8 Cool Design Ideas For Your New Home
You’ll Want…Badly
written by Rob Maggin
When it comes to “cool” new home features, it’s kind of like what
they say about beauty,
“It’s in the eye of the beholder”.
But, when the majority of the 77 visitors who toured our brand
new Brookview Model home the last few weeks concluded that
this Bethesda new home was “very cool”, we knew we had
a winner.
In case you missed the new home tour, here’s a list of 8 cool
design ideas we used in this home you can use in your
next new home:
1. Natural Light
Everyone loved the amount of natural light coming in
from every room.
It’s not just installing windows that does the trick, but
the trick is installing windows in the right areas and
in the right configurations that really makes a home
feel filled with light. 
This “window corner” is an
example. (I’ll show you two
other cool ways we did this
in a minute).
2. Prefinished Distressed 3 Inch Pre-Engineered Wood Floors
We installed these dark floors on the first floor and
the second floor hallway.
These are low maintenance pre-finished
engineered three inch distressed wood.
3. Cambria Kitchen Countertops
People seem to really love these countertops.
We’ve put these same tops in about a half a dozen
new homes the last year.
And it’s not because they’re cheap! Cambria prices
are generally the same as granites.
And Cambria is 93% quartz, a natural stone (granites are
only about 40 to 60% quartz). So, it’s very durable and
requires very little maintenance.
4. Modern Stainless Steel Farmhouse Kitchen Sink
The last few years farmhouse kitchen sinks have
been real popular.
But, I think this new Kohler stainless steel
front-apron modern line has a whole new “hip” factor.
Plus, the the 16 gauge stainless steel
is easy to clean and actually offers some
sound absorption from dishwasher
and disposal noise.
5. Simpson African Mahogany Stain Grade Front Door
Pretty impressive door.
African Mahogany is a a deep brown tropical hardwood
that’s very heavy and stable.
This door adds a real sense of richness to the home. It’s a real
nice first feature your guests see as soon as they come up to the
front of your home.
And the door comes in different glass, side-lite and transom
configurations.
This one has two side-lites and no transom (a glass section on
top of the door), but you can see, let’s in plenty of
light (cool light technique #2).
#6. Rough Sawn Distressed Wood Ceiling Beams
The rustic ceiling beams and matching fireplace
mantle are definitely the strongest accent feature
on the first floor.
The distressed pine wood is stained dark to tie in to the
color of the floor, distressed fireplace mantel and stair rails.
And the contrasting brown makes a nice accent to the off white
walls and ceilings.
#7. Exterior Wall Stairway
The clever design impact of the placement of the
stairs on an exterior wall is the amount of natural
line that streams through the windows and lights
up the stair.
This is true for the stair to the basement,
as well. It’s always a bonus to get more
natural light in the basement, so it doesn’t
feel like a basement 🙂
Plus, this side exterior wall stair placement
makes for a very efficient use of space.
8. Master Bathroom – Not Too Big, Not Too Small
Here’s what I love about this bathroom:
- colors
- materials
- layout
- size
Conclusion
There are an unlimited number of opportunities to design lots of
cool features and amenities in to a custom home, if you have
just a little bit of imagination (and a genius architect).
So, there’s no reason every new home has to look the same.
And since you’re probably going to be in your home for many years,
why not create your cool home just the way you want it?
After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and when it’s your
home, you get to define what’s cool for you.
