grew up with classic chrome, seeing this look captures attention. It feels old-style without being too traditional. It also works well with granite like the choice shown here. The brown and gold really suits the soft dark tones of the bronze fixture.

Granite with personality: When you have a limited amount of counter space, choosing granite with a lot of contrast and veining really works. In this bathroom, the countertop adds drama and suits the simple white sink.

Metallic tile backsplash: This metallic is not the same finish as the faucet, but the dark tones help them set each other off when seen together. When the space is limited, choosing a tile with this much texture and a metallic finish means that it won’t be ignored by guests.

Framed mirror: The ultimate finishing touch is a framed mirror. Instead of a simple mounted wall mirror, the frame creates the feeling of completion that makes this bathroom something special.

Merging Indoor and Outdoor Living

Posted on by

merging-indoor-and-outdoor-livingwLiving in Arizona, we’re lucky to be able to spend more time outside than in other parts of the country. That’s one reason why it’s nice to look for a home that allows you to merge indoor and outdoor living.

Whether you’re entertaining or just enjoying time with the family, it’s a pleasure to be able to move from inside to outside as you wish. It might be that your family enjoys breakfast outdoors once the temperatures drop enough to spend early mornings with doors and windows open. Some family members may just prefer to take their coffee and the morning paper outside.

If you have houseguests who come from the East, chances are they’ll take advantage of any time they get to spend out in the sun. How about a lunch of cheese and fruit on the patio? Or you could offer different cold cuts and potato salad or coleslaw. With this home it’s just a few steps from the kitchen to the back yard, so it’s easy for people to fill their plates and go back for seconds.

Maybe spending time outside gives some family members a chance to enjoy a little alone time, settling down in the yard with a good book or relaxing on a lounge chair for a nap. Have you considered putting up a hammock? It could become a popular feature in your yard.

With this generous sliding glass door that also includes two floor-to-ceiling windows, the outside is always calling and the inside is always near. So choose your spot. Going from one to the other is a breeze.

 Make Room for Art

Posted on by

make-room-for-artwWhen decorating a home, many people focus only on the big items such as furniture and then slowly add accessories over time, and this is a good approach. But while you’re furnishing your new home, be sure to include art in your plans.

If you’ve been living in an apartment, you may find that your current collection of wall art looks rather small in your new larger rooms. This photo shows one way to deal with this – by hanging two smaller pieces together. This way the art takes up more space. Two or more pieces like these – with the same size, the same kind of frames and the same feel to the art – work well as a team on the wall.

Don’t limit your art thinking to walls. Notice the book set on the stand on the counter to the right of the photo. With the luscious photo on the cover, this book positions itself nicely as another art piece. In fact, if you didn’t look closely, it could be a small canvas set on an easel. You may have books or other elements that can double as art in your home if you take a look around.

If you would like more art on your walls but your budget is limited, consider photographs. Visit the Library of Congress photo collection online to view a rich choice of historical and other photos. You can have these reproduced for a minimal cost and frame them to create instant art at an extremely reasonable price. And family photos can be enlarged at your closest warehouse store at good rates.

Thrift shops and consignment stores are also a great resource for art at good prices. This is also an excellent place to pick up inexpensive frames. Just replace the art you don’t like with something that you do.

Take advantage of all your options to add art to your home. It can contribute color, interest, style and personality to your décor.

Plan Your Next Outdoor Event

Posted on by

Patio-fire-PitwIt’s fun to plan parties and get togethers for family and friends. This time of year it’s tempting to plan an outdoor event. This backyard, one of those visible at Fulton’s Cooley Station, makes entertaining especially inviting.

First, you have an interesting water feature along the back complete with sculptural pots and edges made for sitting. Then the elongated fire pit encourages guests to enjoy the flames, either cooking up marshmallows for s’more’s or just sitting along the edge and warming in the heat.

Outdoor areas make better party places when they offer various centers for attention so that different groups of people can enjoy either fun activities or quiet conversations. This space has a number of sections, allowing guests to self-select the group that suits their style and mood.

Notice also the comfy upholstered outdoor furniture. Having chairs with ottomans rather than one-piece loungers gives your guests more seating options and leads to flexibility as different pieces can be moved around the yard. The warm earth tones of the upholstery fit well with all of the stone hardscaping in place, and plants and fabric soften the feeling of the yard.

Finally, the table in the foreground – the dining chairs are just visible at the front of the photo – provides a place for appetizers and drinks. Consider adding a few side tables to enable guests to set their plates and drinks down as they wander around the yard. The potted geranium is a nice touch on the table, and you could also add fresh flowers and greens to the décor.

Just by incorporating food and drinks, this yard is ready for company. What do you need to change in your yard to set things up for your next event?

Kitchen Clean-up Center

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.