Tag Archives: kitchen

Design around your Needs

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2555983_SDo you want to help your children with their homework while you fix dinner? Then plan for homework space in or near your kitchen. Have pets? Consider durability and maintenance when planning your flooring. Are seniors with canes or walkers regular visitors to your home? You may want to choose a plan that provides a bathroom and guest bedroom on the first floor.

Before you make decisions about your home’s plan or design, take a minute to consider your current and future needs.

Many people today find themselves caring for children and parents or grandparents at the same time. When you plan your home, think about providing the options you may need if a family member needs to stay with you to recover from surgery or an accident.

Be sure to choose a home that gives you and your family plenty of opportunities to interact. Whether this means a dining area that encourages eating dinner together every night or a family room with a game table for board games in the evening depends upon your family patterns. As you plan your new home’s layout and design, talk to everyone in your family about what they love (and don’t love) about your current home and what they would like to have as part of the new one.

Think about your own needs too. Do you dream of having a deep comfy bathtub for taking a luxurious break from everything? Maybe outdoor space for your morning coffee is your top priority. How about closets and other kinds of storage?

Design around your needs and your new home will be comfortable and enjoyable for everyone in your family.

Design Center Basics: Have Fun!

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Design 20Center 20023 designerOne of the best parts of buying a Fulton Home is selecting your options at the Fulton Home Design Center. You have the opportunity to work with a skilled designer to choose your kitchen, bathroom and flooring, making your home uniquely yours.

At first, choosing may seem overwhelming, but if you did your homework before your appointment (see the two blog posts for earlier this week) this can be a truly enjoyable experience.

Design 20Center 20059 carpetingVisiting the Design Center can feel like walking into the HGTV studios. Fulton has pre-selected suppliers and products that are reliable and provide a rich selection of styles to individualize your home. For example, look at the carpeting options available. Take your time to enjoy the various textures and tones.

One of the best features of the Fulton Homes Design Center is the well-trained and savvy designers who will work with you to help make just the right selections. Years of experience working with homebuyers to help create lovely homes provide every designer with the skills to give valuable insights and support as you make your home your own.

Whether your taste is contemporary or traditional, you’ll find the right choices of cabinetry, countertops, lighting and more. Take the time to investigate the kitchen vignettes. They may help you determine whether you want light or dark cabinetry, how much contrast you want in your kitchen and any specific color choices.

Everyone at Fulton Homes wants you to enjoy your time at the Design Center, so relax and take full advantage of this opportunity to make your home as special as you and your family are.

Design Center Basics: Planning Ahead

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Design20Center 20077 built insAll of the options and choices available at the Fulton Homes Design Center can be exciting and a bit overwhelming. You can make the process more fun and productive if you do a little planning ahead of time. Here are a few suggestions.

Visit the models: The Design Center has a number of vignettes to provide ideas, but there is a wealth of options visible in the models, and positioned within a home. From cabinets and countertops to faucets and built-ins, models are a wonderful resource. Spend some time and take notes of what you like in each model. You may even want to take pictures of those choices you particularly like. Bring this with you to your Design Center appointment to help your designer understand your taste and preferences.

Take advantage of browse nights: These provide time for you to look at everything available and make some preliminary choices. Designers are there to answer questions and educate you on various choices.

Visit the Design Center section on the Fulton website: You can pre-design your kitchen and review many of your options. This gives you a chance to experiment with various combinations of cabinets, countertops and flooring at your leisure.

Keep an open mind: While it’s good to get a feeling for your preferences, you may discover something at the Design Center that captures you unexpectedly. There are some amazing choices, and the designers are experts at helping you make combinations that you will love to live with for years.

The more you plan ahead, the more time you will have to make any tougher decisions – and totally enjoy the rich variety of choices that await you when you visit Fulton Home’s Design Center.

Daring Kitchen Tile Choices

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Peninsula 167You don’t have to spend a lot of money to create a kitchen backsplash that captures attention. Take a look at this kitchen design from Fulton Home’s Woodside model in the Oasis at Freeman Farms community. One type of tile in two colors combine to create an exciting look that is different with a modern twist.

The granite chosen for this kitchen has a strong pattern with contrasting shades of gold, brown and black. Combine this with an intense tile pattern and the space would feel busy rather than interesting.

Total room design involves making choices that work well together to make a space intriguing. It’s the interaction among the various elements – cabinets, countertops, tile, flooring and lighting – that makes this kitchen stand out.

