Highlight Homes

Highlight Homes Takes a Closer Look at the Renovation and Home Decor Predictions for the New Year

Warm and Welcoming Wide Open Spaces

This is a trend we’re particularly excited about at Highlight Homes! As homeowners with older homes featuring cramped quarters look to renovation professionals to knock down walls and re-imagine their living spaces, Highlight Homes stands at the ready. Our experience in structural engineering makes us a great fit for homeowners who wish to create warm and welcoming wide open spaces – a terrific option for growing families and/or couples who love to entertain.

Brighter, More Daring Color Palettes

With the release of Pantone’s Color Palette for 2013, paint manufacturers take some cues from these bright and bold hues. While Pantone’s Emerald 17-5641 moves to center stage as the 2013 Color of the Year, other bright and happy shades like Monaco Blue, Poppy Red, African Violet and Lemon Zest have a strong presence in fashion and home décor leading into the New Year.

Go Bold Prints

Home décor often reflects the trends that first appear on fashion runways the world over. This year is no exception as bold prints are on the forefront on both stages. Stripes, polka dots and splashy colorful prints will be all the rage in home accents and accessories.

Kitchen & Bath Remodels Continue to Reign Supreme

As in recent years, kitchen and bath remodels will continue to make up the largest portion of our business. Homeowners know both represent a wise investment – not only are these spaces well-used by various members of the family, they are spaces that potential buyers will pay close attention to when it comes time to sell. Historically, kitchen and bath remodels represent a strong return on investment.

Let’s Take it Outside

For centuries, man has been drawn to the Great Outdoors. SO why change that primeval pull for 2013? Outdoor living spaces that are comprised of fenced in yards, lavish landscaping, sprawling decks and patios for entertaining, tranquil water features, brick and stone hearths, and deep set living room-inspired seating are still trending extremely strong in the New Year.

One Big Happy Family

As witnessed in the rapidly growing 2012 trend toward dual master suites, the placement of an in-law suite over a detached garage, and the finishing of basements complete with a kitchen and full bathroom all signal a rise in multi-generational living. By creating a space that’s all their own, families are able to welcome senior members seamlessly into the home.

Function Meets Fashion

With more and more homeowners expressing concern over their renovations in the all-important area of function over form, Highlight Homes is happy to announce that function and fashion can go hand in hand. Our design-build team welcomes the opportunity to work closely with the clients we serve to make intelligent choices with regard to things like storage options, material choices and room flow.

A Touch of Glass

In bathrooms and kitchens everywhere, glass is making a comeback. From textured glass backsplashes to colorful mosaics, Highlight Homes invites you to add a “touch of glass” to your home renovation

Time Travelling

While Highlight Homes tends to lean toward timeless, classic designs in the majority of our home renovations, it’s apparent that the trend toward retro looks from previous decades are very solid leading into 2013. With obvious influences from the 1920’s to the 1970’s, Art Deco leads the throwback pack.

Eco-Friendly Environment

As a proud green builder and member of the Green Building Council of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, we’re particularly excited about this continuing trend. From appliances with a five-star energy rating to energy efficient windows and doors to kitchen and bath fixtures designed for water conservation, this is a concept we whole-heartedly embrace. Not only is it good for the planet and good for your family, it will serve as a terrific selling point when it comes time to put your home on the market.

To schedule a no-obligation consultation with our talented design-build team, we encourage you to contact us by calling 678.873.9234, e-mailing us at info@highlighthomesga.com, or filling out our helpful online contact form.  If you’d like to stay on top of the latest trends, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and/or “like” us on Facebook. To learn more about Highlight Homes or view a virtual portfolio of our work, please visit us online at www.highlighthomesga.com.

Image credit: © digitalart/freedigitalphotos.net

For the final installment of Shades and Highlights for 2012, we at Highlight Homes feel it’s only fitting to shine the light on a few of the people and companies who had a hand in our continued success this year!  Behind every beautiful and unique renovation we create, there is a broad network of affiliates and collaborators to whom we are incredibly grateful.  To each of them, to our clients, and to our readers – we wish you a very Happy Holiday Season and all the best for the New Year!

