interior home

our Christmas Cabana (the lights are up!)

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

Just a little pretty from The Junior League of Austin's annual A Christmas Affair.

How to Start Your Home Design

Thinking of building a new home? Here are some tips for getting your ideas together for your home design.

Find and purchase your land
Start documenting your ideas to present to Bonin Architects

Why is it important to purchase your land before you start getting too far in the process of the home design? The land will undoubtedly have an impact on the design of the home: its footprint, number of stories, whether or not you can have a walkout basement, orientation, etc. Once you have your land, Bonin Architects will visit the property with you to help site the home within the town Planning Board regulations and the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act guidelines.

Then it’s time to start gathering your ideas for your new home. General requirements such as the use of the home (primary residence, vacation, or retirement home), the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the location of your Master Bedroom, the use of outdoor space, and having an eat-in kitchen or separate dining room are some things to start thinking about.

Bonin Architects will work with you during the Schematic Design Phase of the home design to develop the size, footprint and layout of the home. In this phase you will also address any specialty features, rooms, and other priorities you have for the home, including a home theater, office and/or media room, craft room, sun room, porches, decks and basement use. Use your current home as a comparison for what you like and what you do not like about each room, space, and its use.

Working with Bonin Architects for your home design will result in having much more than a home with a standard floor plan – together, we will create a custom home design that matches your philosophy and lifestyle, a reflection of who you are, how you live.

Ikat Print... on Christmas cards

This pretty and fresh card design fromTiny Prints is on my eye for my family's card this year.

I ordered round cards last year for something different from all the others. Very fun.

And I'm thinking about the tri fold as well. Very sweet.

Don't forget matching labels! Love these.

http://www.tinyprints.com/shop/picture-christmas-cards.htm

Design Your Home Before You Find Property?

Once you decide to build a home, it’s hard not to think about it. There are many design elements to consider, and your architect will guide you through the decision-making process. Some of these you can decide on before you find the perfect piece of property; however, there are some decisions that will be influenced by the characteristics of your land.

Design elements to think about before you find property:

Specialty rooms for hobbies or activities;
The number of bedrooms and bathrooms you will need;
Storage space requirements;
Design details such as a gas fireplace vs. wood;
The theme of your interior design (colors, light, textures)

Wait until you find your land to determine these design fundamentals:

The home’s size and number of stories: site or local restrictions may limit the size, height, or even the placement of the home on your property;
Type of foundation: the type of foundation system you choose may be dependent upon local or state codes, the lot size, slope, and soil type;
Walkout basement: a sloping lot can allow for a walk-out basement, providing more usable square footage for recreation areas or additional guest bedrooms.

If you’re excited to get started on planning your home design, we suggest you create a binder of clippings and samples you are collecting. Include design elements and details you do not like: sometimes these are more valuable to your architect than features that you do like.

Ready to get started? Call or stop by to schedule a free site visit!

Meringue Cupcake Cookies

For these pretty little meringue cookies, I used a recipe from HERE. I started with room temperature organic egg whites, powdered sugar, a dash of cream of tarter and a tiny bit of color. These dried in the oven for two hours on 180 degrees. For my sister who is on a strict no grain, no dairy diet, these were a pretty little birthday treat for her. The only problem (here in Texas) is that these meringues can become gooey almost instantly in humidity, but just pop them back in the oven for ten minutes and they will dry up. Easy, fat free sweet!

Decorating with the Iconic Orange Box

I gifted my sister a Hermes twilly for her birthday last weekend. As she was opening her present, I realized that the little round box it comes in is as much a gift as the silk twilly itself.