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Three Ways to Celebrate National Family Fun Month with Highlight Homes

Three Ways to Celebrate National Family Fun Month with Highlight Homes

It’s true what they say… the family that plays together, stays together! In our everyday busy lives, it’s important to reserve some time to blow off steam and enjoy some good old-fashioned fun with the ones that we love. While we may make the time, we may not always have the dedicated space to enjoy family time beyond sharing a meal in the dining room or watching TV together in the family room. In the spirit of National Family Fun Month, Highlight Homes suggests three ways to CREATE the space where your family can make lasting memories and share countless good times together.

Let’s Take this Party Outside: Create a Family-Focused Outdoor Living Space – When you don’t have room for a family fun space INDOORS, you may have plenty of room to create a dedicated space OUTDOORS. Outdoor Living Space renovations continue to rein supreme in increasing your home’s curb appeal for prospective future homebuyers, but – more importantly – it can also increase the amount of time spent outside enjoying time with your family if designed properly. Is your family active? You may want to place an emphasis on recreation with the addition of a pool, playset, basketball court and/or trampoline. Does your family enjoy playing games? Landscaping surrounding a multi-purpose field for badminton, volleyball, cornhole and more is sure to see a lot of action. Do you have budding environmentalists in your family? A raised garden for planting their own fruits and veggies might make a great addition. Does food have a cohesive effect for your family? An outdoor kitchen and dining room where meals can be made and shared together might be ideal. And for when it’s time to wind down, a cozy seating area surrounding an outdoor hearth for roasting marshmallows and swapping stories will make this space one of your family’s favorite “rooms” of the house. Add a weather proof flat screen for football watching, tail-gating themed fun in the fall! The return on investment on the addition of a simple wood deck can be as high as 82.8%.

Room to Spread Out: Enhance Your Home’s Interior with a Room Addition – With a solid background in architecture and engineering, the team at Highlight Homes can assess your current layout and determine ways in which the flow can be improved. We can also create a seamless room addition that looks as though it was part of the original home design. A room addition can serve as a blank backdrop to become whatever you want it to be – depending on your family’s shared interests. From a craft or rec room to a home theater or game space, the possibilities are virtually endless. No room to increase your home’s footprint? Highlight Homes can “raise the roof”… literally. We can add a half or full floor above your existing home for a bonus room, additional bedroom, full bathroom and more. The addition of a new master suite and bathroom up there could pay off considerably when it comes time to sell – to the tune of a 55%+ return on investment.

Down to Earth: Finally Finish That Basement to Fit Your Family’s Fun Time – Another often overlooked option is to finish that basement that has served as a cobweb-infested storage space for far too long. It’s AMAZING what a little drywall, paint and carpet can do, but with the design talents of the Highlight Homes team on your side, you may find yourself wondering how your family ever lived without a finished basement in the past. This is another space that can serve as a blank backdrop to become anything you want it to be, and given the fact that it encompasses an entirely new floor of your home – it can serve a wide variety of purposes: playroom, media space, exercise room, party space for entertaining, sleepover headquarters – the list goes on and on! The return on investment for a finished basement is about 69%.

Highlight Homes can visit your home to determine which of the three options above might prove the best decision for expanding your home’s family FUN factor. To set an no-obligation consultation with a member of our team, call 678-873-9234, email us at info@highlighthomesga.com or fill out our convenient online contact form.  If you’d like to view our gallery for a peek inside past Highlight Homes’ projects, visit us at www.highlighthomesga.com.

Source: https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2018/ 

Highlight Spotlight: The City of Chamblee

Highlight Spotlight: The City of Chamblee

One of 10 cities in DeKalb County, the City of Chamblee was incorporated in 1908, but that’s not where its story begins. You’d never know it from the bustling epicenter that now lies between Buford Highway and Peachtree Boulevard, but the City of Chamblee was once rolling pastures dotted by thriving dairies like Irvindale Farms Dairy and Brown Dairy.