Perk-n-Pooch – COMING SOON! – Our latest project has been an exciting one!  Highlight Homes isn’t solely about building incredible custom homes and designing one-of-a-kind renovations.  We have also em”barked” on our fair share of commercial projects. New to the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area, this coffee house-slash-dog wash will be well-received by local four-legged fans and the humans who love them.  Once they open their doors – if you happen to be in the neighborhood, be sure to visit them at 6690 Roswell Road, Suite 360 in Sandy Springs!  Tell ‘em Highlight Homes sent you!

Sarina Roth of Never the Rock Photography – Our tireless go-to photographer takes the most exquisite magazine-quality photos of our renovation projects. Not only is her amazing work featured on our Pinterest page, but it’s also showcased in a recent article that features Highlight Homes in the AJC!  In addition to commercial work, Sarina also specializes in beautiful lifestyle portraits, magazine covers, headshots, newborn and child photography, and pet portraits.

Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association’s Green Building Council – For the past year, our fearless leader – Tony Pourhassan – has been proud to serve alongside other builders and renovators who are dedicated to promoting and implementing Green Building practices in the state of Georgia. As both a developer and builder, Tony has long been a proponent of green building and it shows with his involvement in the Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design for Homes (LEED-H) Program, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Green Building Program, the Energy Star Program, and the Earth Craft House Program. He was most honored to take part in the White House Energy, Environment and Conservation Roundtable in January 2012.

Here at Highlight Homes, we’re familiar with the concept of “true loves” giving the gift of a stunning home renovation to their spouse and the other members of their family. After all, a professionally crafted and beautifully imagined remodel is a gift that keeps right on giving.  In the event that you find yourself stuck trying to figure out what to give your loved ones this holiday season, we’ve come up with a few suggestions. 12 to be exact…

1. 

   Kitchen Renovation: “Spice” up the look and feel of the heart of your home – a great gift for the spouse who loves to cook and entertain (not to mention, it’s a renovation that often equates to a good return on investment when it comes time to sell.)

2. Bathroom Remodel: Rather than allow it to live up to the name “necessary room,” why not transform your master and/or guest bathroom into one of your favorite rooms of the house – a relaxing luxury retreat with spa influences.
3. Basement Finishing: Need more space to spread out?  A well-done basement finishing could be a gift the whole family can enjoy. Consider it a blank canvas and imagine all of the possibilities!
4. Outdoor Retreat: While it might be cold and dreary outside right now, come springtime – the Great Outdoors will be beckoning.  From a new swimming pool or water feature to the incorporation of a stacked stone hearth or outdoor kitchen, now is the time to build a unique open-air oasis for entertaining and relaxing.
5. Sunroom: If you love to LOOK at the outdoors, but don’t necessarily enjoy the sweltering heat or pollen that accompanies spring and summer in Atlanta – a sunroom might be the ideal solution for enjoying the scenery during all four seasons.
6. Man Cave: It’s a trend that doesn’t appear to be going away.  Men like the IDEA of having their own spaces, even if it ends up being shared with all of the other members of the household. Look to his favorite sports teams and hobbies for inspiration, and we’ll help you pull something unique and special together for that man in your life.
7. Home Theater: Another popular trend that continues to be a box-office smash, the home theater is great for families who love to watch movies together and host fun theater-themed gatherings.
8. New Façade: You may LOVE the interior of your home, but the exterior could use a little help. A brand new façade could completely change the look of the front of your home – like an extreme makeover.  If you’ve always wanted a rocking chair front porch, this could be the perfect answer!
9. Room Addition: Between growing families and aging parents, it can be easy to outgrow the current rooms of your home. Rather than put their beloved home on the market and hunt down a larger house, more and more homeowners are opting for a room addition. From building a top floor onto a ranch home or detached garage, finishing an attic space, or constructing a new room onto your existing floorplan – the Highlight Homes’ team has the structural engineering expertise to add a new living space to your home that looks as though it has always been there.
10. Home Maintenance Overhaul: While it may not be as exciting as a home renovation, a home maintenance overhaul will give you and your spouse something we ALL want – peace of mind.
11. Whole Home Renovation: In the event that you live in an older or outdated home, you may not want to stop with just one room. A whole home renovation may contain several elements of the aforementioned remodels – giving your entire home a fresh new look.  It’s a great way to fall in love with your home all over again!
12. Gift Certificate for the Home Renovation of their Choice: Highlight Homes is happy to send you a gift certificate to go towards a future home renovation.  A great stocking stuffer idea!!!

