If you’re looking for a contractor in the Kansas City area, check out Johnson County Siding & Window Company. JoCo Siding is a family company that provides professional exterior remodeling services. Although the company is based on the Kansas side in Johnson County, they will work throughout the greater Kansas City area, across state and county lines. They have 40 years of experience with the owner, Bill Christie, who is a licensed contractor, and employees with many years of expertise installing their products. They guarantee the job will be done right the first time and offer a 5-year workmanship warranty in addition to the manufacturer’s product warranty. They specialize the latest styles and materials with low-maintenance products such as vinyl siding, wood siding, stucco, fiver cement, stone, and windows and doors.

JoCo Siding has an A+ with the Better Business Bureau, they are a member of NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry), and they are certified lead-safe with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). With their professional conduct and Johnson County Class A Contractor’s License, Johnson County Siding & Window is a company you can trust.

If you’re looking for a Kansas City area exterior remodeler, you can get more information at theirwebsite, or give them a call at (913) 782-2878.

Exterior of a House by Harney Home Builders. The exterior of this home is all brick and stone. Harney customers love how solid their homes are.

Harney Homes is a Murfreesboro, Tennessee area home building company founded in 2003. With Justin Harney’s degree in Residential Construction Management and Land Development and 150 homes he has built in Rutherford County, he has the knowledge and experience to run a great business. As a third-generation realtor, he knows the local market. With their wide range of plans, Harney Homes can help just about anyone find the home they need.

Homeowners in houses built by Harney Homes love how solid and well-crafted their homes are, especially when it comes to the integrity of the workmanship and the willingness to customize details they want. They love the attention to detail paid by Harney Homes throughout their home building process and love how quickly it can go: one customer’s home took just three months to complete!

Kitchen of a home by Harney. This kitchen has hardwood floors, stylish white cabinets, and granite countertops with a full tile backsplash! 

1. As the days grow shorter and darker, it’s important to make sure your property is well-lit. Don’t let your home be a good environment for someone to sneak around in the dark. Take advantage of the season and get festive with some holiday lights. You’ll be killing two birds with one stone: lights are cheerful decorations and a theft deterrent.

2. Although everyone wants their beautifully-decorated trees to be prominently on display in a front window, it’s important to keep holiday gifts out of sight, whether you have a tree or not. Try locating gifts in a place that is hard to see from the living room window, or avoid putting presents out until the night before they will be opened. If someone is thinking about breaking into your house, if they can’t spot the items they plan to steal they will move on to the next house where big boxes and valuables are easily located.

3. Holiday trash and recycling is like a shopping catalog for what’s inside your house. If you put the box for a large flat-screen TV out front, people will know that you have a shiny new TV just waiting to be stolen. Avoid putting boxes and packaging out on the curb for a few weeks, or stop by a neighborhood recycling center instead. 

For more tips on preventing holiday crime at home and while out shopping, here are a couple of articles from the Cleveland Police and Military.com.

Looking for a new home around Bloomington-Normal and Peoria, Illinois? Portico Homes builds in these areas in communities of new homes as well as on your own lot if you have one! Portico has more than 15 years of experience building homes and takes their responsibility to build your dream home seriously. They have modern designs that are open and functional with today’s lifestyle trends with fresh ideas and colors. They also focus on energy efficiency which saves you money as a homeowner. Their homes are overall a great price with all the right finishing touches. They promise to build it right the first time around so no one has to go back and fix problems that have developed into serious issues further down the line.

Portico was founded by Jim O’Neal: a local developer, builder, and real estate professional. He insists on offering the latest in floor plans and finishes with personalization options at the best price per square foot. Their communities offer great features like a community lake, trails for walking, jogging, hiking, and biking, preservation areas, and much more! They are located in great school districts in close proximity to everything you need for shopping, entertainment, and recreation.

For more information about Portico Homes in central Illinois, visit their website or give them a call at 309-454-6744.

Beacon Builders of Savannah Georgia offers more than just the typical new construction home; they offer homes with true Southern style. Many of their homes feature wide open porches and breezeways like the one pictured above. This one also has multiple sets of French doors which are a traditional architectural way of staying cool in hotter climates, especially near the ocean where you can catch the breeze. This house also features an outdoor chimney with a fireplace on one side, facing the covered porch, and a grill on the other side surrounded by a patio for entertaining.