Like many towns in Georgia, the arrival of the railroad led to the transformation of the landscape in the late 19th century. Located at the junction of what is now the Norfolk Southern Railroad and the Roswell Railroad, Chamblee was a “just passing through” spot on the map for countless passengers traveling from Atlanta to Charlotte, NC on one line and textile workers travelling to and from the Roswell Manufacturing Company on the other.

In response to World War I, the landscape was transformed again when the land that once housed dairies became a military installation called Camp Gordon in 1917. Comprising two square miles, 1,200 buildings and 40,000 military personnel, Camp Gordon gave birth to a city – including retail shops, theaters, hotels and even a bowling alley to serve this new population. Once the war had ended, the installation closed only to reopen nearly two decades later as a Navy Flight Training Center during World War II. With peace at hand, the City of Chamblee gained the attention of large corporations such as Frito-Lay, Kodak and General Electric – leading to the city’s own “industrial age.”

In the years since, the City of Chamblee has also caught the eye of small business owners, builders and homebuyers alike. Conveniently poised between I-285 to the north and I-85 to the south and surrounded by affluent neighboring cities like Dunwoody and Brookhaven, it is no longer a “just passing through” spot on the map. Chamblee boasts the South’s largest collection of antiques and an extensive array of auto dealerships featuring brands like Lexus, Alfa Romeo, Mini Cooper, Audi, Porsche, Infiniti, Volkswagen and Maserati, just to name a few – earning it the name “Chamblee’s Motor Mile.” With a fitting tagline like “Community Feel, Global Appeal,” the city is every bit as distinctive and diverse as its population. Its undeniable international flair and eclectic collection of eateries has made Chamblee a go-to destination for foodies seeking a memorable and cultural dining experience. Chamblee is also home to six beautiful parks, the popular Chinatown Mall, DeKalb-Peachtree Airport and a number of community events such as the Taste of Chamblee Festival, Summer Concert Series, Antique Row Holiday Open House and more.

With a number of our homes situated in the nearby cities of Brookhaven and Dunwoody, Highlight Homes is excited to soon add the City of Chamblee to the list of Atlanta neighborhoods where we have a presence. Stay tuned for details as our next luxury new construction project takes shape! To learn more about Highlight Homes and to contact us to express an interest in a new semi-custom home in Chamblee, visit us at www.highlighthomesga.com and fill out our contact form! One of our team members will be in touch with you shortly.

Image Credit: By Biomedeng at English Wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22782300

Top Five Trends for Home Construction in 2018

Top Five Trends for Home Construction in 2018

Whether building your home from the ground up or reimagining your current home with some well-chosen renovation projects, it’s always a wise move to consider the latest trends in home construction. While timelessness NEVER goes out of style, in order to add to the wow factor or benefit from years of trial and error to find what works best – there’s a lot to be said for incorporating the latest looks and reaping the rewards from the most recent advances in home construction. While the trends abound from the interior to the exterior to the inner workings for 2018, here are just a few of our favorites from the team at Highlight Homes…

1)      Homes are Getting “Smarter”:  There is a growing trend toward “smart homes” in new home construction AND in renovations. Whether seeking an awesome security system, a way to control the A/C and electricity in your home with a touch of your mobile phone, a complete home sound system to fill each room with music or all of the above (and so much more), a Smart Home system is undoubtedly the way to go. To learn more about Smart Homes and how Highlight Homes can help, keep reading…

2)      Construction is Growing “Greener”:  If the environment is important to you and you hope to do your part to protect the planet, you’ll be pleased to learn that there are a number of ways to do just that when constructing a new home or incorporating a home renovation to your existing home. From using green home construction practices and incorporating low energy and water consumption elements such as energy-efficient appliances, Low-E windows and low flow toilets, you will be taking effective measures to limit your family’s carbon footprint. Keep reading to learn what else Highlight Homes does to take green construction to the next level…

3)      White is the New Black: For several years, crisp white kitchens have really made a comeback. What we’re witnessing lately is that trend spreading beyond the heart of the home to encompass other living spaces. White adds an air of tranquility and communicates CLEAN and REFRESHING. Mix it with Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2018 – Ultra-Violet – 18-3838 for an air of romance. All colors go beautifully with white if you’d like to add some color. And while we’re on the subject of color, be prepared to see lots of warm, rich colors in accents – from an accent wall to furniture. We’re also seeing a blend of both high contrast (a bold grey wall with pure white wainscoting) or tone-on-tone (where the wall and millwork are painted in the same exact hue) in living spaces – so go with whatever feels “right” to you!

