Woman-Centric

Home. Her great escape. The one place where she can truly be herself. To her, it’s not just about great curb appeal or square footage, but rather how the home lives. Research done by Design Basics in Omaha, Nebraska revealed four "lenses" women use to evaluate home plans: she imagines how she would entertain in the home; she looks for ways the home will be a refuge from her busy lifestyle and help her de-stress; she picks up on the home's storage (or lack of); and her natural, nurturing instinct and tendency to anticipate future events also means her home must be flexible enough to accommodate today's needs as well as tomorrow's. The real value shows in the details. At Superior Builder, we build homes that embrace that healthy, useful, livable design. Homes with purpose, built to meet the needs of an ever-changing family. The following explains more in depth about the way your home should live.

STORING: You need a plan for storing your life, like additional space and clever organization. Whether it’s a quick place to stop when coming into the house or more closet space, you need a home that is designed for managing your life. Those who never have enough storage will be drawn to homes with more orange areas. Orange areas highlight extra storage capacity in the garage, laundry room, rear foyer, generous kitchen pantries, linen closets, and additional unfinished areas in the basement or upper level.

ENTERTAINING: You need a home that’s designed for easy hosting and entertaining, and a home that your guests are comfortable in. Open floor plans where people feel free to move about and yet don’t feel like they are missing a thing. Yellow areas encompass formal rooms for entertaining as well as informal open living spaces, outdoor "rooms", kitchens that encourage guests to gather around a snack bar, rooms for media related get-togethers (watching movies or sporting events), and areas ideal for groups playing cards or board games. Basically, a home that says “Welcome”.

DE-STRESSING: Buyers looking for ways to de-stress their lives will appreciate homes with lots of blue spaces. Some blue areas offer relaxation such as personal getaways, a privately located master suite, a walk-in shower or whirlpool, or a quiet porch or craft area. Others provide unusual organizational features such as split vanities, mudrooms, and drop zones that keep keys, briefcases, umbrellas, cell phones and other items where they're easy to locate.

FLEXIBLE LIVING: You need your home to change as you change, grow as you grow. You need flexibility in your home design, and to know that one room can serve many purposes throughout the life of your home. Whether it’s a home office, a guest suite, or just room to grow, the flexibility of the design means that you’ll have a home that evolves and expands with you. Green areas designate rooms that offer that flexible living space. Rooms that can be combined to create in-law-suites, home offices (occasionally even his and her offices), bedroom/ bath arrangements that work well for blended families, music rooms, home school rooms, craft or gardening centers, offices that can become dining rooms, or dens that become guest rooms.

Above depicts the first floor plan to our Model on Aspen Drive
The Paterson.

Now let’s look more in-depth at these four elements!

ENTERTAINING

Formal Eating Area

Candlelight, soft music, ample room for guests and great conversation make dinner parties a delight. Whether it’s a formal dinner party or a family holiday dinner, memories are intertwined with meals together. The main things to look for are space, proximity to the kitchen and flexibility. Is the dining area a comfortable size for the table, chairs and hutch, if you have one? Is it close to the kitchen, reducing steps when carrying hot dishes, or clearing the table? Should you desire privacy, can the space be closed off? If you have larger gatherings, are there two dining areas, perhaps the kids are at one table with the adults at another. Or, does your dining space flow openly into an adjacent space for additional seating? In addition, flooring choices, color, wall textures, ceiling treatments and window coverings are primary considerations. In addition to the aesthetics, look at maintenance issues – a high chandelier with lots of light bulbs can become a real pain when it’s time to change those bulbs. Having control over lighting is critical to enhance your get-together. This includes accessible, easily adjustable window shades/coverings as well as separately switched, direct and indirect artificial lighting on dimmers.

Informal Eating Area

A table for breakfast and a snack bar for quick dinners provides several informal eating areas. The snack bar also makes a great spot to set-up a buffet.

Everyday meals mean everyday use for dinettes and snack bars. Because of its frequent use, maintenance and easy cleaning are central issues. Expect spills when you are considering flooring choices. Will you have to move chairs out of the way to sweep or vacuum? Especially at snack bars, seating suspended from the island or peninsula is a wonderful solution to ensure accessible seating that’s easy to clean under. It also helps prevent damage to the flooring from chairs!

Open Living Spaces

With the eating area, kitchen and great room all open to each other, everyone is part of the fun. An open floor plan really pulls entertaining or family life together.

