Sunday, July 6, 2014

Parade of Homes 2014

Happy 4th of July weekend everybody!   I picture you surrounded by family and friends, under a big shade-tree watching the fire engines come down Main St during a 4th of July parade.  Doesn't that sound nice?  Who doesn't love a parade?!

Me.  That's who.

No, I've never been one for parades.  They're always the same in my book.  You've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Until now....

Have you ever heard of the Parade of Homes

Now that's my kind of parade!

If you aren't familiar with the Parade of Homes, it is put on by the Builders Association to showcase builders, contractors, and designer's talents through newly built homes in the area.  And they invite the public to come check them out!

I was bound and determined to go this year since I have missed the past several years!

We went with a couple of friends too and I forewarned them...  I said, "Now guys, I just want to apologize in advance - I may get a bit overly excited and I just want you to know I can't be held responsible for the amount of enthusiasm you are about to see.  Please prepare yourselves."

So let me take you on through the highlights of 5 homes that we toured during this year's Parade of Homes.  I'm keeping comments positive and I ask that you do as well... these are real people's homes, after all. 

Note: I apologize for some of the picture quality.  I was using my iphone. 

House #1


The Exterior: Loving the blue shake siding, copper mail box, the unobstructed views from the back patio

The Entryway: Loving the door with sidelights, tall ceilings, huge arched window, and awesome light fixture.

The Kitchen: Loving the cream cabinets with dark knobs, the microwave drawer (across from the sink), and the granite countertop (reminds me of my parent's). pretty!



The Living Room: Loving the fireplace with stone all the way up to the ceiling...and Despicable Me (it's so fluffy I'm gonna die!!)

The Master Bedroom: Loving the oh-so-grown-up bed

The Master Bathroom: Loving the river rock floor tile and big soaker tub

Other Bedrooms: Loving the wire headboard (so sweet) and the upholstered bed frame


Other Bathrooms: Loving that shower curtain and the powder room mirror - not to mention that cool stone for the powder room vanity!

The Basement: Loving the bar area and the earthy and cozy family space
  
The Laundry Room: Loving everything! The tile, the board and batten wainscoting, and especially those little dog cabinet pulls! I mean if you can't have fun with your door knobs in the laundry room, then where can you?

The Mudroom: Loving the beadboard (duh) with hooks and the modified craftsman trim around the door

House #1 did not disappoint! It was sophisticated yet looked like a family could live there comfortably.  The stand out room?  It was a close race between the entryway and the laundry room.  But the laundry room probably wins out for me with the super-duper-cute dog cabinet pulls. 

The next house on the tour was actually a condo.  Check it out!


House #2


The Living Space: Loving the open concept! 

The Bedrooms: Loving the wicker headboard, the playful drapes, and the cool blue master bedroom

The Sun Porch: Loving the slatted walls and ceiling and the cool breeze that was coming through the screened in porch.  I never thought I was a screened in porch kind of girl until now! We may just have to work that into our future plans for our home!

This condo was awesome! If we ever were looking for a condo, I'd choose this one! What I did not have pictures of was the fact that there was an entire HUGE unfinished basement.  I mean it was enormous! So much potential down there! The stand out room? Again I am torn.  I love that bright and happy bedroom with the natural woven headboard.  But as hot and humid as it was the day we were touring, and as pleasant as it felt out on that screened in porch... well, that sun porch made me a believer in screened in porches. 

The next house is located in a subdivision that so many wonderful people that we know live in.  So it already started out on a good note.  I mean, its all about location location location...right?...and this house comes with some amazing neighbors!

House #3 


The Exterior: Loving the lights and garage doors

The Kitchen: Loving: the grey glazed cabinets (looking a bit green in this photo but they were grey and pretty...).  The countertop was a quartz and a slightly different version of what we have in our kitchen.
 See?  Robin is giving it two thumbs up too!

The Living Area:  Loving the open concept, the wood floors, the columns leading to the sunroom Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture of the actual living room because there were people sitting on the couches...and I couldn't just say "Excuse me, unless you want your picture featured on my blog, you better skedaddle." It just didn't seem polite.

 The Master Bedroom: Loving the teal and navy color scheme

The Master Bath: Loving the shower with the built in cubbies.  Not to mention it is big enough for a group selfie!
Note: this shower is not equipped with proper selfie lighting.

The Mudroom: Loving the place for baskets above and below

The major standout room? I think it was a clear winner with these built-ins in the mudroom with the storage cubbies above and below.

The next home was clearly built for an older couple... the ultimate grandparent's home! Tons of space! Something I didn't get a picture of was a door from the garage directly down to the basement.  Cool, huh? Wonder how often you would use that?  Probably more than you'd think!

House #4


The Exterior: Loving the large white column and trim around entryway as well as cornices over the windows


The Kitchen/Breakfast area: Loving the open floor plan


The Living Room: Loving the huge windows. gorgeous.

 The Master Bathroom: Loving that is was big enough for another group selfie (this time properly equipped with better selfie lighting... those grandparents.. always trying to stay up with the latest trends!)
 Watch out for that crazy eyebrow!

The Master Closet: Loving that it's HUGE!!! and bonus: it wrapped around and led to the laundry room.

The Basement: Loving the fireplace in the basement! And I sincerely hope that that is a painting of their dogs. 
The stand out room? Definitely the exterior.  I just love the beautiful trim around the entrance, the shake siding, the stone work, and the window cornices.  All together.. A+ exterior!

Ready for house #5?

There is one more home that we saw and, ladies and gentlemen, you do not want to miss it! We almost didn't see it since it was so far away.  But I'm so glad we made the trip! So I will be back on Wednesday to show you this home.  That's right! Another bonus Wednesday post!  And I'll just let you know that the house on Wednesday's post is almost 7,000 square feet and decorated beautifully! Get excited! And see you Wednesday!
What's your favorite house featured?  What was a stand out room for you?  Anything you'd love to recreate for your own home?

Don't miss a beat.  
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