Fall is definitely in the air with gorgeous changing leaves to the aroma of pumpkin spice candles, muffins straight out of the oven, and a warm glow from your fireplace. With all this autumnal bliss, your home décor should reflect warm colors and soft textures that will make you crave cuddling up with a hot cider and good book. Create a relaxing fall vibe with the following chic home decorating tips that will bring cozy autumn comfort into your home.

Layer Up

There’s nothing like a warm cardigan to bring a sense of coziness and layer to your wardrobe. The way we decorate our homes is very much like building a fall wardrobe. Consider changing up your home décor by switching out accent pillows to warm color tones, plaid patterns, and rich textures such as velvet, woven knit, or buttery soft leather. Stacks of throw blankets are a must for nights curled up on the sofa and are an easy way to bring a bit of that warmth and softness to your home by adding visual layers and textures.

Warm Glow

The effect of lighting is often overlooked in its ability to create mood in a space. There are three layers of lighting that create harmony in a room: ambient lighting which provides overall illumination, task lighting for activities such as reading or working, and accent lighting, which draws attention to an object such as art or creates drama. Consider using warm lighting in table lamps or floor lamps which cast light indirectly to the ceiling creating a subtle warm glow. A lingering guest that can’t get over the welcoming sense of “at home-ness” they feel in your home is the highest compliment.

Art Of Nature

It goes without saying that the colors of fall are breathtaking with deep reds, golden ocre, and vibrant shades of orange but don’t just stick to the traditional palette. Use moody colors such as warm terracotta, subtle olive, and rich brown in fall vase arrangement. Oak branches with golden leaves, pampas grass, olive branches, or harvest berry stems are just a few of the many faux autumn plants that
will not only add texture and color, but will make a stylish impression all season. When displayed on an entry console, coffee table, or kitchen island, these seasonal plants will add to your overall home décor.

Personal Touch

Using fabric textures, artwork, accessories, and lighting are all integral in creating a beautifully designed home but don’t overlook the impact of your own personal style. Display the watercolor artwork you bought on a trip to San Francisco or your grandmother’s hand-stitched quilt; these are the treasures that make a home feel thoughtfully and stylistically curated.

Home vs House

Every home should feel unique from the structural finishes to the accessories on the coffee table. At Gardner Homes, we don’t just build homes; we design them to create a sense of styled living because we know that we aren’t just building a house; we are building a home. If your looking to move to one of Idaho’s beautiful communities then it’s safe to assume that you’re searching a slightly slower pace that allows for meaningful work-life balance and more time to get outdoors, put down some roots and create a homestead that’s uniquely yours — and we are here for it!

Reach out to us at Gardner Homes today to get started on the home of your dreams this autumn. For more fall home decorating tips, look here.

Choosing the right floor plan can be an exciting process — a chance to personalize your home so that it perfectly fits your lifestyle and turning the home you’ve been dreaming of into reality. With so many options out there, complicated decisions pile up and you may feel overwhelmed at the prospect of pulling it all together.

Experience Counts

This is where an experienced builder team can make all the difference. Gardner Homes has many award-winning floor plans that have been meticulously designed by experienced draftsman, engineers, and interior designers. But let’s start at the beginning and help you prepare by going through the following steps…

choosing the right floor plan custom home builder idaho

Do Your Research

The first step to choosing the right floor plan is to do your research. Visit our website project gallery where you’ll find floor plan renderings, and interior/exterior photos of completed projects. Whether you’re drawn to a modern farmhouse aesthetic or love the traditional qualities of a coastal Cape Cod, many Gardner exterior elevations and interior floor plans can be modified. Other sites such as Houzz and Instagram are great resources for helping you narrow in on your architectural preferences.

Prioritize Your “Must Have” List

The next step to choosing the right floor plan is to think about the features that are most important to you and your family. The sky’s the limit as far as what features are available to you but consider your budget and how you want to use it. If you’ve always dreamed of a sun-lit meditation space off your bedroom, then put it at the top of the list along with all the other ways to make your home uniquely yours.

The Flow Factor

The size of your home will likely determine where certain rooms should be located, but the flow of your home is completely up to you. The flexibility of a Gardner floor plan means that you can design the primary bedroom closet to flow directly into the laundry room or maybe you prefer having a home office off the primary bedroom separated by double glass doors. Thinking about how you would like rooms to relate to each other will be the customization that makes all the difference.

Consider Your Lifestyle

If creating in the kitchen is where you shine, our designers will help you create the workflow area and finishes that will truly make the kitchen the heart of your home. If you have a large family, you may want a second level bonus room with just the right storage to keep toys tidy or maybe as an empty nester you prefer a single level designed in a way that flows right out on to a patio to enjoy warm summer nights. Your lifestyle should influence how your home will flow.

Gardner Homes Commitment

The point is, the team at Gardner Homes knows that if you’re building a home, you want it to be two things… relatively stress-free and more importantly… exactly what you want. There’s no better way to accomplish this than to sit down with experts and let them guide you through the process. Gardner Homes has a long history in the construction industry and takes pride in offering excellent service to our clients and building award-winning homes. So, bring us your ideas, whether it’s sketched on a paper napkin or saved on a Pinterest board, our award-winning team will work one-on-one with you to personalize the interior and exterior of your new home.

There are many factors to consider when choosing to build a home. It can be overwhelming to try to figure out all the logistics of how to build a home from the ground up. However, the following five tips for building a home will help ensure that you have a first-rate home building experience.

1) Ask Yourself What Your Personalized Needs Are

This may seem obvious to say, but it is unfortunately fairly common for individuals to jump into a project without having done the proper research ahead of time or to not know their personal specifications. This can cause costly delays and make life much harder on you and your builder.

Do you want to build a ready-made design or a custom home? What is your budget? What are your must-have design features? It is advisable to carefully consider these questions before starting the building process. And, while it is so important to know your personal needs, make sure to be flexible and know what is more of a “want” and what is a “need” when it comes to your budget expectations.

2) Understand Building Costs

When you build with Gardner Homes, we eliminate the stress you would undoubtedly feel when it comes to understanding building costs. So much goes into job cost estimation from building materials that are impacted by market fluctuations to labor costs that should reflect the appropriate scope of work. We work closely with trade partners, product manufacturers and suppliers to select high quality supplies and materials to estimate every project. We also believe in complete transparency so you can make decisions at every stage regarding your financial budget.

3) Design a Floor Plan that Meets Your Needs

Designing the right floor plan to fit your needs is just one of the ways Gardner Homes provides customized service to our clients. Buying a home is arguably the best long term financial decision you can make so we let’s get it right!

The average time in a home before selling is 5-7 years, so we need to consider the long game by asking questions like: how much space do you need, what design features are most crucial to comfort, what do you wish you could change about your current home-but currently can’t, and how we can maximize functionality. We at Gardner homes can help make your home more functional with changes like adding a private bath to a main level guest suite.

Rely on our team to guide you through the process so you can design with confidence and see your dream home come together at every stage of design and build.

4) Speak with the Experts

Though it is useful to do your own research when starting your home building journey, you have an entire team with years of experience in the home building industry to guide you. From our drafting team to our in-house design center, you’ll experience step-by-step teamwork throughout the duration of your build and well into the future as a homeowner.

Our service to you will not end when you put the key in the door; we consider our partnership long-term to assist you in the case of a warranty issue or with any questions you may have as a new homeowner. We are a home building company that services communities in Idaho and Utah. We are excited to help you learn more tips for building a home and much more. Contact us today to start your home building project!