More than just eliminating walls, today’s kitchens are being designed with attention to views of fireplaces and entertainment centers. Open designs have also focused new attention on views into the kitchen. This has been one reason for the rising popularity of stainless steel appliances and glass front cabinets.

Outdoor Living Spaces

With a growing emphasis on casual entertaining, outside entertaining should be a natural extension of your home’s flow. Research even shows that exposure to sunlight and trees has numerous health benefits. Covered porches are especially appreciated if inclement weather threatens your outdoor plans. For some, adding screens around the porch to control bugs means being able to truly enjoy being outside. Still others will opt for windows all around, turning their outdoor living space into a true four-season room.

Media-Related Entertaining

With today’s media choices running the gamut from gaming to movies or sports to the internet, until the issue of where the big screen TV goes is settled, we can’t seriously consider building or remodeling.

Lighting and sound are the major issues to be addressed. Glare from windows or other lighting can ruin the multi-media experience, so this must be under control. While one group wants to crank up the volume, others may want to carry on normal conversation or even get some shut-eye. Sound isolation clips for drywall walls and ceilings, insulating those cavities, or using acoustic sound mats are all reasonable approaches to controlling sound levels. Also, be sure to use a solid core, weatherstripped door to finish sealing off a media room.

Split Bedrooms to Control Noise

Its inevitable when friends get together that someone else in the home needs privacy – whether studying, catching up on work brought home, or needing to get some sleep. Splitting secondary bedrooms from the master suite, and distancing bedrooms from entertaining areas, provides much needed quiet.

Few things in life are more important than getting a good nights sleep. Inside the home, look for quiet products such as kitchen or bath fans and appliances. Who wants to move to another room, just because the dishwasher is running? You can also limit noise coming from outdoors through advanced insulating, caulking and air sealing measures when your home is being built, plus quality windows and doors.

Finished Basements

A finished lower level not only adds needed square footage but allows for more informal entertaining. Today’s engineered floor systems make wide-open basement spaces feasible and affordable, as they can span greater distances than conventional lumber.

When building your home, make sure you consider the fact that you may be finishing it off one day. Let us know if this is the case ~ we’ll work with you in planning where the furnaces & utilities go so you can have an unencumbered space. Know where you will want electrical and other wiring to be run, and meet with your electrician to go over the plans.

Moisture and humidity are key issues in tandem with temperature. And even though your air conditioner is designed to remove excess humidity from your home in the summer, you may well find you need to run a freestanding de-humidifier in the basement as well to control humidity, mold, mildew and possible moisture damage.

Kids Play Area

If there are children in your home, you will value a place where they can go and play. A place where toys and games are stored and Lego creations can be left for a another day. In other words, a place where kids can be kids. Separate from their bedrooms, this flexible space may or may not have been finished space when the home was initially built.

Consider the types of activities your children will enjoy. If it is painting, for example, you will want a flooring surface that cleans up easily with a sink nearby. Also, consider how the space may be used differently as the kids age. Keep fanciful themes to more easily changed aspects which will also keep costs down when it’s time to replace Winnie The Pooh with your boy’s favorite sports theme.

Kitchen

Many of the best times of our lives revolve around being with family and friends. Whether it's hosting a formal get-together, holiday dinners, or your children's birthday parties, the kitchen is the hub of activity. A little extra attention spent planning flow, layout and product selections will reward you with a kitchen that is more functional and efficient.

Women feel a kitchen entertains well if it is open to other entertaining areas, including dining spaces, the great room and outdoor living spaces. It should also eliminate clutter by providing plenty of organized storage where it is needed.

Due to the popularity of today's open floor plans with kitchens in full view, designing kitchens is all about zones related to the flow of activity. Kitchen design is being further refined by an emerging knowledge of how layout and product choices can actually help reduce stress, particularly while entertaining.

Storage is the initial zone, because you want items to be stored in places convenient to where they will be used. For example, you’re going to want storage for your good dishes, glassware and silverware near the serving or dining area, such as a butler pantry.

It’s also essential to reduce clutter, ease accessibility and arrange items in an organized way. Include some roll-out drawers or trays. Drawer inserts keep small items, spices, silverware and utensils organized. But what about small, frequently used appliances? Countertop appliance garages for blenders, toasters, and coffee makers may be just what you‚re looking for. On the other hand, if you want to keep your counter space free, consider going underneath the counter. You can include a pull-out mixer shelf, which comes out of the cabinet and swings up – bringing your heavy mixer even with the countertop.

