The Latest Lighting Trends for your Home or Business

Selecting lighting is a major decision when updating a home or office. With the many innovation choices in lighting and light sources available, homeowners and business owners have a plethora to choose from when it comes to assorted styles and sizes.

The Latest Lighting Trends for your Home or Business
Source: TAB Associates

For 2013, lighting trends focus on several areas of home decor, from color to energy efficient bulbs. The main trend for lighting is the finish with this year focused on polished nickel and chrome.

Energy efficiency is also a focus. Along with a decrease in any electric bill, halogen, xenon, fluorescent and LED lights provide more luminescence and efficiency than incandescent bulbs.

Recessed and track lighting primarily in the living room, kitchen, bedroom, dining room and family room are current trends. Track lighting offers flexibility in movement while recessed lighting adds a soft ambiance.

Light fixtures are abundant and designers want to make a statement with unique pieces such as chandeliers. The intricate and ornate design makes them a piece of artwork worthy of use in any room, including the kitchen.

Trends say standard lighting with no pizzazz in the kitchen is a no-go. Incorporate LED lights in dark areas.

TAB Associates has provided expert design and quality construction services for over 30 years. Whenever it’s time to redesign your home, call on TAB’s professional architects to fully outfit your home in style.

The Elegance of Wooden Ceilings

The Elegance of Wooden Ceilings
Wooden ceilings can add a homey elegance to any new home or property.

At TAB Associates, we like to keep up to date with the latest in architecture and design trends, and there’s one Colorado home design trend that’s really grabbing our attention — wooden ceilings.

Wood plank ceilings are a popular choice for a wide variety of reasons. They not only add an element of elegance to a home, they also are practical, can be sustainable and ecologically sound, and can go along with different design varieties. From the planked ceilings of a rustic log cabin, to the high gloss of a dramatic vaulted ceiling, wood is one of the best media to use in designing an interior.

Different types of paneling can add different textures and moods to a room — dark woods, light woods, and everything in between can help you create the atmosphere that you want the most in your home. From a rich dark wooden ceiling to create an intimate dining room, to a bright, high gloss wood to create an open and bright space in the living room, this material is ideal.

Consider using wooden ceilings for your next remodeling project — this is a Colorado home design trend that’s popular because combines form and function!

Image courtesy of TAB Associates

Why Should I Hire an Architect?

Why Should I Hire an Architect?
Hiring an architect will help to bring clarity to any project, large or small.

When it comes to hiring an architect in Colorado, many people think they can save a bit of money by just hiring on a contractor. While it’s true that it often costs a little bit less to go with a contractor, going with an architect can lead to greater satisfaction.

Here are the top reasons why you should consider hiring an architect:

  • High satisfaction rate: Those who work with architects instead of just contractors find that they are more satisfied with the quality and look of the project upon completion.
  • Getting what you want: When it comes to big renovations and custom built buildings (residential or commercial), it’s important to get exactly what you want. Architects have greater schooling and vision to help you make that happen.
  • Working with authority: Think of the architects as the planners and builders, and the contractors as the work force. Architects can do more in terms of working with building codes in certain cities.

If you’re planning a big remodeling project or are looking for a custom built home, consider TAB Associates Inc. You may be pleasantly surprised about how much more satisfying the experience is.

Image courtesy of Tab Associates 

Understanding the Architectural Language

Understanding the Architectural Language
Learn these important buzzwords as you begin a new project with a Colorado architect.

While we believe our architects in Colorado at TAB Associates are easy to understand, we also know that it’s common for architects to use terminology that is understandable to professionals, but have different meanings otherwise. To best communicate with your architect, here are a few buzzwords in our profession and their meanings:

  • Structure. Though this term can mean the literal building or the components that hold said building together, it can also mean the way a space is organized.
  • Program. This is a term that gets used often. It simply means a description of your needs, desires, and budget constraints. It’s a good idea to share your program with your architect to get exactly what you want from your custom-built home.
  • Schematic design. These are often confused with construction drawings, but they’re not the same. Schematics are a detailed sketch of a preferred design, while construction drawings are complete descriptions of what will be needed to build the building.

If you’re looking for architects in Colorado who are happy to custom build a house that works with your lingo and lifestyle, please contact us, or call us at 970-766-1470.

What’s Trending: 2013 Fall and Winter Interior Design Trends

Fall interior design trends for 2013 affect the choices of residential home owners, commercial businesses, resorts or any location that benefits from creating innovative interiors. The fall/winter trends of 2013 utilize a palette of colors with an infusion of individual attitude, ranging from bold to pastel.

What's Trending: 2013 Fall and Winter Interior Design Trends
Use these new, innovative interior design trends as the colder weather returns.

The four trends for the upcoming season are: Flint, Storm, Clash and Alpine.

Flint incorporates the rich colors of the earth’s soil, complimented by warm neutrals and rust. The trend blends bold with soft to generate a sophisticated environment, while retaining an edge.

Storm runs the gamut of color intensity, from hot to cold, using rich, deep blues and smokey shades to bright canary yellow and softer colors of salmon and sand. It is an expressive and light and airy theme.

Clash makes a statement using bold colors tempered with pastels, resulting in a positive and expressive interior. The elegant, bold and sophisticated theme works well in luxury environments.

Alpine is refreshing with its approach to warm reds and natural greens and brown. The trend is inviting and friendly, combining colors with natural materials such as wood and cork.

TAB Associates has more than 30 years of experience with in architecture services including development, planning and professional design services.

Image courtesy of TAB

Get to Know the Minds Behind TAB Associates, Inc.

Get to Know the Minds Behind TAB Associates, Inc.
TAB Associates has a group of dedicated architects who will strive to make your vision a reality.

How often do you get the chance to know your architects in Colorado? Not often enough, says TAB Associates; and not knowing your architects can lead to not getting the quality and style you want in a custom-built home.

We at TAB Associates are changing that with our architects in Colorado, one architect at a time.

In a recent interview with Tab Bonidy, president and owner of TAB Associates, he suggested that one of the most important aspects to providing superior service was putting aside the architect’s ego, so that the clients are free to express what they want most in their custom-built homes or log cabins. This comes from an architect who has a masters in environmental planning from Arizona State University, from their solar energy planning and technology program, with over 30 years experience in the industry.

It doesn’t stop there, either — both Greg Macik and Warner Hopkins bring their experience to building dream homes for clients, and remove their egos from the process, ensuring all of our clients get exactly what they desire, and what they think will be most pleasing to live in.  This doesn’t mean our clients do not get our own expertise, just in a suggestive form.  We always say, “It is your home, not ours, it is our job to give you what you want.”

Here at TAB Associates, we dedicate ourselves to making your dreams a reality, and a comfortable one, at that.

Image courtesy of TAB Associates