ADDING EASY CUSTOM DETAILS TO YOUR HOME

The Hubs has a new hobby - he stalks Zillow, looking at all the places we could live and the amazing houses we could own in other places in America for the price of living in Orange County, California. Here we have a tract home in a nice neighborhood, on a golf course, with a postage stamp sized yard. We could have twice the house and 4 x the land in Texas, Georgia, Utah, Oregon or North Carolina...to name a very few, with ocean or lake views.   But this is South Orange County -  we have amazing weather, beautiful sandy beaches and incredible surf.  There are mountains, the desert and the beach all within a couple hours driving time. There is a steep price tag for living here.

The Hubs has no real intention of leaving his native state .... yet....
But it is fun to look.

When we purchased our home 17 years ago, we were pleased that there were upgraded baseboards, window casings and crown molding in some of the rooms.  We were pleased because a tract home is usually sorely lacking in any of the finishing touches we believe a home should have.  We have been upgrading a little each year, with our largest project so far being the extension of the family room and a complete remodel of the kitchen.

The difference between tract and custom homes can often be seen in the details. Not everyone can own a custom home, nor wishes to - however, we can all benefit from more beautiful details.

So, instead of living in a 'custom' home with beautiful details... I'm trying to make my tract home feel more custom by adding details.

And you can, too.

It can be as simple as framing your doors and windows in wider than the standard 2.5" moldings

Insignia Homes

If you are handy or are married to someone who is, these DIY photos are a good guide...

The Joy of Moldings

burlap and tin

Here is a good way to incorporate that new wider doorway molding into the existing baseboards.

the handymans daughter

 Larger openings to rooms can also be framed with molding.

a charming nest

Here's an easy 'How-to' diagram...

While you are adding casing and moldings to that wide room opening, consider this treatment for adding additional storage and display...

It provides an amazing amount of storage for just 10-12" of room space.

You can also add a high wainscot to your walls. Combined with the framed windows and crown molding, it creates wonderful architectural detail.  This style is called 'board and batten' and is quite simple to create.

Sheri Olson Architecture PLLC

Thrifty Decor Chick (Tutorial)

I think this is one of my favorite treatments - very urban farmhouse!

Here is a Shiplap version

thrifty decor chick (with tutorial)

 a paneled version

homedecorforlife

and a beadboard version...

hazardousdesign

howtobuildit

They all have their own charm - and all add that custom "I love my home" look.  You just have the daunting task of choosing which one and where to use it!

Good Luck!!!

PLAYING LOOKEE LOO

I love peeking inside homes.   I confess, I'm a regular at the website Hooked on Houses.   My favorite thing, though, is checking out model homes.  I always like to see what they've come up with,  and what's new in tile, flooring, lighting, fabrics, etc.

I found I had a free afternoon so that's exactly what I did....and took pictures, of course!  These models are in a new neighborhood with these particular homes starting at over $1M and 3,000 sq. feet.

Isn't it interesting how our lifestyles have changed?  These new homes showcased open floor plans, with living, dining and kitchen all visible to each other, and no formal areas.  Gone are the formal living rooms and formal dining rooms.  I'm a little sad at that change - just because it was nice to have the formal room in the house, especially when we had little ones around, that you could keep clean and tidy to receive guests.  I guess it was a bit of wasted space though - seldom used.  These homes are for living in - with large family areas and hang-out rooms upstairs for teens and family.

I was actually a little disappointed in the upgrades, though. I kept looking for wow moments, new materials, unique colors - and really didn't have many.  I just expected more in this price range, I guess. There were no stellar ideas and in a home they are asking over $1M, I felt there should have been.

They were very nice, though.  

All featured rustic wood flooring.

Much use of linen and reclaimed wood furnishings.

I hated that they didn't take the cabinets to the ceiling here,

and put a lame box-like cover over the cook-top vent. 

They used horizontal planking in some models - love that.

A pop of color makes a huge difference

in a white kitchen

The wall color was perfect.  

The beach poster - Loved it.

Some of the models had a board and batten high wainscot,

one of my favorite wall treatments

I really liked these bedside tables.

I think I saw this in Ballard Designs, but never pictured it used at bedside.

The bathroom was pretty simple

and while I feel that is a good thing, I wasn't impressed with this design.

One thing I did notice, was the use of very unique lighting.

This dining room had a very cool and unusual chandelier

comprised of clear beverage bottles

I wouldn't mind having this spacious home office.

I always say your artwork doesn't have to match your decor.

But it is very pleasant when it does.

They did finally get a little creative with tile in this dressing area.

with tile applied to the floor in a rug pattern

this was my favorite kitchen - spacious and cabinets to the ceiling...

no lame box to cover the vent...

The ceilings had to be over 10 feet here,

the one drawback being the island was so wide you'd need to crawl on top to clean it.

I loved the wall and tile color of this laundry

and this was a pretty great shower

Mind you, it was tastefully done.  

With the exception of one model that was too brown for my taste, they were all appealing.  

I liked these bedside cases as well - I guess I was looking for something unique!

game room with cute vintage posters...

Am I expecting too much?  Are you blown away by these rooms?

I did save the best to last...

This, I felt, was worthy of a 'wow' moment...

Staircase,

art and handcrafted light fixture

pretty cool

What do you think?  Many 'wow' moments?

Any ideas you'd take home?