First Time Homebuyer

Happy New Year to All, May It Be Prosperous!!

This past week my family and I celebrated the New Year with my son and daughter-in-law in their new home. This is their first home and it is simply perfect. My husband and I walked through the neighborhood and toured the twelve model homes in this new community, which varied in size. All of the homes had patios and the larger homes also had interior courtyards. The patios were strategically positioned just off of the family room and dining area creating an extension to the home. With the sliding glass door open there is a seamless transition from indoors to out.

Even in the smaller homes there is sufficient room for either a dining table or a nice sitting area. Potted plants soften the corners and some homeowners selected water features to add the tranquil sound of water flowing. Wintertime is conducive to fire pits and fireplaces and an outdoor area rug provides warmth from the cement or tiled patio floor. Most first time homeowners are just beginning to develop their own sense of style. They use coordinating colors to provide the overall design yet it is important to select an accent color that they want to feature. These accent colors can be used in the floor rug, throw pillows, and wall color or window treatments. To create the continuous flow of design through the house from the inside to the outside the same colors should be used inside and out. This will enlarge the space rather than create two separate living areas.

In the larger models, the addition of the interior courtyard gives homeowners so many more options. Ranging from creating an outdoor billiards room, an outdoor television room, an outdoor breakfast spot, or an outdoor conversation pit around a fire feature. Once again adding additional usable square footage to a home these outdoor courtyards are fast becoming a standard for new homes.

One simple design feature for the interior courtyards as well as the traditional patio is to paint one accent wall a deeper shade to create a visual dimension. Just like you would do inside. Adding texture, tones, colors and shapes ultimately complete the space. For an outdoor rug with texture and color check out Colonial Mills, Sunbrella rugs and Capel outdoor rugs.

It is important in our casual living industry that we embrace these builders that are adding more and more outdoor living areas to their homes and encourage existing homeowners to consider these additions when remodeling their own homes.

These are my outside views… Marcia Blake