Peninsula 165Many people like to have a special look behind the range, and this kitchen creates that impact simply by changing the dark and light pattern of the long rectangular tiles. Notice in the photo to the right, the light tiles move down in a stair step design, but move in a back-and-forth direction over the range. This simple change helps create a meaningful difference in the kitchen.

The imagination of this kitchen designer didn’t stop at the backsplash. Take a look at the tile design on the island below. The same tile laid in vertical rows creates a very different look whilestill keeping everything integrated.

Peninsula 159Here’s a great look at this granite countertop. An island is a perfect place to showcase your granite choice, because the large expanse of open stone really displays the grain.

Don’t be afraid to make a daring choice for one or more of your options when designing your new home. And be sure to take advantage of the knowledge of your Fulton Design Center designer when determining which options will combine to help you create a home that demonstrates your taste and style.

Finishing Touches make Kitchen Special

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Oasis at Freeman Farms 072When designing a kitchen, you can easily get caught up in choosing just the right appliances, the perfect cabinets, and knock-out flooring. But don’t ignore the smaller decisions that can bring your kitchen from well-designed to wow! Let’s take a look at just a few of the finishing touches available at the Fulton Homes Design Center that help create a kitchen to turn heads.

Cabinet crown molding: These straightforward Shaker-style cabinets step it up with crown molding at the top. This is dentil crown molding – called that because the row of wood squares below the crown resembles teeth. This type of trim dresses the cabinets up and adds perceived value far beyond the minimal additional cost. Be sure to investigate your trim options when choosing your cabinets.

Pendant lights: These pendants have an industrial-appearing foundation with the look of matte iron, and a sharp squared-off glass shade. Add an amber tone to the glass and you have a stand-out sculptural look to these pendants. Check out the choices for pendants available at the Fulton Design Center and add that sophisticated and functional touch over your kitchen island.

Tile or stone trim: This kitchen’s backsplash is splashier thanks to the row of decorative stone running a few inches below the cabinets. Choosing to install a row of interesting tile or stone within a simpler pattern creates a much more interesting look with a minimal increase in cost. By adding a small line of the same stone as part of the tile surrounding the island, the two areas are tied together and both end up more interesting.

Each of these three choices had a minimal impact on this kitchen’s cost, but the result far exceeds the expense. So take the time to look at the details and create a truly special kitchen!

Mix of Colors Pop in Kitchen

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Did you ever wonder why some spaces just seem more colorful than others? Well, one reason is the result of using complementary colors in a room. Complementary colors sit on opposite sides of the color wheel.

The primary complementary colors are orange and blue, yellow and purple, and red and green. If you put bright versions of these color pairs next to each other they will actually seem to vibrate. However, you may not want to use the strongest versions of those colors. Instead, choose a slightly different, lighter or darker shade to take advantage of the contrast without creating too much of a color conflict.

This kitchen, from the Fulton Homes Rancho Mirage model at Oasis at Freeman Farms, uses a coral shade of red and a few yellow-green hues combined to add color to the space. Although the fundamentals in this room – cabinets, flooring, countertops and appliances – are neutral, the careful addition of colorful accessories makes the room feel full of color.

This design concept continues onto the great room sofa visible in the foreground. Once again the larger piece – the sofa – is neutral but brightened by two throw pillows which echo the coral and green colors visible in the kitchen. The fun thing about this approach to color is that it’s easy to change out your choices without spending a lot of money. Paint, pillows and accessories could be adjusted with the seasons or even your mood.

Do you want more color in your home? Don’t let your current neutral decor keep you from adding pops of whatever colors take your fancy.

Triangular Kitchen Island has Multiple Uses

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While most kitchen islands are rectangular, sometimes another shape provides additional functionality. Take a look at this island in the La Quinta model at Oasis at Freeman Farms. The modified triangle shape has several functional advantages.

Kitchen triangle: The classic shape for the most functional kitchen space is a working triangle, with oven, stove, refrigerator and sink in easy reach of each other. The trimmed edge of this island on the kitchen side creates an actual open triangle for cooking. The extra space makes this tidy kitchen feel more spacious, especially if two or more cooks are working together.

Eating space: The cropped edge on the great room side of the island provides room to spread for three and can hold up to five people comfortably, as you can see in the photo above. This space works well for quick breakfasts with someone playing short-order-cook at the stove or for homework with a parent’s help while they fix dinner. Remove the chairs and the island creates a perfect stage for party appetizers.

Cleaning with a view: After dinner at the dining table, dishes can be brought to the island and placed in the dishwasher while the cleaning crew chats with the rest of the family or guests. With the sink/dishwasher area set up in the island, post-meal clean up clean-up doesn’t isolate the tidying team.

