Tag: custom built floor plans in needham and the surrounding towns

2016 Kitchen Trends for Your Custom Built Southeastern MA Home

Include a new kitchen in premier home remodeling and additions.

Premier home remodeling and additions can include a new kitchen.

If you’re planning a kitchen for a custom built southeastern MA home, you’ll want to see these 2016 kitchen trends before you make any final design decisions. Fashion forward kitchen trends include an eclectic blend of vintage styles and objects with clean, ultra-modern lines, use mixed textures and focus on incorporating warmer metal tones. New dimensions of grays, rich retro hues and crisp contrasts are some of the most important 2016 kitchen color trends. It’s a great year for designing a new kitchen with southeastern MA premier home remodeling and additions experts.

Sleek Modern Colors

Perhaps the better way to describe the trend is a lack of color, a dialing back from the richly hued kitchens featured in many custom built floor plans in Needham and the surrounding towns. Black and white are popular color schemes, but shades of gray have become particularly trendy recently as well. Instead of a monochromatic look, many creating custom built southeastern MA home plans are choosing to blend varying shades of this neutral color.

Naturally, everybody isn’t ready to jump on the no color bandwagon. For those who enjoy rich colors, there are some gorgeous retro hues making a grand comeback. One of the most eye-catching of these is a rich peacock blue, a shade with depth and a feel of luxury about it. Use it as an accent or be adventurous and choose it as a bold statement.

Consider a retro look for custom built homes.

Retro meets modern in custom built homes.

Old-School Goes Ultra-Modern

Shaker furniture and cabinetry has long been appreciated for its clean, simple lines. That’s why Shaker cabinets have found a new niche – the ultra-modern kitchen. Today, they’re likely to be painted, often white, but increasingly gray or that combination of gray and beige that some have taken to calling “greige.”

Another way classic Shaker style cabinetry is being used in the modern kitchen is instead of the traditional vertical rectangle cabinet placement, many are placing the length of the rectangle horizontally. This is sometimes used to accentuate long, sleek lines, drawing the eye across a long parallel. Ask your southeastern MA premier home remodeling and additions expert if your Shaker style cabinets can be revamped with a modern new look.

Also an important trend for the coming year is accenting cool, almost monochrome color palettes and sleek lines with the occasional and brightly colored, curvy vintage item. This isn’t one to overdo; just a few items are all you need. A brick red bread box from the 1930s or 40s, a brightly colored retro-look stand mixer or a bit of carnival glass is just enough vibrancy to set off the near-absence of color perfectly.

New Choices for Sinks and Counters

Because of their classic style and durability, it will be quite a while before custom built southeastern MA home plans see granite displaced from kitchen counters. In fact, granite is also making its way to kitchen sinks. However, quartz is picking up speed as a trendy choice for kitchen counters. There’s a movement away from the dual sinks towards large, deep single sinks. Aside from granite sinks, 2016 will also see a resurgence of the classic cast iron sinks of yesteryear and some fascinating, durable resin and stone blends.

Contact us, your local southeastern MA premier home remodeling and additions experts, about how to bring your kitchen into 2016 gorgeously.

Don’t Make These Common Mistakes with Your Custom Built Floor Plan

Put plenty of details into your custom built floor plan.

A custom built floor plan requires plenty of details.

One would think a custom built floor plan would provide all the amenities and comforts needed in a dream home. However, many homeowners overlook important aspects that end up being more costly to remedy after all is said and done. Make sure you don’t make these common mistakes when designing and building your custom home.

The Devil Is in the Details

The myriad of details involved in a custom built home begin with the correct positioning of your home on the lot. From there, the details seem endless. If you were thinking of acting as your general contractor, you might want to reconsider. Hiring a southeastern MA home improvement contractor will save you endless hours of frustration involved in orchestrating your entire project. They can guide you through the maze of building stages, schedules and material selections – and that alone will keep you busy!

Your Budget – Expected the Unexpected

You need to have realistic funding expectations based on diligent research of all associated costs. However, no matter how carefully you think you’ve priced out your entire project, plan for the unexpected. An HVAC system you once thought was adequate may need to be upgraded. Additionally, building materials and fixtures may have gone up in price since you started your project. Rarely has a homeowner come in under budget with their custom built floor plan.

Your home improvement contractor can help you plan.

Talk to your home improvement contractor about your plan.

Timing Is Everything

You also need to be realistic about the estimated completion date. A custom built home can reasonably take six months or longer due to unplanned events, such as inclement weather and material delivery delays. In fact, plan on spending additional time in your current location to avoid having to find interim housing and the hassle of an additional move.

Less Is Not Always More

Keep in mind when it comes to the following factors, it may pay off to plan for more than you anticipate needing.

  • Storage.  A home with empty closets is a rarity so factor in additional closet space when planning storage for your custom home. A professional builder can also recommend underutilized areas in your home as other options for storage.
  • Lighting. There’s nothing worse than realizing your dream home lacks enough illumination. Make sure your design includes adequate windows and skylights for optimal natural lighting throughout your home.
  • HVAC. Large custom homes often require multiple units to ensure a comfortable and consistent temperature is maintained throughout the home. Southeastern MA home improvement contractors know how to plan the most energy efficient heating and cooling system for homes in this area.
  • Plan for the Unplanned. Let’s say your initial plan was for a four bedroom home with a game room and you’ve since changed to three bedrooms. Consider adding a bathroom near the game room in case the situation arises where you need to convert it to a guest room. This kind of planning gives you more options for the unexpected future,

Interested in custom built floor plans in Needham and the surrounding towns? Contact us to learn about our unique Design Build System. We bring our expertise in design, engineering, project management and construction to handle all aspects of designing and building your custom home.