Beacon’s Fairview plan, pictured above, is a classic old-fashioned kind of plan with a simple facade and front porch that is deeper than it is wide, placing the garage at the rear. This is well-suited to city lots that are very narrow which may not leave room for garages which were uncommon at the time the neighborhood was planned. The garage behind the house is great for older neighborhoods with alley access to the rear of the houses for garages and parking.

Beacon Builders also carefully plans each and every plan to match common product dimensions so that no materials are wasted and construction is nice and easy. Additionally, their homes qualify for Georgia Power EarthCents and exceed government mandated energy ratings. Their homes are both environmentally friendly and affordable!

For more information about Beacon Builders, visit their website or give them a call at (912) 352-1623.

If you’re looking for a top builder in Oklahoma City, Ideal Homes has something for everyone from first-time buyers to growing families looking for upgrades. They have received a number of awards including Builder of the Year and are a leader in energy efficiency. In fact, they are so committed to the idea of energy efficiency that if your actual usage goes over their guarantee, they will pay you the difference! They are a member of the National Association of Home Builders as well as the regional Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association. They have more than two decades of experience and pride themselves on their quality and innovation.

Ideal Homes is a builder committed to their principles. They value a solid foundation (no pun intended) of long-lasting relationships and being locally involved by giving back. They don’t want to just build communities; they want to be active participants in them, too. They give back through a myriad of charity donations and fundraisers including giving 5% back, employee birthday donations to the charity of his or her choice, and supporting Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland County, Children’s Advocacy Center of Cleveland County, Hospice and many more.

If you want a builder with a lot of heart, you can get more information at Ideal Homes’ website or by giving them a call at (405) 267-0049.

In 1995 when Mike and Melissa Friday established Woodland Homes in Huntsville, Alabama, they created a team approach that fosters a good work ethic and results in happy customers. Their philosophy is a trifecta of 1) understanding and adapting to the housing market, 2) creating a team that guides customers through the process professionally and enjoyably, and 3) the communication among their team of employees, suppliers, and contractors all of whom are part of the Woodland family. Mike and Melissa are active and dedicated members of their North Alabama community, giving their support to many charitable causes. Mike is also a member of the Madison County HBA and National HBA, as well as the Better Business Bureau.

Woodland Homes come in a wide range of shapes and sizes that meet the needs of anyone, whether they are buying a first home, upgrading, or downsizing. Their designs are award-winning and will meet your budget. They have an in-house plan team and dream design center to help you build exactly the high-quality home you want. Cedar Grove, one of their many communities, features 50 heavily-wooded lots for a serene nature setting. Nature-lovers might also enjoy The Preserve at Inspiration with wooded homesites, full brick houses, and nature trails. Construction at The Preserve begins in 2016.

For more information about Woodland Homes, visit their website or give them a call at (256) 830-9000.

1. Let’s begin with textiles and upholstery. You will see leather, wooly sheepskin and textured cowhide, and woven knobby wool and linens. Most are in their natural state or another neutral color. Blacks, grays, browns, taupes, beiges, creams and whites are all fair game.

2. Another thing you’ll notice is wood. It’s not that wood ever went out of style, it’s just that with the rise of reclaimed wood and recycled materials, there is a newfound appreciation for the rough, rustic, and weathered. In contrast, polished midcentury modern wood pieces are also making a comeback. Where you see smooth, sleek wood you might note the beautiful wood grain is prominently featured as the central decorative element. You might also see inlays and herringbone patterns. The focus is on the inherent beauty of the wood, rather than covering it up with paint.

3. Cork is another natural material you’ll see paired with many things, and not just for stopping bottles. Ikea recently launched a new line of products using cork surfaces for benches and tables.

Metals are being paired with many materials for a shiny pop or a rustic look. The metals are usually their true color rather than colorfully enameled, such as brass and copper. You might also find black wrought iron on industrial and modern pieces alike.

4. Stone, ceramic, and concrete are being artfully celebrated in clean, smooth surfaces and geometric tiles. There is also an emphasis on raw minerals, particularly in smaller decorative pieces, which has influenced the crystalline surface geometries such as hexagons and triangles, and asymmetric angular forms carved out of everything from wood to stone.

