When you work with our Vail Valley architects or Western North Carolina architects to develop your dream home, you may find that the architectural design offers a beautiful view from the living room or from your bedroom. The challenge is matching your decor to fit with the view. By focusing on a few key strategies, you can select decor that enhances and improves your space.

Minimize Your Furniture

When you are decorating a room that has a stunning view, you want to limit your furniture. The focal point of your design is the view from your window, so emphasize the outdoor area by minimizing the furniture in your space. If the room with a view is your bedroom, then avoid heavy dressers. Make sure to leave a large open space around the bed. For living rooms, arrange a couch and a few chairs, but avoid cluttering the space with furniture or items you do not need.

Avoid Heavy Curtains

Heavy curtains distract from the view by drawing the eyes away from the outdoor space. If you want to put curtains on the windows, then opt for light and semi-sheer curtains. Alternatively, do not put curtains in your windows. Avoid heavy curtains or curtains with colors that do not fit well with the view. You also want to make sure any curtains you select do not have complicated designs that may distract from your view. The composition of the view does not start at the window, it starts from the interior.

Focus on Neutral Colors

Since the view is the focal point of your space, you want to focus on neutral décor that allows the view to shine. Select neutral, light-hued colors so that any colors outside your window attract the eyes. For example, opt for a basic white, cream or light brown couch.

Designing your space with beautiful architectural balance in Vail Valley or Western North Carolina is a process. For more details about architectural features on a home or to set up an appointment with an interior design professional, contact us today! We are nationally certified architects currently registered in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We can be registered in any state, and are willing to work where ever you are located!

• Personal planning. When designing a home, don’t immediately run to design books to find out what you need. The home design process begins with you. Consider what things you would like to see in your home, including size and types of rooms. A good starting point is thinking about what was missing from your previous residence.  This will help you develop a good program.  We take the program and develop a conceptual design on the site.  We are 3 dimensional puzzle builders.

• Room design. Room design is a fundamental part of the home and where a majority of time will be spent. For example, would you like lounge space built into the bedrooms or would your prefer a different room in which to relax? Such considerations will significantly alter the home’s presentation.

• Topography.Considering the landscape of your home and its environment is important. Many homeowners want to avoid the cost of a land surveyor, but the land analysis proves to be indispensable when determining how you can build upon the land and which direction you are likely to face external elements.  Also the views need to be shot on the survey so they can be properly incorporated into the design.  We always design on the site so the home blends into the site appropriately.

If you are designing a home, contact us at TAB Associates to discuss the home planning and design process with our trained architects.

• The Speculative Residence- Set in the mountains, this home is situated to take full advantage of the view. Going beyond the simple cabin style home, this reaches 5000 square feet.
• TS Lot 42- taking some concepts of a more traditional mountain chalet home and expanding them, these townhomes are made from natural material to help them fit into their rustic environment.

Don’t be afraid to build out with your mountain chalet home, and include some more modern ideas like full glass walls. For more design ideas, follow our posts on Facebook.

To learn about the architectural and design services we offer at TAB Associates, contact us with inquiries.

• Greater attention from the public regarding large-scale construction projects- Members of the public are increasingly likely to take an active role in managing and deciding on large scale building projects that have a strong impact on the urban landscape and local economy.

• Off-the-grid on the urban scene– Although going “off-the-grid” used to be associated with living out of town, even urban dwellers are attempting to avoid a dependence on the grid for power.

• De-emphasizing vehicle traffic– Across the country, more and more commuters try to get where they need to be via public transport.

• Affordable low-rise and mid-rise housing– Instead of towering high-rise residential structures, urban dwellers increasingly prefer approachable, low/mid-rise housing.

For more industry news, check out our Facebook page. Contact us to learn about TAB Associates services.

A home that we designed in Avon, Colorado offers a beautiful view of Beaver Creek and Game Creek. Set in the mountains, its master bedroom faces the Gorge Range for a spectacular view.

This duplex in Wildridge offers a design that showcases the elevation. The duplex is built in contour with the slope of the land, and large windows make it easy to look out into the mountains.

