Enjoy this article by Phil Crone.  You can read the full article HERE.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area tops the nation in job growth, with Houston coming in second.

The two metro areas have added 134,200 nonfarm jobs in the past 12 months, according to figures released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the equivalent of 368 new jobs every day.

Dallas-Fort Worth leads the country with an increase of 83,100 nonfarm jobs between April 2010 and the same month this year. Houston is No. 2 with a gain of 51,100.

Rounding out the top five are the Chicago (up 37,100 nonfarm jobs), Los Angeles (up 36,200) and Washington (up 25,700) markets.

The full article can be read at the website of the Dallas Business Journal’s parent company.

When the time comes to build your new custom home in Dallas, Texas you will have options galore in the kitchen.  Most people cannot wait to start picking cabinets and countertops though!  If you like this kitchen, here is the scoop on the cabinets you are looking at:

• Raised molding doors
• Finish panel ends
• Open island corner post with round molded corners at open shelving
• Decorative scroll toe kicks
• Upper cabinets extend 10′ to ceiling with display doors set for glass
• Water fall stagger over large built in fridge
• Large profile crown molding, accenting a beautiful custom wood hood
• CnC milled arch front panel
• Deep pot and pan drawers either side of large range
• Well thought out and functional work triangle

If you have any questions about designing or building your new kitchen or remodel project, feel free to contact Dallas, Texas custom home builder Veranda Fine Homes at any time.

Cabinets pictured by Metroplex Cabinets, Inc. and Veranda Fine Homes

Veranda Fine Homes and Renovation appreciates fine artistry in our architecture with an endless array of custom designs and styles that range from European Villa, Mediterranean, Provincial, Traditional, Modern Contemporary, Texas Hill Country and more…  The design of your distinctive home will encompass all that luxury living requires. We will design your home with you in mind giving you an enjoyable interactive experience and the professional guidance you need when customizing and refining each detail.  Even if you have already had plans drawn with your own architect we will be build the home to those specifications.   

Veranda Fine Homes and Renovation prides itself on master craftsmanship, attention to fine detail and the vision of our customers to ensure that your new home or renovation encompasses the one of a kind feeling that you call home.  

Our extensive operational background has led to many streamlined processes which translates to cost savings for our customers without sacrificing quality. With over 25 years of experience in the home building industry, our commitment to excellence, quality construction, authentic architectural floor plans and customer services set us apart from other custom builders.

We create your home to look like a striking canvas with elegant curb appeal, courtyards that open to the stars, lavish outdoor living areas with fire pits and outdoor kitchens, dramatic entryways, state-of-the-art kitchens, plush master suites and open elegant entertaining areas.

Come find what you have always been looking for at Veranda Fine Homes and Renovations.

Your home’s landscaping and curb appeal are the first thing guests notice when they arrive at your home.  Veranda Fine Homes takes great pride in designing and integrating aesthetically appealing landscaping that will set your home apart from the rest.  Here are 10 great ideas from Archi-trend to keep your home’s exterior looking the best on the block:

1.)   Color of your exterior home: Before you start on the yard, start on your physical exterior of your home. Look at neighboring homes, and drive through the neighborhood to get the general aesthetic, and color palette of other homes. While your house doesn’t have to be the same color, it should be within the same historic or aesthetic color palette as neighboring homes. Consider repainting your home, or pressure washing siding or brick.

2.) Accentuate the accents of your home: Whether you have shutters that adorn the sides of your exterior windows, or columns that greet potential homebuyers on the front porch, ensure they are all immaculate in restoration, upkeep and they are in good condition. Ensure that low planters, brick walls, fences, exterior lighting, and garage entryways are free of debris and all damaged areas have been repaired.

3.) Interior finishes don’t hinder the outside appeal: For many homeowners the thought of standing outside their home and looking back at the house isn’t considered. Interior finishes such as window treatments; window hanging decorations, and window obstructions, such as furniture in front of windows can be seen from the curb. Ensure furniture, window treatments, and other interior elements cannot be seen from the street, or they are in complimenting colors to the outside of the home.

4.) Walkway and entry areas: The next area homebuyers will look at are the entryways to get into your home. Consider the driveway, sidewalk, stairs, and stepping stone pathways around your home and clear these of weeds, debris, and pressure wash concrete, brick, and pavers to give a clean appeal to your stepping areas. If preventable, try not to park cars in the driveway, especially if they leek oil and leave unsightly stains on the concrete.

5.) Bring in unsightly items: Curb appeal is also associated with how your family lives on a day-to-day basis while your home is up for sale. Ensure toys, garbage cans, yard debris filled trash bags, and garden tools are picked up immediately after using them. Items left out for days on end, gives your home an unkept look, and forms opinions in homebuyers minds about the upkeep of your home.

6.) Manicured grounds are ideal: Take a look at your lawn area and determine the condition of the grass and surrounding plant beds. While a newly cut and trimmed lawn is ideal, so is healthy landscaping. If you have dead spots, weeds, and unsightly poor areas of your lawn, consider hiring a lawn service or landscaping professional to get your lawn looking ideal as possible.