5. Last but not least we have an unlikely suspect: house plants. Amid all these neutral colors and natural materials, you’ll find delightful pops of green plants in everything from modern ceramic pots to repurposed items. What’s more natural than a plant? As people turn to nature for inspiration, they are bringing a bit of the outdoors inside their homes.

So how are these all being combined? Sometimes it’s as simple as a throw on the chair, and sometimes it’s as complex as color-blocking and dipping an object with color that also reveals the true surface underneath as contrast. Sometimes it’s done with inlays and inserts, and sometimes the materials are just stacked together. Here are some photos that illustrate these trends:

Simple cork surfaces paired with black metal and brass legs from Ikea’s new Sinnerlig collection. Photo courtesy of remodelista.com. 

Color-dipped stools in neutral black and white as well as some pops of bright pastels agains pale unfinished wood. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Deco. 

Stone hexagonal tiles inlaid asymmetrically into rustic wood. Photo courtesy of bloglovin.com. 

Geometric wall design on a white background with wood and bright orange panels. Notice the brass bedside table and midcentury dresser with contrasting white drawers. Photo courtesy of Brit + Co. 

Leather sofa with a neutral-colored woven wool throw and a wooly white sheepskin. Notice the plant peeking out in the top left corner. Photo courtesy of whitebuffalowoman.tumblr.com. 

Slightly roughly-woven linen bed textiles in neutral colors with a plant in a woven hemp basket instead of a pot. Photo courtesy of mondaytosundayhome.blogspot.com. 

Brass hexagonal pots. Photo courtesy of cleverspaces.com. 

Geometric industrial pendant light. Black metal with an exposed Edison bulb. Photo courtesy of Joss and Main. 

Unfinished wide plank wood floor with a wooly gray throw over a chair, a midcentury side table with brass footings, and plants in white pots. Photo courtesy of nesttogether.tumblr.com © 2013 Jordana Schramm, all Rights Reserved.

Stool made out of a half tree stump cast in aluminum. Photo courtesy of design-milk.com. 

Live edge wood table tops with black wrought iron hairpin legs. Notice the concrete floor and textured stone wall in the background. Photo courtesy of homedit.com.

Shaw Homes has been building in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area since 1985. Glenn Shaw, the president of Shaw Homes, is a third-generation home builder raised in a contractor family being mentored by his father and uncle on South Carolina construction sites. Glenn got his MBA at Oral Roberts University and has called Tulsa his home ever since. Shaw homes has built over 2,000 homes in more than 50 communities in the last 30 years.

Shaw Homes is committed to building homes of quality craftsmanship and distinct design, creating everything from move-in-ready starter homes to full custom homes.Shaw Homes wants you to be informed and involved at every step so that your homebuilding experience is the best. Glenn Shaw is personally involved in many aspects of the company, and places the utmost importance on relationships with the families he builds for. Building homes is his lifelong passion.

The communities that Shaw builds in offer many attractive features such as green belts and golf courses, pons and swimming pools, walking trails, and clubhouses. The developers they work with are committed to quality, just like them.

If you’re looking at homes in the Tulsa area, you can get more information about Shaw homes by giving them a call at (918) 688-5660 or by visiting their website.

Spectacular’s plans have a cottage feel to their design, with many options including this French Country style.

Spectacular Homes’ new community is called Rabbit Run, located in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. It is an exclusive active adult community for those who want all the amenities of neighborhoods with luxury houses, but at a smaller scale. Rabbit Run offers Privacy Villa style residences that have everything buyers love about their large homes, but downsized. They maximize use of all the space in their designs which include luxury master bathrooms and kitchens and outdoor living spaces. Empty-nesters can live easily with low-maintenance homes at Rabbit Run.

This interior by Spectacular Homes has a rustic feel with its exposed beams and cozy stone fireplace with a reclaimed wood mantle.

The community is close to shopping, entertainment, highways, and hospitals and medical care. If you’re wanting to downsize your living and move to an active adult community in the Tulsa area, you can get more information about Rabbit Run by giving Spectacular Homes a call at 918.449.0144 or by visiting their website.