The food preparation zone depends on lots of counter space, plus close proximity to the refrigerator, range/oven and pantry. Ideally, this is a separate space from the serving area, allowing both areas to function simultaneously.

Photo courtesy of Medallion cabinetry

Above: With kitchen space at a premium, cabinet manufacturers have introduced innovative designs with increased storage and organization.

 

Above: Your back will appreciate roll-out trays, perfect for heavier small appliances and other items.

If you have a smaller island in your kitchen which will be used for food preparation, keeping the countertop a uniform height will provide the maximum work space. If your island is large enough to accommodate different levels, a 36-inch work level will be appreciated by bakers, while a taller side (usually 42 inches) shields work clutter from view and accommodates bar stools.

Your cooking zone, convenient to the food prep area, is centered around your cooktop and ovens. Two cooks in the home will require more utensils, pots and pans, so plan storage accordingly. In addition, you may opt for separate counter spaces, cooking areas and sinks. Common ovens and waste containment may need wider corridors around a central working area.

If you are looking at an island with cooktop, make sure there is sufficient room next to the cooktop to place large items such as a big pot of boiling pasta. Also, warming drawers are great features for entertaining. They allow you to warm multiple dishes simultaneously and keep hot cooked foods at serving temperature. Check out this nifty feature that was thought of for placing large roasts when coming directly out of the oven!

Someserving zones are more formal, such as a built-in buffet in the dining area, or a butler’s pantry along the path from the kitchen. For casual entertaining, islands or peninsulas may be just the ticket. If your guests are usually adults, consider a 42-inch height for the serving bar area.

Your eating zone may consist of a formal dining area, an informal breakfast nook, a snack bar, or some combination of all three.

Many folks find themselves most often dining at a snack bar and rarely using their dinette. If that’s you, carefully consider what height best suits your family. If you have small children, they won’t be able to get up on higher stools (or worse yet, they may fall off of them!)

Clean-up is the final, but very important, zone when planning for entertaining. As two sinks have gained popularity, so have second dishwashers. In front of sinks, consider a small tilt-out tray to keep sponges and pot scrubbers out of view. Another item that can reduce clutter in your entertaining kitchen is a liquid soap dispenser which comes up through the countertop next to the sink.

What about trash? Typical solutions have been the unsightly tall kitchen wastebasket openly on display (or a smaller wastebasket under the kitchen sink.) Besides having to bend over to use the latter, ever notice how much stuff misses the wastebasket? Opt for a pull-out wastebasket tray in your base cabinetry.

Beyond how our kitchens flow, there are several other major considerations, such as ease of cleaning and durability. Think sinks, countertops, flooring and appliances. Laminate countertops offer the greatest variety in colors, patterns and edge finishes. They don’t require special cleansers nor do they need to be re-sealed every year or two.

While aesthetics and price may be the top influences for kitchen flooring choices, scratches, everyday wear and low maintenance are major de-stressing aspects. Will spilled spaghetti sauce or grape juice stain the flooring? (Darker colors of grout for tile floors are increasingly popular for this very reason.) Will heavy or sharp items accidentally dropped damage the floor?

Flooring choices in adjacent areas also play a large role in kitchen flooring, as many of us prefer a continuity of floor covering (which makes the entire area feel more spacious.)

Appliances are one of the first items you and your guests see in the kitchen. Are the surfaces easy to clean, especially the oven/range tops and inside the microwave? How about the exterior finish? The stainless steel look has been quite popular, but it attracts fingerprints like a giant magnet. Look for new finishes which don’t show fingerprints and are easy to clean.

Quiet is an often overlooked aspect of a dream kitchen. Few things are more annoying than having to vacate the kitchen just to hear each other talk. Pay special attention when selecting your dishwasher and kitchen vent/hood. Some models are actually so quiet you’re not even aware they are running!

Almost universally, people describe the amount of light in their kitchens as inadequate. A light, bright and airy kitchen is de-stressing for you, your family and your guests.

As kitchens have become more open to adjacent areas of the home, they are benefiting from increased levels of natural light coming from these areas. More recently, glass block or small traditional windows are appearing between kitchen counter backsplashes and upper cabinets.

Today, recessed ceiling lighting has replaced the standard light fixture approach common years ago. As well, task lighting concealed under the upper kitchen cabinets offers a pleasant light level and helps reduce eyestrain.

