Home Building
and Design Articles and Resources
from Design
Basics, Inc. and our publication Her Home Magazine
There's more to selecting "the perfect" home
plan than counting the square feet, bedrooms
and baths. Choosing a plan for the place
you'll one day call home is a very personal
endeavor -- one of careful self-examination
of the way you live on a daily basis -- your
lifestyles, habits, likes and dislikes.
The articles included here will cause you to think about
issues you might not otherwise consider when it comes
to living in a home. You may even catch a reflection
of yourself between the lines. In fact, we hope you
do, because a closer look at how you live will bring
you closer to discovering the home plan that's right
for you!
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| General
Interest and Design |
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Flex
Appeal
What makes you feel most welcome when you're an
overnight guest? I like being shown to a cozy,
tucked-away room with a bed dressed up in catalog
linens and a down duvet, adjoining a full bath
stocked with fluffy towels and wrapped soaps.. More...
Less
is More
Waxing and waning since its beginnings in the latter
half of the 20th century, contemporary home design
is currently enjoying a renewed popularity. Demanding
careers and hectic lifestyles have led many homeowners
to embrace its clean, simple lines. Often suffering
from “opportunity overload,” they find respite
in homes with less fuss and fewer details. More...
You
Can't Judge a House by its Cover
Whether it's hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes
or high-wind storms, most of us are living in an
area that is subject to one or more of these types
of natural disasters. Unfortunately as we've seen
or experienced, these events can be extremely destructive,
often causing significant damage to homes and communities.
There are ways, however, that you can help protect
your home from the forces of Mother Nature. More...
10
Things to Consider Before You Sign
on the Dotted Line
Making the decision to build a new home is a thrilling
prospect. For many, it is the realization of a
dream. But many potential new home owners don’t
realize that some of the decisions made after signing
a contract would be less expensive and better negotiated
if they researched their needs before inking the
deal. More...
10
Things to Remember After You Sign
the Contract!
Lessons From Real-Life Experiences, Part Two. Lisa
Albrecht shares more lessons she's learned while
building her dream home. In the second part of
her journey, Lisa provides advice for the framing
stage. More...
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| Woman-Centric
Design |
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Woman-Centric
Home Design
Shame on us at Design Basics! Sure, we were already
the nation’s largest home plan design firm
in terms of providing home plans to professional
builders, but it wasn’t until January, 2003
that we actually “got it.” Women are
the target market for homebuilders! Therefore,
women are ultimately our target market at Design
Basics!.
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| Flexible
Living Spaces |
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Creating
the Home Office that is Right for
You!
Have it Your Way
It’s no wonder millions of Americans are
now working from home. Unlike a commercial
office, a home office can reflect your personality,
likes and dislikes. Having a completely individualized
work space can make the difference between having
to work and wanting to work. In fact, after
moving home, you may find yourself staying at your
desk a little longer – which balances out
time-wise since there’s no commuting! More...
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Creating
the Ideal Workspace
With an estimated
50 million people now working at home, an
awareness has emerged that the quality
of the home workplace counts - not
only for efficiency, comfort, and safety,
but for the sheer pleasure of being
there. More...
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Hobby
Rooms
Creative Get-Away Spaces
You’ve probably heard the saying, “I’m
not messy – I’m creative.” You
may have said it yourself, but, imagine a home
without interesting piles here and there. Imagine
a home with a well-laid out hobby room. More...
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The
In-Law Suite
The Ideal Solution for a Multi-Generational
Suite
According to the 2000 Census, 3.9 million American
homes have three or more generations living together.
(Seventy-eight thousand households contain four
generations.) “One segment of
this growing population is baby boomers caring
for aging parents, ” notes Linda Reimer,
president of Design Basics, Inc., one of the largest
home plan companies in the country. More...
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| Kitchen
Design |
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The
Organized Kitchen
For many years, dishes, utensils, cookware and
supplies were organized by groups. Since today’s
kitchens are often arranged by zones determined
by function (e.g., prep, cooking, baking, serving,
clean-up zones), point-ofuse storage has become
a practical way to save steps and time. Of course,
the storage requirements for each zone vary from
family to family. More...
