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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/ 

The Top Five Emerging Neighborhoods in Atlanta

The Top Five Emerging Neighborhoods in Atlanta

The City of Atlanta is filled to overflowing with charming old neighborhoods, localities that are enjoying a sudden resurgence of popularity and exciting developing communities that are gaining attention for the first time. Highlight Homes breaks down the Top Five Emerging Neighborhoods located in and around the city or tucked away within the outskirts. As one of Atlanta’s premier custom homebuilders, we welcome the chance to help you realize the home of your dreams in one of the following neighborhoods or the community of your choosing…

West MidtownAtlanta Agent Magazine points to West Midtown as one of the best neighborhoods in which to buy. This area is particularly hot among Millennials and active couples/families drawn to its connectivity/walkability factor and awesome venues like Atlantic Station with a wealth of alluring shops, restaurants and events. Highlight Homes is proud to have our newest project poised within a mile of Atlantic Station – a luxury duplex that’s worth watching!

Sherwood Forest – of course, don’t rule out East Midtown altogether! Sherwood Forest made the top slot at #1 on Niche’s Best Neighborhoods to Live in the Atlanta Area – scoring an overall A+ Niche grade, and #2 on Niche’s Best Neighborhoods to Raise a Family in the Atlanta Area. Homebuyers are likely to love the low crime rates, the great nightlife and access to highly regarded schools.

South Buckhead – Another excellent pick from Atlanta Agent Magazine, South Buckhead is enjoying a sudden resurgence of interest from buyers for many of the same reasons as West Midtown. Affectionately dubbed SOBU, the area begins where Peachtree Road crosses I-85 at the Brookwood interchange and runs north along Peachtree to Peachtree Creek. It’s considered a Mecca for affluent homebuyers seeking access to critically acclaimed dining, upscale shops and an active art scene.

Neighborhoods of Atlanta’s Westside – including West End, Hunter Hills, Princeton Lakes,  Washington Park and Peachtree Heights – According to Redfin and its 2018 list of Hottest Neighborhoods, all eyes are turning west! Pay particular attention to neighborhoods along the West Beltline – including historic West End. Hunter Hills is another one to watch, as is Washington Park – not far from the eateries, cool bars and fun nightlife at Five Points. Peachtree Heights in Southwest Atlanta received a nod from Curbed Atlanta as Atlanta’s hottest neighborhood for 2018. Princeton Lakes is a little further out from center – just west of the Perimeter.

Decatur – Making the cut as one of Redfin’s Most Competitive Neighborhoods in Atlanta at #2 for 2018 and at #1 on Niche’s List of Best Suburbs to Live in Georgia, the City of Decatur continues to reign supreme. An incredible town square that plays host to a jam-packed, year-round calendar of events and is home to an eclectic blend of shops, restaurants and pubs serves as the heart of this city. An incredible school system, excellent parks, fun attractions like the Fernbank Museum of Natural History and high walkability factor make it a great destination for families. It’s proximity to the City of Atlanta simply adds to the allure.

Other neighborhoods to watch include Powder Springs, Smyrna, Chamblee, Tucker and one of Highlight Homes’ personal favorites… Brookhaven! If you are seeking land on which to build a custom home in any of the neighborhoods listed above or in another neighborhood of your own choosing, the team at Highlight Homes excels at land acquisition. We can also design and build the home of your dreams on land you already own. To get started, simply give us a call at 678-873-9234, send us a note at info@highlighthomesga.com or fill out our convenient online contact form. We look forward to hearing from you soon. If you’d like to learn more about Highlight Homes and view our online gallery, please visit www.highlighthomesga.com.

 

Photo creds: By Brooke Novak from Atlanta, Georgia (midtown/westside) – ATL [light ], CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2514492

Highlight Spotlight: City of Brookhaven

1024px-Town_Brookhaven_2Highlight Homes is pleased to shine our “Highlight Spotlight” on a very special community in Atlanta, Georgia – the City of Brookhaven. Our talented design-build team is proud to be involved in several custom construction projects in the area, including two semi-custom homes – one that we just recently completed (and SOLD!) and another that we’ll be launching shortly.