Well-lit: The pendant lights provide additional spot lighting for any tasks completed on the island, while adding a contemporary element of style to the space. Between the lights and the island itself, the kitchen area is clearly defined without being separated from the rest of the home’s living area.

Thoughtful design makes this great-room kitchen functional and fun, with an island shape made for functionality, whether as part of a simple family dinner or entertaining a group of friends.

Kitchen Lighting Four Ways

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This kitchen, from the Whitewater model at the Fulton Homes Oasis at Freeman Farms community, offers many advantages to a cook. There’s plenty of counter space, a generous kitchen island, a gas range and stainless appliances. But one feature that any cook – casual or serious – will really appreciate is the generous lighting from four sources.

First, the space is designed to provide plenty of natural light. The window over the sink gives both visibility in the kitchen and a view of the back yard. More light comes from the sliding glass door in the dining area. This saves energy as well as making the kitchen brighter. You may find that you don’t always need additional lighting during the day.

The double light over the island provides directed lighting. This makes the island useful for chopping or baking, as well as after-school homework and snacking. Notice how the light’s style matches the chandelier over the dining table, integrating the space and adding charm as well as functionality.

General lighting comes from an abundant number of ceiling spotlights. These spots wash the kitchen in even, clear lighting. This makes the kitchen nice and bright even in the evening, with no glare or dark spots.

The final lighting source is also the most specific – task lighting running under the cabinets. This is particularly useful for smaller tasks such as reading recipes or instructions. If you have never experienced this type of task lighting, you will soon realize what a difference it can make in a kitchen.

Enjoy the flexibility and functionality of a kitchen with four types of lighting, available because at Fulton Homes, we’re proud to build a home you will enjoy and appreciate.

Thinking about Walls: Yellow

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Yellow can brighten up a bathroom or kitchen, or make a bedroom seem extra sunny. But it is the most difficult paint color to get right. The wrong choice can make a room gold instead of yellow, or turn a space into egg yolks rather than lemon. If you want to bring yellow into your home, take these steps first.

Go lighter: Yellow dominates a room much more than you would expect. Whatever tone you want, choose one at least two shades lighter. The color strips available at paint stores make this easy. Don’t worry that it will be too light. Yellow reflects off every wall and the color naturally intensifies.

Test test test: Buy a sample of two or three possible yellows. Paint poster boards, one in each color, and try them close to each other. If one of the yellows has an orange or green cast, you’ll be able to tell thanks to the contrast. Choose the purest yellow you can find. Also, put the painted posters on every wall of the room and then see which works best. Yellow changes its mood depending upon the type of light, so check in daylight and artificial light.

Combine with white: Don’t be tempted to use too much yellow. Paint the ceiling white and don’t add yellow cabinets or furniture. Too much yellow quickly takes over a room. White areas help the yellow look brighter without becoming overwhelming.

Yellow can be gorgeous or a real problem. Doing your homework at the start will give you a space that uses yellow at its best.

November is Good Nutrition Month

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Wouldn’t you know it, the day after Halloween is the start of Good Nutrition Month! Here are a few suggestions to use your Fulton Homes kitchen to promote good eating for you and your family.

Ration Halloween candy: Of course chances are your little ones ate too much candy yesterday – and maybe you helped yourself to a bit more than you should have, too! Now that you’ve all had that indulgent experience, let your children know that this happens only once a year. Negotiate a specific number of pieces of candy every day. Here’s a hint – you start the negotiations at one piece and they will feel good if they can get you up to three, which is about where you want them to be anyway.

Use your kitchen space to drive your family to good snacks: Set up a shelf in the refrigerator with washed carrots and dip, sliced apples and cheese, peanut butter and other healthy choices. Let your kids know that those snacks are legal without getting permission. Place some whole-grain crackers on the counter or kitchen table along with bananas and other snacks that don’t need refrigeration. Make healthful snacks easy to access and junk food hard to find or simply nonexistent in your kitchen. Soon your family will automatically reach for the good stuff that’s in sight.

Get help with meal-planning and cooking. Make it fun for everyone and cook with the kids! Use your kitchen counter or island to plan and track meals for the week or even the month. Assign coupon searches to one child and grocery ads to another, with the promise that they will receive the savings as an addition to their allowances. Or you could have a contest with the one who saves the family the most money getting to choose a favorite meal for the next week. Print a copy of the food pyramid and have your whole family use it to plan meals that are well-balanced.

The holidays have started and it’s easy to get into bad food habits with entertaining and attending parties. You can create the opportunity to keep yourself and your family on a good nutrition path for the rest of the year and into the next!