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Kitchen
Essentials
Creating a kitchen people will want to
live in. Whether it's one person
preparing a sophisticated gourmet meal
or the whole family pitching in on a hurried
supper - enjoying a cup of coffee with
the morning paper or casually entertaining
a group of friends - paying bills at the
computer or helping a youngster with homework
...homeowners are spending more time in
their kitchens. More...
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| Bath
Room Design |
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The
Best Bathroom Ideas
Courtesy of
Her Home Magazine. Bathrooms were once
utilitarian rooms not much bigger than
closets. Today, a stroll through a
bath showroom or a quick look through
a home design book or magazine will
prove those days are long gone. More...
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In
The Bath
Of
all the rooms in our homes, kitchens
and baths (especially master baths) have
changed the most dramatically over the
years. More...
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| Exterior
Design, Siding, & Color Choices |
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Exquisite
Exteriors
What are the most common mistakes
homeowners make when choosing exterior
paint colors? What opportunities
do homeowners commonly miss when selecting
and placing colors on their homes' exteriors? These
questions and others are answered with "Tips
for Choosing a Color Scheme." More...
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Carefree
Exteriors
Good-Looking, Time-Saving Products
for your Home. What’s behind
the trend toward low-maintenance products
for the home? We went one-on-one with
home buyers and builders to discover
the perceptions and values behind the
surge. The insights just might surprise
you! More...
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Garage
Doors
The biggest doors don't have to be boring. Not
your ordinary door. the architectural styling
of each of these homes is greatly enhanced
by thoughtful door selections. More...
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French
Country
Viva la Difference. Their
architecture is no exception. So it's
not particularly surprising that French
Country homes are becoming as popular
as the latest styles from Paris.
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The
Craftsman Home
SOLID AND SECURE. WARM AND INVITING. Such
are the words that describe-what has become
the "comfort food" of American
residential architecture - the Craftsman
home. More...
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| Baby
Boomers, Empty Nesters, & Retirement |
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When
Smaller is Smarter
Retirement's just around the corner.
Their 2,700 square foot two-story served
its purpose well, but it's been too big
for the two of them for years. They want
to build a new home. Something they can
live in for a long time -maybe forever.
What's it look like? More...
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New
Homes for Aging Boomers
Throughout their lives, baby boomers
have viewed the world and lived their
lives differently than other generations.
So it’s not surprising that as
they reach middle age, their dream retirement
home also differs from that of their
predecessors. More...
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| General
Design Topics |
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Log
Homes
They're Not Just for Daniel Boone Anymore. It's
probably safe to say that most of us
reading this article grew up with an
image of log homes as the rustic places
where we sometimes stayed on family vacations,
or Daniel Boone's cabin on TV. At the
time, that image was pretty accurate,
but in the late 1970's things started
to change with the beginning of a revival
of log homes as actual homes. More...
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.The
ABC's of Construction Financing
It begins with finding a great location
and ends with the finished home. Sounds
simple enough, but building a new home
is a large and time-consuming undertaking. More...
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Springs
New Beginnings
Of
all the seasons in a year, none quite
embrace the optimism of springtime. It
is a time when everything in nature speaks
of a new beginning: trees and flowers
begin to blossom, brown, matted lawns
change to green as new sprouts push their
way to the light, and singing birds return
from their winter vacations. Spring is
an optimistic, fresh start for the year,
with a great deal of anticipation for
the warm weather ahead. First-time
home buyers experience something quite
similar to the spring season. More...
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Seasons
of Life - Living Summer's Journey
It is a time that bustles with activity,
as blossoms turn to fruit before our
very eyes. With its rapid growing season
that lasts just a few months out of the
year, it's quite comparable to the life-
stage of those who are busily raising
their families. In the fullness of their
summer season, today's families spend
their time attending soccer games and
dropping kids off to dance, while trying
to remember to call a baby-sitter for
the spouse's company golf outing next
Saturday. Though all the rushing around
makes many long for simplicity, most
wouldn't trade this time in their life
for anything. And as families grow and
to "move up" becomes a priority,
one activity parents won't want to rush
is their selection of a home in which
they'll raise their children. More...
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