Whatever lighting approach you choose, make sure you’re in control. From window coverings to dimmers, lighting helps establish the mood for your next get-together. While you might want all available light when preparing dinner, controlled light levels are much more comfortable for everyone later in the evening.

Pay extra attention to where electrical outlets are located. Only you know how you intend to use the kitchen, so don’t leave it up to the electrician’s imagination where to locate outlets and switches. Then there’s cable TV, the internet, phone and what about music? Plan now where wiring needs to go.

Finally, consider decorating and how you reveal who you are through what you display and how you decorate your kitchen. Most women use words such as “comfortable” or “homey” to describe their dream kitchen. Color choices throughout can have an exciting or a calming effect. Do you decorate according to the season? Is there space above the upper cabinets for display niches or plant shelves?

We cherish relationships. We take pride in a functional and orderly kitchen. With a little extra forethought and planning, our kitchens will beckon to entertain a simple family dinner or an extravagant gala!

 

DE-STRESSING

Design Basic’s Research suggests that stress is the most compelling theme for women. They want their home to be their sanctuary, their personal retreat. So we asked women to identify how they like to relax at home. The most frequent response was soaking in a tub. Yet women were fairly evenly split over where they wanted the tub (not necessarily in the master bath) because many acknowledged that they rarely had time to actually enjoy a bath.

When asked to choose between a master bath offering a standard (4-foot) shower plus a tub or a bathroom with an oversized shower and no tub, most women admitted they would get more use out of the shower, especially one with a spa showering system or at least two shower heads. An outdoor living space was the second most common response to the question of where women de-stress. Some home designs may show an ornamental front porch that looks nice but is too small to be of any practical value.

Porches, patios and decks need to be big enough to be usable!

When it came to de-stressing activities, other oft-mentioned responses included reading or privately watching a little TV (accompanied by requests for a sitting area in the master bedroom or a cozy hearth room), working out (answered by an exercise room) or pursuing hobbies (ideally an “out of public view” spot– not the dining room table).

Personal Space

After a long and hectic day, find personal space to decompress is as important as breathing. Everyone has their own way to de-stress. Find a place in your home that works for you. What you like to do while you unwind will help shape this space.

If reading or watching a little TV is how you like to unwind, a sitting area in the master bedroom or a cozy hearth room may be the perfect answer. Enjoy nature? Then covered outdoor living spaces will be high on your list. If you like to work off stress by working out, an exercise room works for you! Or what about having the feeling of several strong jets hitting your back? Maybe a personalized shower system is what you should splurge on! (insert picture of lot 6 shower)

Large Pantry

As a nation, we’re cooking less, but not eating less. Some grew up in homes where a hot cooked breakfast was the daily norm. Today, a bowl of cereal, Pop-Tarts or a granola bar might be more common. That means an increasing need for storage for prepared foods.

Do you need space for your bread maker, indoor grill, food processor or mixer? Don’t let clutter on your countertop stress you put them in the pantry. In addition to making pantries bigger, there’s an evolving industry helping to make pantries more organized, through innovative storage solutions. With items organized and on display, we can quickly scan the pantry before a restocking trip to the grocery store saving both time and the aggravation of returning home only to find you forgot something.

Rear Foyer

A funny thing happened over the past couple decades. The door in from the garage became our principal entry to the home. Sure, a formal front entry to greet guests is important and is often a focal point of the home’s design, but we’re becoming increasingly comfortable with family and friends coming through the garage.

An emerging trend is to think of the entry from the garage as a rear foyer. And, just as you probably wouldn’t make your laundry room a part of your front entryway, you probably don’t want folks traipsing past piles of laundry on their way in from the garage. Note – you may want to modify your home plan if originally designed with the laundry/mudroom, entry from the garage OR make sure that there is a separate rear entry that is easily accessible from your driveway.

Design Basic’s research revealed nothing is more stressful for Moms than getting the family out the door on-time in the morning, with everything they need. Rear foyers may offer solutions such as lockers for each of the kids, and even walk-in closets. A bench for removing shoes, is also popular. Kids know how to use lockers to quickly grab their lunch money, backpacks, gym clothes and jackets as they dash out the door.

Drop Zone

Mail, keys, cell phones, cameras – wouldn’t it be great to have convenient place to drop our stuff so it doesn’t end up as kitchen clutter, or worse? Today’s hot new concept “the drop zone” is the answer. Typically made to match kitchen cabinetry and 3 to 4 feet in width, drop zones often incorporate a recharging center, mail sorting, drop-off counter, plus cabinets and drawers for everything from flashlights to sunglasses. Some drop zones are designed with doors behind which everything is concealed. They may include one or more locking cabinet doors or drawers for expensive items such as a camcorder or notebook PC. They may also double as a family message center when outfitted with cork board or a white write-on board.