4)      Industrial and Vintage Reign Supreme: From treated concrete floors and countertops to show-stopping industrial light fixtures and deep trough sinks, the “industrial age” rages on in interior design. We’re also seeing a mix of vintage finding its way back in. The vintage feel of subway tile, claw-footed tubs and romantic wallpaper prints are definitely making a very cool comeback.

5)      Textures Take Over the Interior: From highly textured wall treatments – like brick and reclaimed wood – to velvet furnishings and woven accent pieces, surfaces that have a visual and tactile interest are gaining favor among interior designers, home buyers and homeowners.

Long story short, 2018 is going to be a lot of fun! The race is on for the incorporation of technologically and environmentally cutting edge practices and elements paired with a throwback in design using clean colors, industrial and vintage components, and a variety of highly interesting walls and furnishings – making design, construction and the ultimate enjoyment of your new (or newly remodeled) home more rewarding than ever. Contact the talented team at Highlight Homes to help you incorporate any or all of the trends listed above in your custom home or whole home renovation in 2018. To get started, simply call us at 678-873-9234, email us at info@highlighthomesga.com or fill out our convenient online contact form and someone will be in touch with you shortly!  To learn more about Highlight Homes and view our online gallery of work, please visit www.highlighthomesga.com.

Celebrate National Home Ownership Month by Breaking Ground on a Custom Home

Celebrate National Home Ownership Month by Breaking Ground on a Custom Home

House and plans shutterstock_138681968June marks National Home Ownership Month – and it’s not too late to get in on the celebration. Launched in 2002 with a proclamation by President George W. Bush, the goal of its commemoration is to inspire more families to achieve the American Dream. What better way to celebrate a month devoted to home ownership and the American Dream than by breaking ground on the custom home of your dreams? A custom home provides the homeowner with a unique opportunity to be intimately involved in all aspects of its realization: from the selection of the ideal site and floor plan, to the incorporation of special elements that prove the perfect fit for your family’s needs and tastes. Custom builders are different from volume builders. They serve as your expert on the ground at your home site, ensuring that the end result matches – and sometimes even exceeds – your vision. The very best custom builders will invite you to be as involved – or removed – from the project as you wish.

Highlight Homes is proud of our standing as a premier custom builder in Atlanta. Our team welcomes the opportunity to partner with you on the realization of the home you’ve always dreamed of owning. Let’s celebrate National Home Ownership Month together! To learn more about the custom construction process, be sure to read: 10 Steps to Making Your Dream Home a Reality. When you’re ready to get started, contact us by calling 678-873-9234, e-mailing us at info@highlighthomesga.com, or filling out our convenient online contact form.  We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Too excited to wait until a custom home is built? Check out the gorgeous homes currently available in our inventory!

Chastain Park

Chastain Park Neighborhood; Photo Credit: Atlanta Trails

Chastain Park Neighborhood; Photo Credit: Atlanta TrailsThe neighborhoods surrounding this 268-acre park in the highly revered Chastain Park area the northern edge of Atlanta boast some of the city’s most beautiful trees and multi-million dollar homes with close proximity to shopping and dining in nearby Buckhead, including Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza. The park itself features jogging paths, playgrounds, tennis center, golf course, swimming pool, horse park, master grill & pavilions, and – the one thing for which it is most commonly associated, the Chastain Park Amphitheater. The Amphitheater is famed for playing host to a series of outdoor concerts featuring internationally recognized artists that include Jimmy Buffett, Sting, Lionel Ritchie, The Temptations, Eric Clapton and more. Seats are available from anywhere from a picnic blanket on the lawn to a table in the pit. The park is also home to the annual Chastain Park Arts Festival – featuring fine art and crafts, a children’s area, live music, and local food & beverage concessions, including wildly popular gourmet food trucks.