As our gift to YOU, Highlight Homes is giving away a $500 gift card to Home Depot, Lowes, or Bed Bath & Beyond to new clients who sign a contract* for a home renovation before December 31, 2012!  HURRY before this offer comes to a close! To order a gift certificate or schedule a no-obligation consultation, we encourage you to contact us by calling 678.873.9234, e-mailing us at info@highlighthomesga.com, or filling out our helpful online contact form.  To learn more about Highlight Homes or view a virtual portfolio of our work, please visit us online at www.highlighthomesga.com.

Trends can be very exciting!  Sometimes they virtually reinvent the way we view a home renovation – for example, the incorporation of earth-friendly elements and products in recent years, and sometimes they are merely a flash-n-the-pan fad – as seen in the 1970’s with shag carpeting and avocado green appliances.  Highlight Homes was thrilled to embrace many of the design trends of 2012 by incorporating them into the homes of our clients. While we look ahead to more exciting changes for 2013 in the design and renovation universe, we also pay homage to the trends of the past year – all of which we believe are here to stay.

White Kitchens

According to the color experts at Pantone, white exudes an impression of “clean and pure” – both great elements for any kitchen. White also adds a light and airy feel to the heart of the home. It takes on the role of a splendid neutral that works well with a rainbow of colors. Black and white together often exude a sense of luxury, shades of neutral and white can have a calming effect, and brights with white can add an air of playfulness to any room. Whites can come in a number of hues – from the striking snow and white whites to a richer ivory or eggshell white. When dealing with confined areas, white can help make a small space look larger. It can add a chic vibe to a contemporary kitchen or a romantic feel to a more traditional room. Highlight Homes witnessed a major uptick in the requests for white and ivory cabinetry over the classic cherry and oak in 2012. One of our favorite renovations of the year was a striking white kitchen remodel in Newnan.

Spa-Inspired Bathrooms

While this one is not a new trend for 2012, it is one we saw virtually explode over the past 12 months. No matter what you call it – lavatory, washroom, powder room, toilet, little girl’s/boy’s room, outhouse, potty, privy or the john – the number one trend that continuing to sweep the nation in bathroom remodeling is the transformation from a “necessary” room into a luxury retreat, something more worthy of the title “REST”room. By incorporating elements one might find in a spa – oversized soaking tubs, shower conversions into steam chambers, soft lighting paired with tranquil neutral walls, elegant fixturing, European tile flooring and more – more and more homeowners are able to view their bathrooms as a place of relaxation and peace… a place where they can wash away the stresses of the day, calmly gear up for the day ahead or get all dolled up for an evening on the town.

Outdoor Hearths

Perhaps one of the hottest trends out there (no pun intended), the outdoor hearth offers the ideal focal point for any outdoor living space.  It can be as simple as a firepit surrounded by multi-colored Adirondack chairs – perfect for roasting marshmallows and swapping ghost stories, or as dramatic as a towering stacked stone fireplace with mantle – the showcase piece for the entire backyard. Outdoor hearths not only create atmosphere and add an air of romance to your oasis, they can be practical additions by enhancing the light and warmth of the space – increasing its enjoyment to all four seasons.

Dual Master Suites

An unusual request we’ve been hearing more and more from homeowners is the development of a second master suite in their home. This space could be used by friends who wish to co-own a home, as a spacious bedroom/apartment for aging parents, as guest quarters that will secure one’s title as “hostess with the mostest”, a second bedroom for a spouse who snores, or a special space for a family member who is combating a terminal illness.  No matter the reasons behind it, early study show that this trend could prove lucrative for the homeowner when it comes time to sell.

If you are considering a kitchen or bath transformation, wish to warm up your outdoor living space, or hope to re-envision your home’s layout by incorporating a second master suite, we encourage you to contact the experienced design-build team at Highlight Homes. We can be reached via e-mail at info@highlighthomesga.com, by phone at 678.873.9234, or through our convenient online contact form. To learn more about Highlight Homes, view a complete list of services we provide, and sneak a peek at our online portfolio, we invite you to visit us online!