Stress-free living includes knowing you'll never lose your keys again and where your fully charged cell phone is when you leave the house.

Split Bedrooms

After a stressful day at work retreat to the master suite which is separated from secondary bedrooms for privacy. Designers typically try to buffer the master bedroom from other bedrooms by careful placement of closets, hallways and baths.

As opposed to designing a bedroom wing for the home, one-story designs in which the secondary bedrooms are situated far from the master bedroom are becoming more popular.

Split Vanities

Women take more time in the morning in the bathroom getting ready than men do. And, a fair amount of that time is spent leaning over the countertop. Split vanities provide handy storage solutions for items each spouse uses daily, keeping your vanity neat and organized. And, if one partner likes things clean and orderly while the other doesn’t even notice this type of thing, neither will be annoyed at the condition of their vanity area.

Recognizing that men are on average several inches taller than women, building the vanities to be different heights is another aspect of a comfortable, distressing bath.

Garden/Whirpool Tubs

When asked about what they would like to do to de-stress after a long day, many women envision taking a relaxing bath. The experience is both soothing and rejuvenating – especially when surrounded by aromatic candles and pretty soaps.

Standard tubs have given way to soaking tubs and jetted (whirlpool) tubs. Look at the height of the tub in terms of getting in and out. A step up, or sinking the tub 7 or 8 inches lower than the surrounding floor, both make it easier to get in and out of the tub. Another aspect to consider is if there is a window over the tub. Privacy is as important as natural light. How easy will it be to reach over the tub and close the shades? You may want to opt for glass block or for the new privacy glass windows which go from clear to opaque at the flip of a switch. Don’t forget for those long soaks – a built in heater. Nothings worse than having the water go cold after only getting through half a chapter in a book!

Craft/Gardening Area

How many times do you have a project spread out on the kitchen or dining room table? An area out of public view would take the stress out of constant picking up. Having room in the home to pursue these and other hobbies can contribute to distressing, especially if works-in-progress can be left undisturbed.

The primary considerations for such spaces are related to the type of activity. Gardening is ideally suited for an area with a sink in it and being close to an outside door. Sewing and needlework projects are enhanced by high light levels. Woodworking fits well with concrete floors for easy clean-up, plus plenty of electrical outlets for various power tools.

Outdoor Living

4-Seasons Room

Bringing the outside in and views to the outside are important to many people. Many of us work in an office all day, so we like to incorporate outside living into our lives at home. Whether the area is screened in, enclosed with windows or just an open patio, it is an important element to daily living.

When asked “what is your favorite place in your home?” a surprising number of people answer their porch or deck. If you can identify with this group, consider adding (operable) windows all around your outdoor living space along with supplemental baseboard heating, enabling you to enjoy this space anytime!

 

Most people long to spend time outdoors. This is good, as research shows being outside is beneficial for both our physical and mental health.

Like many other product decisions, balancing cost, aesthetics, low maintenance and durability are principal considerations for porches, decks and patios. But these same aspects also apply to landscaping and irrigation, exterior lighting, play structures and other backyard decisions. (insert picture of Lot 3 BW covered porch or Burgers)

Whatever your favorite pursuit, what things could you do with your home which would enhance the experience? How about special task lighting? This is sometimes a hard area to identify, simply because we learn to cope with the shortcomings inherent to our present situation. The answers lie in things which frustrate you when engaged in these activities.

STORAGE

Plan for Storing “Stuff”

Have you ever met someone who had too much storage space in their home? It’s probably never happened. For many of us, the lack of space, disorganization and clutter become significant sources of stress. In fact, according to published studies, Americans on average lose up to 150 hours every year looking for lost or misplaced items. Take control over your life and give yourself a little more time by addressing the storage opportunities of your home.

1. Linens One of the hallmarks of a wellthought-out homeplan is linen storage. Typically located in or near bath areas, will the linen closets/cabinets be adequate for extra pillows, comforters and sheet sets, as well as towels and washcloths? So many linens are oversized: towels, bedding, blankets. You don’t want to have to default to using other bathroom storage, taking away from places for blow dryers and personal care items.
2. Bikes, lawnmowers, sporting goods, etc. Its no secret that garages are getting bigger, and today’s larger vehicles are only part of the reason why. Four bicycles, golf clubs, every kind of ball imaginable, skates, scooters—all in a pile—yuck!
   