Relatively “young” in terms of the life of a Southern city, Brookhaven was incorporated as recently as December 2012 – making it one of Georgia’s newest cities. Since then, its newly elected municipal government has worked tirelessly to establish a budget, launch a police department, unveil a city logo and website, and pursue community improvements.  Comprised of 12 square miles and a population estimated at around 49,000 people, Brookhaven is representative of DeKalb County’s largest city. While it hasn’t been a city for long, its reputation as one of Atlanta’s premier communities is long-standing. What once served as a large plantation established by John Evins in the early 1800s would eventually be transformed to a playground for Atlanta’s wealthy set, as they began building summer cottages around the turn of the century “far away” from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta’s thriving Downtown area.  By 1912, the Brookhaven Country Club golf course was founded, but sold three short years later to Capital City Club. Gorgeous homes designed by some of the most highly revered architects of the time began to pop up around the sprawling golf course – in an area now known as Historic Brookhaven.

As central to the community as Historic Brookhaven, but with more of a youthful vibe, is Town Brookhaven – a thriving mixed-use development that touts itself as a “pedestrian-friendly urban village.”  With more than 460,000 square feet of prime retail real estate, Town Brookhaven currently houses stores such as Costco, Marshalls, Publix and a number of terrific upscale boutiques. A number of popular restaurants also call Town Brookhaven home, like Boneheads, the Flying Biscuit Café, Noche, Olde Blind Dog Irish Pub, Shuck’s Oyster & Wine Bar and more. Movie buffs will love date nights at the Cinebistro, and local health fanatics will appreciate the easy access to LA Fitness and GNC. Town Brookhaven also plays host to a revolving calendar of events designed to draw residents and visitors together. Long story short, Brookhaven is a terrific community with lots of allure and native charm – and that’s why Highlight Homes has chosen to build here.

The Brookhaven home in which we can hardly wait to break ground is located at 1431 Hearst Drive, featuring the Chastain floorplan – which serves as the ideal layout for the family who loves to entertain. Boasting spaces for a future game room, rec room with bar, home theater, billiard room, exercise room AND sauna all on the basement level alone, this 5000+ square foot home with three-car garage will also feature a stunning gourmet kitchen, spacious family room with soaring vaulted ceiling, formal dining room, study and grand room with coffered ceilings, two-story foyer, office space, laundry room, powder room, master-on-main, and covered veranda on the first level. The second story will showcase three additional bedrooms – each with its own bathroom and walk-in closet, an enormous playroom – which could serve as a fifth bedroom or flexible space – also with its own bathroom and walk-in closet, and loads of storage space. The property is located on nearly ½ an acre near Atlanta’s iconic Peachtree Road, within close proximity of Peachtree Golf Club, Capital City Club, Keswick Park, Blackburn Park and Oglethorpe University. Poised in western DeKalb County, students who live in this home may attend Montgomery Elementary, Chamblee  Middle, Chamblee Charter High or Our Lady of Assumption Catholic schools. The property is located near a number of terrific restaurants and shops, and offers an easy commute into Downtown Atlanta and the Buckhead area.

To learn more about this property and Highlight Homes, in general – please visit us online at www.highlighthomesga.com.

Sources:

Historic Brookhaven Website – http://www.historicbrookhaven.org/history.htm

City of Brookhaven Website – http://www.brookhavenga.gov/

Image Credit:

By Keizers (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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.

Dunwoody

Dunwoody GA

Dunwoody GAWell-known as a “silver spoon” suburb of Atlanta, Dunwoody is situated in DeKalb County, poised between Fulton County to the north and west, Interstate 285 to the south, and Gwinnett County to the northeast. Rolling hills, towering pines and stately hardwoods dot the landscape, as do some of North Atlanta’s finest homes, shops and restaurants. Among one of the city’s most popular draws is Perimeter Mall – which is filled to overflowing with upscale stores such as Nordstrom, Macy’s, Coach, Michael Kors, Von Maur, and Z Gallerie, as well as great dining destinations like Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Goldfish, The Cheesecake Factory and more. Dunwoody also offers close proximity to “pill hill” – a sprawling medical community that includes Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, Northside Hospital, and the award-winning St. Joseph’s Hospital. Community-focused Dunwoody is home to a network of trails and excellent parks, and plays host to a jam-packed calendar of events.