Living rooms are often the hardest-working rooms in our homes. If your living room has no real flow, or you are not maximizing the area to its full potential, you probably aren’t enjoying it as much as you could. Maybe it’s time to take charge. Start with a firm plan for your living room’s design and layout, and you will be on your way to a room that not only reflects your style and personality, but offers others a warm welcome too.

HomeSource Builders is an Asheville, NC custom home builder and remodeling contractor that is fully licensed and insured, providing you expertise and commitment in home construction.

by Jenny Peterson

I love rock in the garden, but I particularly love gravel and other small rocks. I work them into nearly every design I create for my clients, as well as in my own landscape. Why the love affair with gravel? It serves many purposes, from solving drainage issues to lending textural appeal; it crunches under your feet; and it comes in many different colors and forms. Check out my favorites and see which one will work for you in your landscape.

If you’ve been working on getting your patio in shape, show it off in the best possible way by choosing the right entrance. This mini guide is designed to get the inspiration flowing, so you can get started building the patio of your dreams.

From sleek, modern walls of glass to charming French doors, secret garden gates and more, there is bound to be something here that captures your imagination.

When LEDs (light-emitting diodes) came on the market, people were slow to use them at home, because the lights tended to give off a bluish-white hue. Today that has all changed. Advancements in technology mean that LEDs can produce that warm, yellow light many homeowners prefer in their living spaces.

Though the upfront cost ($40 to $80) is much higher than for traditional bulbs, the return on investment comes with lower power bills, longer-lasting bulbs and better-quality light. LEDs can last up to 25,000 hours and use 75 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs.

But the best part is their versatility. LEDs cover the range of light, from soft and warm to crisp and cool, and come in various design options that let you play around with neat lighting schemes. LED tape, panels, pucks, ropes, cans and bulbs work wonders with uplighting, downlighting, accent lighting and more.

Here’s a rundown of the basic LED options you can use to illuminate your living space.

Over almost four decades of marriage, my wife and I have renovated, in whole or in part, five of our own houses. We have just purchased a home in a golf community so will, again, embark on a renovation project, our sixth. In addition to these home renovations for myself, I’ve helped scores of homeowners renovate, remodel and expand their homes as project architect.

Through all of these projects, I’ve learned many tips, tricks and general rules about how to do more with less, stay on track and keep my sanity throughout. Here are some of them.

Article by: Bud Dietrich, AIA

After decades of big yards and boxy homes, more homeowners are opting for a throwback to ancient days: the courtyard. Often enclosed on several or all sides, courtyard homes bring the yard inside, offering an extra layer of privacy and allowing natural light to flood into the house.

There’s also a rising demand for motor and entry courtyards, which can serve as transitional spaces to set a calmer, off-the-street tone and welcome people into the house.

A slew of new building technologies—particularly in windows, doors and lighting—has also played a role. Window and door manufacturers now make 8-foot-wide panels that can be combined to create a 32-foot-long stretch, for example. Costing anywhere from $4,000 to more than $8,000, the bifolding panels can be opened to turn the courtyard into an extension of public space or closed off for privacy.

Similarly, LED lighting has allowed architects to transform the courtyard into a functional room at night. Retractable screen systems and evolving heating techniques have also helped make courtyards more than a seasonal space.

The screens, which start around $1,500, can roll vertically or horizontally, allowing a homeowner to leave several sets of doors open without letting bugs in. Custom wood/gas combination fire pits or fireplaces, which cost several thousand dollars, can provide warmth or just a decorative touch. And in colder climates, heated pavement can make a walk from the house to a hot tub more comfortable.

A courtyard adds about 15% to the cost of building, architects say, because designing a home with a hole in its center requires more exterior walls. But the increased outdoor space, converted from indoor space, can lead to lower energy bills as there is less home to heat.

Real-estate agents say courtyards can help resale value, particularly in temperate areas.

Courtyard architecture is one of the oldest home styles in the world. More than 5,000 years ago, courtyards were built in the Middle East and China as a protective mechanism—both from harsh weather and unfriendly neighbors.

Today, the courtyard has swung back to being a blend of geometry and nature, transforming from a functional protection from weather and foes to a space that’s conducive to spending more time outside. Courtyards work with any style of home, from modern to classical, but the designs are particularly popular in warmer climates, where courtyards induce airflow. When designed properly, one end of the courtyard can be 15 degrees cooler than the other end because of cross-ventilation.

The most important aspect of courtyard design, architects say, is the sun. Wherever the best sun occurs is where the courtyard should sit, with the home designed around those angles.

Trees and plants  play an important role to help induce airflow and provide shade on hotter days in courtyards, and water is a common element because it can help cool the air through evaporation and can have a calming effect on the space.

Many homeowners use their courtyards as their primary entertainment space, incorporating everything from built-in barbecue pits to swimming pools that double as movie seats.