   Adequate storage makes the mess go away. Today’s garage systems help organize your garage and your life by having a place for tools, gardening supplies, sporting goods, etc.
   
3. Sizable bedroom closets. “More closet space” is one of the most often mentioned reasons for buying a new home. Stuff multiplies–we’re not sure how! But in addition to bigger closets, closet systems can actually help you organize and store twice as many items as the standard rod and shelf approach! Ventilated (wire) closet hanging systems have become very popular due to its flexibility and the ability for air to move between clothes and through shelving— keeping clothes fresher longer.
   
4. Games, holiday decorations. The day after Thanksgiving and it’s time for holiday decorations to come out. But where are they? Mixed up with St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Halloween!
   
   From Christmas trees and lights to Monopoly®, we want convenient places to keep our stuff. Storage solutions may include closets, or unfinished areas of the home.
5. Kitchen storage. Table settings for twelve, pots and pans, the 36-cup coffee maker, a dozen cans of tuna and gourmet cookbooks! Large families and packrats need lots of storage in the kitchen!
   
   With the kitchen as the activity hub in most homes, more thought should go into storage and serving issues. Will items be stored convenient to where they will be used? What about big pots and pans? Or, pretty dishware and other items you would like to display? Pantry storage for prepared foods? Only you know how you want your kitchen to function, so talk with a kitchen cabinet specialist regarding products and solutions available to create your dream kitchen!
6. Cell phones, keys, umbrellas, mail. A drop zone. Everybody needs one and everybody has one. It’s just that too many of us use a kitchen island, breakfast table or other area that just happens to be convenient to drop off keys, pocket change, the mail, cell phones, etc. Eliminate unsightly clutter by putting in a cabinet near the entry from the garage to organize these things. Be sure to incorporate a recharging center for cell phones and the video camera. You may also want to add a tall space for hanging umbrellas, and a cork board or write-on board to turn this into a message center as well.
   
   Stress-free living includes knowing you’ll never lose your keys again and where your fully charged cell phone is when you leave the house!
7. Long-term storage Johnny’s history is often in a box—baby clothes, baptism, first day of school, birthday cards, a brilliant essay, all kinds of awards. Until Johnny is old enough to take them off your hands, you have a storage challenge! Items with tremendous personal value but infrequently accessed need dry, long-term storage. Garage storage or unfinished areas of the home can be ideal long term storage spots. Be sure to use the right kind of containers—as cardboard boxes can deteriorate and contribute to a musty basement smell.
8. Bulk items/Cleaning supplies. We all love a good bargain, but where do you keep the jumbo 12-roll pack of paper towels? Or cleaning supplies, some of which need to be stored out of the reach of children? Ideally you would like to keep these items close to where they will be used. Convenient to the kitchen, a walk-in coat closet off the garage entry offers shelving for such items while in the laundry room, a broom closet and generous cabinetry offer plenty of additional storage.
9. Everyday coats, shoes, boots, etc. If you live in a cold winter climate, have a larger family or entertain frequently, you’ll appreciate adequate coat storage easily accessed from the front door, garage entry, or both. Nothing is more stressful than getting the family out the door with everything they need, on time in the morning. If you have lockers near the garage entry, that’s where the kids will find their lunches (or lunch money), backpacks, gym clothes, etc.

 

GARAGE STORAGE

Today’s garages are so much more than simply a place where cars are kept. As with homes overall, garages have become larger and are serving more purposes. In addition to auto supplies, garages are‘ home’ to lawn and garden products, tools, sports equipment, wintertime products, paint, and much more.

If, when parked in the garage, your daily commute to your car weaves around bikes, steps over garden tools and dodges dodge balls, you’re not alone. In fact, the stress associated with this reality has given rise to garage storage and organization systems becoming one of the hottest markets in both new construction and remodeling. The promise of a neat, tidy, organized garage is compelling both rationally and emotionally.

Whether you are building a new home, or looking to reorganize the garage of your existing home, the first step is to identify any activity zones, such as a workbench or a gardening center, as these may dictate specialized storage needs. Second, determine what you really want to keep in the garage. With an existing home, that means throwing some stuff away! Be prepared–you just may need to rent a dumpster for all that stuff that’s been collecting in your garage.

