OUtdoor living/kitchen areas

Outdoor kitchen and living areas.  Ah does that not make you think of nice warm temperatures and being outside.  After what some I know have had a long cold winter.  Outdoor areas are a great addition to your house, or if you are going to build a house you should give it some serious consideration.  Just pick up any home magazine and you will see they are becoming increasingly popular rooms.  It definitely brings about a great and exciting cook out experience as well as just plain fun.  You might think that this is just a seasonal area and maybe not worth the cost, but depending on where you live you may can enjoy it several months out of the year.  In the last 2-3 years in some of our custom houses we are seeing more of a request for these areas.  We have put built in fireplaces, as well as hook ups for flat screen TVs and stereo hook ups.  We also have a contractor that installs motorized screens that roll up on a canister and disappear into the ceiling making a completely controlled room. Now you want to talk about a room that you can control the fly, mosquito’s, and the wind and really enjoy that is one you can.  The enormous growth in these rooms have created many different products in which to choose from.  You can go as simple as a free standing barbque grill to an elaborate built in model with a stainless steel exhaust hood above.  When designing an area such as this it is very important that you take the weather conditions in your area into account for the materials that you use for your room.  There are such advantages to an outdoor area, spending quality time with friends and family being right up at the top of the list.  One last thing to consider, you may find that you have friends you weren’t aware of when they find out what a wonderful space you have created but what the heck life is to short not to enjoy there company so good luck with your project and happy grilling.

Kitchen design

Ever notice when you go to a party or a dinner at friends or family’s house or if they come to yours everybody seems to congregate around the kitchen area.  Besides the obvious that is where you can sometimes catch a sample and enjoy the good smell of food, I believe that people just tend to like to socialize there.  People just want to be in the middle of the action and that is where it starts.  People that don’t normally cook a bit at their home a lot of times likes to roll up their sleeves and lend a helping hand.  A great kitchen design goes a long way in how all of these people can enter-twine with each other and things get done.  When we are designing house plans to build for clients the number one request is they want a open kitchen lay out and if possible to have a big center island to work and prepare things at.  Our company not only designs the plans but also we have our own in house carpenters that build all the cabinets in our new homes.  Solid surface counter-tops are a must in virtually every home we build.  Roll out drawers once considered only for a luxury kitchen are certainly finding there way into just about all price ranges of kitchens built today.  Stainless steel appliances are  very highly requested and a very nice look.  Most of the upper end kitchens in our houses that we build will have a nice custom stain on maple cabinetry with a glaze finish to give it a very nice furniture look.  So next time you are invited to a get together, and everyone is in that kitchen hopefully the people that brought all of the design together was thinking of you, I know we do.