7.) Year-round beauty is essential: Homebuyers purchase homes year-round, which means your foliage and grounds shouldn’t have an excuse to not look attractive. From colorful foliage in the warmer months, to well manicured structure and form of trees and evergreen plants in the colder months. Shake off the excuse that the season has to dictate how well you keep up your curb appeal!

8.) Replace welcoming elements: Believe it or not, elements such as the mailbox, house numbers and door hardware can make a big impression on homebuyers. If you’ve lived in your home for a while, consider buying new elements and replace the old ones. These small elements can send a welcoming impression and are relatively inexpensive to replace.

9.) Spruce up outdoor furniture: Whether you have garden furniture on your front porch, or you have outdoor lounging furniture on your back patio, spruce up their appearance with fresh cushions, throw pillows, and newly painted or pressure washed surfaces. Similarly, to the furniture inside your home, leisure areas are always appealing to homebuyers.

10.) Add instant color: If you want to bring instant color to your curb appeal, consider planters with seasonal plants at your front door, positioned throughout your yard, and at the sides of your garage entry. Potted plants will add instant color to the overall appearance of your home, and will make homebuyers happy to come see more inside.

The 10 ideas mentioned above to give your home’s curb appeal a boost are reposted from www.archi-trend.com  We thought these were great ideas and we hope you think so too!

More than 100 designers who are members of the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), and have designed kitchens or bathrooms during the last three months of 2010, participated in an NKBA survey to reveal design trends in the marketplace for 2011. Here are the top 7 trends predicted to stay strong in 2011:

1) Shaker styling
The Shaker style began a rise in popularity in 2009 and gained momentum in 2010. By the end of the year, Shaker has supplanted Contemporary as the second most popular style used by NKBA member designers. While Traditional remains the most popular style, having been used by 76% of designers surveyed over that last three months of 2010, that’s a slight drop from the previous year. Meanwhile, the percent of respondents who designed contemporary kitchens fell to 48%, while Shaker rose to 55%. Cottage was the only other style to garner at least 20% of the market, as it registered at 21%.

2) Dark finishes
Dark natural finishes overtook medium natural, glazed, and white painted finishes to become the most specified type of finish toward the end of 2010. While medium natural fell from being used by 53% to 48% of designers, glazed from 53% to 42%, and white painted from 49% to 47%, dark natural finishes rose from 42 to 51%. Light natural and colored painted finishes remained fairly common, as each rose slightly from the previous year: 24% to 25% for light natural and 24% to 29% for colored paints. Distressed finishes dropped significantly from a year ago, when they were used by 16% of designers, to just 5%.

3) Wine with everything
While the incorporation of wine refrigerators seems to be on the decline (see “Four doors, not coupes”, below), unchilled wine storage is growing in popularity. While only 39% of surveyed designers incorporated wine storage areas into their kitchens at the end of 2009, just over half—51%—did so as 2010 came to a close. While other types of cabinetry options remain more common, most are on the decline, including tall pantries (89% to 84%), lazy Susans (9. 0% to 78%), and pull-out racks (81% to 71%). Appliance garages also seem to be falling out of favor, as their use declined from 36% at the end of 2009 to 29% a year later.

4) Four doors, not coupes
The French door refrigerator has strengthened its position as the type specified most often by NKBA member designers. While freezer-top refrigerators were only specified by 8% of designers as 2010 drew to a close—down from 10% a year earlier, freezer-bottom models fell very slightly from 60% to 59% and side-by-side units actually rose slightly from 46% to 49%. Meanwhile, French door refrigerators jumped from 67% to 78%. Among smaller units, refrigerator or freezer drawers remained flat at 31%, while undercounter wine refrigerators fell sharply from 50% to 36%, an interesting change given the increasing use of unchilled wine storage.

5) Introduction to induction
Induction cooktops haven’t overtaken gas and electric models, but they’re closing the gap. As we entered 2010, gas cooktops had been recently specified by 76% of NKBA designers, compared to 38% for electric and 26% for induction. However, while the incorporation of gas cooktops has fallen to 70%, electric cooktops has risen slightly to 41%, while induction cooktops are up to 34%. Meanwhile, single wall ovens are down from 46% to 42%, although double wall ovens are up from 68% to 74%. In addition, warming drawers are down from 49% to 42%, and ranges are down sharply from 81% to 68%.

6) LED lighting
Incandescent lighting continues its journey to obsolescence. While 50% of NKBA member designers incorporated incandescent bulbs into their designs at the end of 2009, only 35% have done so a year later. Instead, designers are clearly opting for more energy-efficient lighting options. While the use of halogen lighting is down from 46% to 40% over the past year, LED (light-emitting diode) lighting has increased from 47% to 54%. Designers aren’t turning to CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) as a solution, though, most likely due to the poor quality of light they produce; their use by designers remained flat at 35%.

7) Trash is treasured
A greater emphasis is being made to address trash considerations in the kitchen. Some 89% of kitchens designed by NKBA members in the final quarter of 2010 include a trash or recycling pull-outs. In addition, garbage disposals were incorporated by 86% of designers, up from 75% the previous year. Trash compactors have also become more common. Entering 2010, they were recently used in designs by 11% of designers, but a year later, that figure had climbed to 18%. These changes may be due to an increase in sustainability awareness, but they certainly indicate an increase in concern toward trash generated in the kitchen.

**The original article may be found here.

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