This home in Red Sky Ranch is another one of our masterpieces, offering beautiful views of the Gore Mountain Range from the dining room and living room. The design of the living space perfectly frames the mountain views as the deck reaches out into the landscape seamlessly bringing the outside in.

Contact TAB Associates to discuss your custom home design, including a the importance of a view, with our qualified architects.  We study your site with the views in the forefront of importance.  We use a topographical program to verify views surveyed on site and study them in both plan and section.  In this way, the windows of the home frame the views and do not cut off the tops of the mountains from anywhere in the home.

For more information on the art and science of capturing dynamite views, click here.

• Conduct an interview. A good architect will take time to discuss their process with you prior to working with you. Look for an architect that matches your philosophy and style of design with experience designing homes in the size and scope of your ideal residence.

• Decide on a budget. Prior to meeting with an architect and beginning work, do research on your own and develop a budget. Develop a budget ahead of time so that the architect’s design and scope are within budget.

• Develop a lookbook. Have a good idea of the features you’d like in your home prior to meeting with an architect. Collect pictures of homes, rooms, and structures in your target style to show your architect.

Our experienced architectural team at TAB Associates can answer all of your questions about building a residence in the Vail, CO area and working with an architect. Contact us at TAB Associates to discuss building your dream home.

Building a home can take as little as five or six months from permit to completion if you live in certain parts of the country like the southern states that border the Atlantic Ocean, the Midwest, and the western states that do not border the Pacific, such as Idaho, Nevada and Montana.

Having a home built in Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee generally takes around seven months, while building a home along the west coast or in Alaska, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio usually takes an average of eight months. The northeastern region takes the longest time. Home building from Pennsylvania to Maine takes between nine and ten months.

If you hire a contractor to build your home, it typically takes about eight months to complete. When you handle the contracting duties yourself, it can take up to 11 months.

Ready to discuss your home building project? Contact TAB Associates, and follow us on Facebook.

Use the following outdoor room design ideas to help you come up with the perfect setup for yours:

• Focus on fun. Give your outdoor room a truly natural feel by using grass as the floor instead of wood or stone. Set out some rocking chairs and consider including a swing or two for a whimsical touch that kids and adults alike can enjoy.

• Make it multifunctional. Instead of just focusing on seating, get more use out of your outdoor room by including a fireplace, big-screen TV, kitchen area, a dining table and chairs, and a counter with a row of bar stools. This makes the room a great spot for relaxing or entertaining.

• Create an outdoor sleeping area. Turn your outdoor room into a place where you can enjoy sleeping under the stars in comfort on a suspended bed.

Ready to discuss your outdoor room project? Contact TAB Associates, and follow us on Facebook.

3D printing has been in the news a lot in recent years. This type of printing would allow a variety of items and materials to be printed for a wide range of purposes. As far as using it to design and build homes, that’s a long way off. However, some designers have been experimenting with the possibilities that this technology provides.

These designs don’t resemble the types of residences we’re used to, though. Part of adopting this approach would include either modifying them into more typical homes or getting people used to living in these very different home models. For now, the excitement over this technology is due to the freedom it gives architects to come up with new and very different home designs. It could also be used to create models of traditional homes to make it easier for people to decide what they want.

Need professional help designing a home? Contact us at TAB Associates, and follow our Facebook page.

When it comes to home design, avoid making these common floor plan mistakes:

• Don’t focus on what’s trendy. Instead, focus on choosing a floor plan that best suits your lifestyle. For example, open floor plans are popular now, but this type of floor plan won’t work if you have family members who prefer more privacy.

• Don’t forget about your budget. You might want a floor plan that’s larger than what you really need, so that you have more space. This could put an unnecessary strain on your finances, though, when you consider that a larger home means higher utility bills. Stick with a floor plan that’s within your budget instead.

• Don’t forget to take measurements. When you have the dimensions of a floor plan, make sure that your furniture and other home items will fit. Take measurements of these before settling on a floor plan.

Ready to get started on having a home built? Contact TAB Associates, and follow us on Facebook.