Source: Wall Street Journal – read full story here.

The Energy Star certified home is complete with 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, indoor and out door fireplace, cherry cabinets, 3 inch oak flooring with mahogany inlays, solar hot water heater, and gorgeous brazilian hardwood wrap around front porch. The exterior design includes simple elegant features such as natural stone, a screened in porch, copper spike on the turret, and a porte-cochère.

The Montford Neighborhood consists of about three hundred acres and retains more than six hundred structures representing a rich diversity of architectural styles, most constructed between 1890 and 1920 during Asheville’s emergence as the greatest city of the Southern Appalachians. Today the Montford community is home to several businesses and the restoration of the neighborhood has lead to the establishment of quite a few Bed and Breakfasts.

Custom Home Builders and Interior Designers are seeing an increase in requests for custom grandkids rooms. Places and spaces for bunk beds, built-in cubbies to hold electronics and activity centers.

We all have memories of going to Grandma’s house and seeing glass figurines, sleeping in flower sheets or quietly playing with lincoln logs. Grandparents today, want to be cool. They want their grandkids to come over and stay, so  they are choosing create an environment where their children and grandchildren are excited to come  to.

Their challenge – creating rooms that can grow as the children do, or even accommodate multiple grandkids from separate families. Ideas like adjustable height chairs and tables, unisex color schemes, stain-proof upholstery, removable floor tiles and a trough for a sink can help the long-term growing pains.

If you are building or remodeling your home, the children or grandchildren’s room may be something to consider for your long term plans. If you want to see your family, adding this concept will make them feel welcome for years to come.

For more information about Asheville custom homes HomeSourceBuilders.com. For more information about Asheville Interior Design, visit HomeSource Design Center.

Photo Credit(s): Pinterest

A typical new home costs an average of 37% more than buying an existing home, so why are we seeing an increase in new homes? For starters, inventory levels of existing homes are low. The National Association of Realtors reported that the number of homes for sale fell to 1.74 million in January, the lowest level since the year of 2000. Many homeowners are worried that prices have not yet improved sufficiently, so they are reluctant to list their home.

The lack of inventory may not compare to the reality that home builders are banks are getting creative. Working with home buyers to get into their home, providing credit counseling and incentives like closing credits and government programs, builders are making a difference in the building economy.

50 percent of new home sales in fourth quarter of 2012 were sold to borrowers with some kind of government-guaranteed loan, with the FHA backing 31% of new-home sales with a mortgage.

New FHA lending standards are driving decisions of where to buy land, how much to pay for it and how many features to put into the home. Not every new home on the market is “tricked out” with granite, wood floor and more.

You can build a custom home with the floor plan you love to fit your budget. Builders like HomeSource, work with each home buyer with product selections that match their pocket book and style. 

Consumers are choosing to build what they want, rather than buy a used home that may need some TLC. Even though it means spending a little bit more, building is becoming a long-term family investment that means more.

Buncombe County’s recent report proves our feeling is catching on! See the report from the Asheville Citizen Times below:

Building permits for new houses showed a 20 percent increase for 2012 as the Asheville-area real estate market continued to heal from the Great Recession.

“Based on what we see now, the trend is certainly positive,” said Dale Akins, a real estate research expert who runs The Market Edge in Knoxville, Tenn. “Most markets bottomed out in 2010 or 2011, and now are showing huge numbers that indicate restored confidence.”

But building isn’t exactly booming. Buncombe posted 613 new building permits for 2012, up from the 512 the previous year. That’s still less than half of the 1,749 permits filed locally in 2007 before the financial meltdown.

An excess number of million-dollar homes on the market drives up the average price of a Buncombe County home to $405,000, the second-highest in the state behind the Outer Banks market, said Don Davies who tracks the Asheville real estate market.

The median price, or the middle of all home prices around Asheville, is $290,000, or about $40,000 more than the state median.

Davies points to the lowest inventory of homes for sale in a decade.

“When we see those levels getting to what we saw in 2003, that’s when we start to see the trend line shoot straight up,” he said.

But Davies cautioned that land sales aren’t keeping pace with other indicators. “We have right at 1,900 pieces of raw land on the market in Buncombe County, but we’re only selling 25-35 pieces a month. That’s not picked up much.”

Also troublesome is the near record amount of time that it takes a house to sell, Davies said. “Back in 2007, we had an inventory of 2,600 homes but only an average of 119 days on the market. Today we have a lower inventory — about 1,800 homes, but an average of 224 days on the market.”

Still Davies sees the market trends continuing to improve. “It’s a slow crawl, but Asheville continues to attract people from all over.”

Akins told Asheville homebuilders last week that predicting market demand is difficult. But given Asheville’s desirability as a location for retirees and continued low interest rates, both existing home sales and new building should continue to grow in 2013, he said.

Source:  Asheville Citizen Times

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