Is Your Neighborhood Backward? 5 Signs It Might Be.

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Destination Homes' mission is to build exceptional homes in lasting communities. Working with world-class architects & skilled trade partners, Destination Homes aims continually to be a product leader in community design & residential architecture. There are a few things in life that are better backward - like The Beatles songs that reveal cryptic messages when played back, or roller coasters that get just a little scarier when they lurch into reverse. And don't forget the excellent benefits you give your quads when you (carefully) do a little backward running. But do you know what's not better backward? Your neighborhood. If you're not sure how topsy-turvy your own community might be, we'll give you a few tell-tale signs.

The cars (and garages) are the stars of the show
Have you ever seen a house that seems to be "all garage?" Not overly appealing, right? Your neighborhood may have been designed poorly (dare we say backwardly?) if your cars seem to be getting better architectural treatment than your family. Giant garages that monopolize your home's curb appeal and commandeer your lawn space with their oversized driveways are not designed with family living in mind. Your home should be taking center stage - not your garage (that prima donna)

It cuts you off from your community

Picket fences are nostalgic and picturesque. But if you've got a monstrosity of a gate that's turning your Craftsman-style home into a medieval fortress, you may be living in a poorly designed community. Privacy is always a bonus, but you should also feel connected with the community that surrounds you. This includes a better view than the wood planks that make up your mile-high fence. Don't get me wrong, a fence serves its purpose but shouldn't keep you from enjoying what's around you. It also means that your home should be facing the world of the living, not a concrete barrier, frontage road or other unsightly "feature."

You feel like you're living in "Mario Kart"
It's one thing for your kids to encounter crazy traffic with Mario and Luigi on the Wii, it's quite another for them to have to deal with this in front of your home. High-volume roads with intersections tend to make your sanctuary a little, well, less than idyllic.
Communities built on heavily trafficked roads are not designed with homeowners and their families in mind. Families want safety at the forefront of their neighborhood planning. Besides safety, many could use fewer barriers to hurdle to when the desire strikes to visit neighbors, get to church, or go to the local park.

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Your walkways and trails are "hidden" treasures

Like many people, you're probably thrilled that your community offers walking trails (and your dog likely digs this feature, too). But if your trails are hidden, dimly lit or overgrown, that's a sign that your community likely wasn't designed as well as it could have been. Hidden trails pose not only a safety risk, but they also prevent you from connecting with your community when you take that daily walk (although Fido might enjoy his privacy).

You feel disconnected from the community
There are a lot of benefits to living on an island (mid-morning swim anyone?), but if you're looking to be part of a community, you don't want to feel like your home is centrally located in the Boondocks. Your neighborhood should be designed in a way that connects resident families to their surroundings by strategically designing the homes around parks, community centers and other amenities. After all, the layout of any neighborhood just might be the key to connecting community members naturally.

Design Dilemma?

You have finally taken that leap, by purchasing your new home. You picture the type of flooring, countertops, cabinets, the color of the walls and now you and your spouse are finally at the design appointment.  The question of what type of kitchen cabinet would you like comes up and you want traditional and your spouse prefers modern.  How do you go about compromising so everyone feels satisfied with the choice?

In our Design Center, our Interior Designers, Malia Warburton and Andera West, witness many homeowners wrestling with these decisions.  When couples come together to pick out the design features of their new home, our designers generally find that one person is more involved in the process than the other.  Occasionally, couples will leave the room to discuss certain items or on rare occasions they will debate the choices right there in the design appointment.  Often when these debates happen it is in the form of play banter and teasing, which helps soften the situation even though it is a huge investment. 

Each spouse has their own items that are really important to them, and they are okay with letting the other spouse make other decisions.  When couples have discussed the options ahead of time and communicated them to one another than the design appointments tend to go smoothly.  Here are some tips from our designers that might help you when you are picking out your new home’s design features:

·      Be clear with one another about the budget available for design options

·      Limit distractions, best as possible, during the design appointment (kids, cell phones, etc…)

·      Search for inspiration beforehand (Pinterest, Houzz, Better Homes & Gardens)

·      Bring photos of what you like

·      Determine how you’d like your home to show off your personality as well as cater to family needs.

·      Set a time prior to your official design appointment to browse options in the design center.

·      Take a walk through the model home just to design gather ideas.

·      Create a list of must haves and wants.  Prioritize each list.

·      Budget necessary time for the appointment.  Don’t let yourself feel rushed to make decisions.

Last of all it goes without saying that patience and a sense of humor help in this process. In those moments when you are feeling frustrated during the design appointment and struggling to find common ground, we recommend reading a

fun little article that might help turn your appointment around.