Knowing the activity zones and items which will be stored in the garage is the first step in designing your storage solution. With blueprints (or garage measurements) in hand, identify spaces along the walls which don’t interfere with opening the doors on your cars or walkways into the house. Sometimes there are also storage opportunities between parked vehicles or even overhead if your garage has a high ceiling.

Since keeping the garage reasonably clean is important from many perspectives (including safety, pest control and overall appearance,) you’ll want to get most items up and off the floor. Various garage wall storage systems are available, offering hanging for tools, shelving, cabinetry, and sporting goods storage options. Mobile storage—wheeled storage cabinets for example—address the same need as these units are easily moved to clean around.

he choice of open shelving vs. cabinet storage is often comes down to aesthetics, personal preference and price. Buanother consideration should be child safety. Sharp or dangerous items (pesticides, for example) are best kept in cabinets concealed from curious eyes. Optimally, these cabinets would be lockable.

Sporting goods, particularly bicycles, present their own challenges. With an active family, these frequently used items need to be readily available. But what do you do with four bikes? Garage organization suppliers offer numerous solutions which help store bikes out of the way, many times off the floor, yet are easily accessible. The far end of the garage (when parked, the wall closest to your car’s front bumper) offers a special storage opportunity, particularly for less frequently needed and larger items. Deep cabinets can be mounted high enough on the wall so that when you pull your car in, the hood clears underneath these cabinets.

Also, many innovative overhead storage products are becoming available.These solutions are ideal for seasonal storage (where do you store the Christmas lights and decorations for the other eleven months?) At the same time, you must consider safe accessibility. Climbing ladders to retrieve heavy or bulky items is obviously unwise. Though not strictly storage, one final issue merits its own consideration—guys who spend a lot of time in the garage pursuing hobbies or even watching TV while playing cards. If that’s you, don’t overlook heating (keeping your favorite space usable year-round); refrigeration (cold beverages, not frozen beverages); and even where to put the cable TV jack.

One final tip if you are going to install a garage storage system in your present home. After the dumpster is hauled away, you just might want to rent a U-Haul truck to store everything else from your garage during the installation of your new storage system!

Garage storage and organization systems are an excellent investment for your own sanity and peace of mind. They may also be an amenity that helps you someday resell your home for a higher price and in a quicker timeframe. You’ll never regret spending a little extra time carefully planning this aspect of your home!

FLEXIBLE LIVING SPACES

‘Change’ is all around us, having become the norm in American society. And as our lives change, we begin to appreciate homes which were designed to adapt to our changing situations. It’s called flexible design. Women are more likely than men to consider how a home will meet their family’s needs in the future. This is especially true for baby boomers, the so-called “sandwich generation,” who often find themselves caring for aging parents or welcoming adult children back home for a time. Home plans with a pair of adjacent secondary bedrooms shown as an optional guest suite score highly with baby boomers because they provide both private sleeping and living spaces.

Combine Rooms for In-Laws/Guest Suite

With the aging of America and boom-a-rang children, a house plan that can combine bedroom and a private bath makes a great suite. If the situation changes, the rooms can be used for other needs. Even more accommodating, some homeowners are utilizing a pair of adjacent secondary bedrooms as an in-law suite. Such arrangements offer considerable privacy, with the in-law suite offering both a sleeping area and its own living space as well.

Kid’s Playroom

Whether it is your own family, company with children, or neighborhood kids, it is always important that you find a place for a playroom. It helps with everyone’s sanity to keep the noise and toys away from adults.

Ironically, a kids playroom just might be one of your most prized luxuries in your new home. By having most of their toys, games, puzzles, etc. in this one room, keeping the rest of the house presentable an achievable reality!

Home Schooling Room

Increasingly popular, home schooling parents have a particular challenge with today’s more open home designs–the need for privacy so their kids can concentrate on their studies or tests. When planning this space, consider storage, workspaces, lighting (especially natural light) and computer hook-ups.

Ideally, a room in the home can be dedicated to schooling. More often, it will double as a school room and serve another purpose at other times, so make sure the space is flexible. Pay particular attention to floor coverings if school or other activities are likely to include messy projects, crafts, etc.

A significant number of today’s buyers are blended families. These buyers are especially interested in home plans that provide suitable bathroom arrangements for boys and girls coming from different families.

