Monday, January 12, 2009

Home Improvement Magazines and Stores are Good Design

By Cadell Derbing

Whether you know a lot about homebuilding or just have some ideas of how you want your new home to look and function, you are an important member of the team designing and building your home. Contributing to the layout and building plan in the design phase will ensure that you realize your dream of living in the perfect home for you and your family. Increasing numbers of new homeowners are taking this approach by actively working with their building contractor and designer.

You may already have some good ideas of what you want to manifest in your design, or you may be starting from scratch and in need of inspiration. Outlined below are some sources of ideas for you to see what is available and how it would work for you.

Visit Open Houses

This first step can be a fun way to spend an afternoon on the weekend, as well as a free source of good ideas for your project. You can check out houses in your price range, as well as those that are more expensive, just to see what an additional investment can buy. Some ideas in very high-end homes can be adapted to other price level building with little or no loss of quality. You can also see what appeals to other potential buyers who are touring the same home, and what pitfalls to avoid. This can be important in terms of preserving market value in your new home design. You may also have access to the expertise of a wide variety of realtors and agents in terms of what works for most families and what appeals to the real estate market. Don't be afraid to pick their brian!

Magazines and Stores

Think of those glossy home improvement and lifestyle magazines as compact stores for you to window shop in from the comfort of your living room. These magazines were created to give you ideas for your design and should be considered even if on the surface they seem out of reach for your lifestyle.

You can tear out and collect pages that have elements of what your are looking for in your new home, and the juxtaposition of different magazine photos can stimulate brand new ideas that have never before been seen in any magazine or in anyone else's home. From furnishing to that unique window covering idea, the possibilities are endless. Isn't this ability to be one of a kind an important reason you decided to build rather than purchase an existing home anyway?

For a "hands-on", three-dimensional feel for what different elements look like and how they work, nothing beats a visit to your local home improvement store. They have set up mock kitchens, baths, and entryways to give you a real feeling for how their products function together in a realistic setting. As they say, take what you like and leave the rest.

Rather than sitting back and waiting for someone else to come up with the home of your dreams, isn't it time to get out there and participate in that once in a lifetime opportunity to create the perfect space for you and your family to live and enjoy life? With a little work and imagination, your dearm home can become a reality.

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