Ideas, Tips, Advice, Oh My!

​With the holiday season rapidly approaching, you have the perfect opportunity to show off your new custom home by hosting a party. With so many ugly sweater parties and white elephant gift exchanges that seem to take over the party circuit this time of year, hosting a wine and cheese party at your home will be a much welcomed and refreshing change.

Given that our climate in Central Florida allows for year-round outdoor entertainment, we see a number of homeowners choose to put in a swimming pool.

If you're currently in the early stages of the custom home building process and are considering putting in a swimming pool at your new home, you'll want to give some careful thought to the lot that you select. This is one of the reasons why it's a good idea to walk a prospective lot with a builder to best determine if it will be able to accommodate your needs, such as a swimming pool. ​

As we rapidly approach 2017, it's hard not to notice the increased use of green-friendly building materials and features in the luxury custom home market. When reflecting on how today's green-friendly home has evolved in recent years, a few notable thoughts came to mind.

Between the rising real estate values in Central Florida and the tightening for-sale inventories, 2016 was a very big year for the home remodeling industry. Over the past year, we've seen a number of homeowners choose to stay in their existing properties for the long haul and renovate to truly get their dream homes. But as the year comes to a close, can we expect America's renewed passion for home remodeling to continue in 2017?

Somewhere along the line, Americans decided that bigger was better. For many years, this philosophy has applied to nearly all aspects of life, including the homes that people chose to live in.

We recently wrote an article that discussed how the American dream home has evolved over the past 50 years. One of the most noticeable trends is that today's homes are much larger (actually, nearly three times the square footage of the average home in the 1950s). ​

You work hard during the week and deserve to have a dedicated space within your home to unwind. Or maybe you have teenage children and want to give them their own entertaining area that is separate from the main living space of the home. In both of these scenarios, remodeling to add a recreation room would serve these needs.

There's a reason why home workout equipment is a billion dollar industry. For one, the convenience that a home gym offers increases the likelihood that a person will actually exercise. In addition, the comfort of being able to exercise in your own private gym takes away the anxiety of having to workout in front of others. ​

October is one of the most gorgeous months of the year in Florida, with comfortable temperatures that beg for time to be spent outside. One of the best ways to enjoy our mild fall climate is to take a weekend trip to one of the luxury resorts within a short distance of Central Florida. ​

There's no need to put your property up for sale if you want to get your dream home. With the right building contractor, you can do some remodeling to make your existing home absolutely perfect in every way.

For some, there may be some stress and anxiety associated with taking on a home renovation. To help minimize this, here are 5 tips to make the remodeling process go as smoothly as possible:

To give you a little history about the butler pantry, the original intention of this space was to store silver, china, serving pieces, and other prized kitchen-related items. Given the value that these items possessed, some butlers even slept in the butler pantry to guard against theft.