Especially when combining boys and girls from two families into one new family, thought needs to be given regarding bedroom and bathroom accommodations. Everyone needs a sense of privacy and a sense of space which they can call their own. And when it comes to sharing a bathroom, dual lavatories are a big plus, as is a toilet/shower area separate from the lavs.

Bedroom/Bath Arrangements for Blended Families

When it comes to sharing a bathroom, at a minimum, women in these families are looking for a compartmented bath with the toilet/shower area separate from the lavs. Private vanities are even better. An emerging trend may well be private 1/2 baths with only the tub/shower space shared.

Home Offices (His and Her)

Kevin and Tina both work at home. Sharing an office is not working so they found a plan that gives them his and her offices. They can work in their own spaces but more than that; it makes for a pleasant marriage.

People who succeed in working from home attest to the importance of having a dedicated home office space where they can focus on their work. Today’s economy coupled with downsizing and early retirement is giving birth to numerous cottage industries. The type of work you do out of your home will dictate your space needs. Pay careful attention to storage and any special wiring, as well as privacy.

Formal Dining

Candlelight, soft music, ample room for guests and great conversation make dinner parties a delight. The formal dining room also makes an excellent backdrop for a great dining room suite. Since entertaining inevitably involves food. Look at how you home enhances the dining experience. Be mindful of seating, which always becomes an issue. Homes designed with an open floorplan, especially ones in which the dining room flows uninterrupted into a great room, offer numerous entertaining options.

Room to Grow

An item no one wants to think about is outgrowing their home. But the reality is that family situations change and our needs and wants for space in the home change too. The solution? Unfinished areas of the home, especially on a second level or over a garage or in a basement.

You may not need this space when you first move into your home, but it will give you room to add a bedroom, media room, playroom, etc. Families can grow into these spaces and configure them as the need arises, without having the initial cost of finishing the space affecting their mortgage qualifications or mortgage payment.

 

Example Purposes Only

 

To some extent, we’ve all grown up with the ‘flexible’ concept, such as when we turned a spare bedroom into a ‘TV room’ by replacing the bed with a sofa and chair. But flexible design goes further than that–having a lot to do with how rooms are accessed and what other rooms they are adjacent to. While flexible living doesn’t change the footprint of a home, it does encourage looking for ways to change spaces to meet a particular need. It typically also involves minor changes to the design, such as adding, removing or repositioning doors, closets, shelving, etc.

The example plan to the left illustrates the flex room concept well. This efficient design works nicely for many buyer profiles, from singles to couples to smaller families. It will also accommodate larger families when built on a basement foundation and part of the basement space is finished.

A flex room is so labeled to suggest buyers themselves determine how the space will be used. Many people would envision the flex room in this home used as a third bedroom (see illustration above right) When doing so, the passage to the kitchen is eliminated and the entrance into this space is via an alcove and door conveniently placed near the bathroom. Statistics also show that after being launched out on their own, “half of our adult children return home within 30 months, sometimes bringing a spouse or child back with them.” Middle adulthood may also mean moving in aging parents no longer able to live independently. With the adjacent bath, this flex room converts nicely as a modest suite.

Another likely utilization of the flex space in this design would be as a formal dining room. At 14' x 10" the room is nicely proportioned for an oval table. The entry pillars, 10' high boxed ceiling and double window enhances the dining experience, as does the easy kitchen connection. A quick review of this homeplan elicited uses ranging from “media room,” “library,” and “music room” to “a home-schooling room”. If a media room, extra soundproofing measures will mean some of the guys can be in there watching the big game, while others enjoy conversation in the family room and kitchen. Home schoolers, on the other hand, would appreciate plenty of shelving. For even more flexibility, a Murphy bed (one which folds up into the wall) or a day bed means the same space can serve multiple purposes as needed.

But more common was to hear people express their intention that the flex space would become a den or home off ice. Abundant natural light has been shown to enhance concentration and reduce stress, so in addition to the double window, consider adding a skylight. In addition to eliminating the passageway to the kitchen, a pair of full-lite French doors could be added to close off the space when privacy is desired.

You may also want to consider turning bedroom #2, the flex room and bath into a full guest suite. Well-separated from the master suite, either bedroom #2 or the flex room can function as the actual bedroom, with the other room being a private living space for your guest, boomerang child or elderly parent. This arrangement also services another emerging trend–an elderly or widowed sibling coming to live with you.

Designs which embody such flexibility are in demand by basestyle. How you intend to use the space is entirely up to you. But thinking about how a home’s design can adapt to your future needs should be a prime consideration before you build.

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