November 2011 Articles

December 2011 Aricles

 

 

Finding Your Home: Start with the Floor Plan, Finish with the Features

When shopping homes for sale in Aiken, SC, you will probably enter each prospective home with a checklist of feature and finish must-haves. And that makes sense! From flooring to cabinets to paint color, having the features that suit your personal taste and lifestyle help make a house your home. This is especially true if you work with a builder like Keystone who provides the amazing opportunity to customize almost every feature, starting with the land a home sits on.

But before you can even get to the custom features, shouldn’t you ensure the home’s layout fits your lifestyle too? You can spend hours choosing a dining room light fixture, but if your family prefers to eat at the kitchen island instead of the formal dining table, that fantastic light may never even be turned on!  

So remember there’s more to a floor plan than the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and create a list of layout must-haves to also bring along when considering homes for sale in Aiken, SC:

  • Include what you like about where you currently live.  Are there conveniences or comforts you wouldn’t want to compromise in your new home, such as a walk-in closet or a storage closet?
  • If bringing existing furniture pieces measure and map them out to ensure your most critical pieces fit. 
  • Consider if your family dynamic might change while you’re in your new home.  If you have a growing family, how will a first floor master will work for you?  Is it okay if it’s away from the other bedrooms?
  • If you love to entertain, look for an open floor plan where the kitchen and family room flow seamlessly, creating a larger space for visiting with guests.  Or, if you prefer a quiet place to read, ensure you have a den or loft perfect for your favorite chair and side table.

When you head out to search homes for sale in Aiken, SC, your list will help narrow the variety of floor plans to see and keep you on track to finding the best layout for you. 

Organizing Your Holiday Schedule

The holidays are here and ready to wreak havoc on your daily planner and your stress level! From shopping to cleaning and from parades to parties, it’s easy to get overwhelmed instead of excited about all the holiday hustle and bustle.

But if you take some time to organize your schedule you can limit the chaos and keep the cheer this holiday season. With a little time management, you might even find there’s more time available than you’d think. Perhaps you will finally find time to search homes for sale in Aiken, SC and find your dream home— the ultimate holiday gift!

Start your organization by adding your parties, end-of-year appointments and family events on one calendar. If you have these hard dates listed, you will have an easier time filling in the more flexible tasks like shopping or cleaning the house before out-of-town guests arrive. Actually penciling these tasks in—with time limits and lists—will keep you on task and on time.

Add in time to organize your house before you start unwrapping your gifts. Clean out a closet or the playroom to make room for the new clothes and toys. Of course, if it’s been an exceptionally good holiday and you don’t know where you’ll keep the abundance of gifts, maybe it’s time for more space! Take look at new homes for sale in Aiken, SC to add to your square footage.

The bottom line is that organizing your schedule can help you find that time for the most important things over the holidays. Whether it’s most important to you to visit homes for sale in Aiken, SC for a glimpse of where you could live in 2012, or if it’s most important to put your feet up in front of the fire while listening to holiday tunes, be sure to book that time on your holiday schedule!

Fun Thanksgiving Decorating Tips

It may seem like just yesterday when the trick-or-treaters came knocking on the doors of homes in Aiken, South Carolina. But as quickly as the candy was emptied from the Halloween bowls, a month has passed and we’ve arrived at Thanksgiving! And while you may already have that Christmas “twinkle” in your eye (probably from the decorations in all the stores) don’t forget there are some fun and easy Thanksgiving decorating ideas that will add to your fall festivities before the bright lights go up in December!

If you’ve been browsing homes in Aiken, SC you’ve most likely noticed there’s only a few leaves still hanging onto the trees. The beautiful autumnal tones create a mosaic blanket over streets and lawns, while the smell of crisp, fall breezes fill the air. Bring those beautiful sights and smells indoors! Create a centerpiece, wreath or candle holders with natural items such as leaves, twigs, berry branches, and grasses. Add a little color and variety to your arrangement by bringing pumpkins, apples or grapes into the mix.

Replace everyday pictures with your children’s Thanksgiving artwork from school. If you don’t want to remove your pictures or worry about finding artwork that fits the frame, use two-sided tape or festive stickers to adhere the artwork to the outside of the glass.

If you’ve just moved into one of the wonderful new homes in Aiken, SC and haven’t had a chance to paint yet, get a little more daring with your festivities! Paint a frame on one of the blank walls. Ask all your guests what they are thankful for this year and have them write it in the “frame” on the wall! Guests can enjoy it throughout the day and you can take a picture to save the memories for years to come.

Whatever you decorating plan may be this Thanksgiving season, have fun with it. Enjoy the holidays!

Augusta/Aiken Holiday Events

 

If you’ve just moved in to your new home in Augusta, GA you may be longing for a break from the unpacking boxes or completing just one more household project. And why shouldn’t you? The holidays are a perfect time for us all to stop and enjoy the world around us! Besides, the boxes will get unpacked eventually—that’s what New Year’s resolutions are for!

Here are just a few of the fantastic, festive events going on in Augusta, GA and nearby Aiken, SC that will get you out of the boxes and into town!

  • Prepare to be amazed at what can be made out of Christmas lights! From a Christmas tree maze to storybook characters, you’ll see it all lit up at the Lights of the South—a magical showcase of over four million lights illuminating a 100-acre forest. It’s open through December 30 and can’t be missed.
  • Look but don’t eat at the Aiken County Historic Gingerbread Contest! Check out handcrafted and decorated gingerbread houses December 8-11 at the Aiken County Historical Museum.
  • On December 8, head to downtown Aiken for the Night of 1,000 Lights. Walk through the luminary-lit historic streets and enjoy food, festivities and even a visit with Santa Claus himself.
  • Mrs. Claus is coming to town! Bring your children (8 and under) for Storytime with Mrs. Claus at the Weeks Center in Aiken on December 8. Mrs. C will give away free books to all children in attendance. If you’ve just moved to the area this is a great way to meet families around your new home in Augusta, GA.
  • Get the kids’ Christmas lists in! Join the Pre-K Visit with St. Nick on December 15 at the Henry H. Brigham Community Center in Augusta. The event is complete with refreshments, games and raffle giveaways.
  • Ring in the season at the Imperial Theater in downtown Augusta. The genres range from Elvis to bluegrass, but the music is all Christmas!
  • On December 17, enjoy An Evening in December. Bring the family to hear holiday songs performed by The United Sates Army Signal Corps Band.

Of course, even if you’re just visiting the area for the holidays, once you’ve had a chance to check out these wonderful communities and experience life here, maybe it will be time for you to look for a new home in Augusta, GA too! 

 

 

 

Easy Gift Ideas for Your Holiday Host

 

Whether you’re knee deep in finalizing details for your new home in Aiken, SC or just busy with the hectic holiday season, you may not have had a second to think about what to get for the host of next weekend’s party. Here are a few simple and quick gift ideas that you can be excited to share with your friends!

 

Eat, Drink, Be Merry.

·         Order a bottle of wine with a personalized label. You can include a picture of the host’s home or a thank you note for the great party. You can also bring 2011 commemorative bottles of wine, like the Clos du Bois Banana Republic-label to share one of the coolest trends of the season.

·         If you’re asked to bring an appetizer, serve it on a holiday dish for the host to keep once the party is over.

·         Ask to borrow the host’s iPod beforehand and download a holiday playlist for the party.

Home for the Holidays.

·         Frame a picture of their new home in Aiken, SC. If you have a little more time before the event, order a personalized piece of art.

·         Thank them and share the holiday cheer all at once with a 2011 keepsake ornament.

Seal of Approval.

·         Next time your host throws a party they can punch up their invitations with a return address stamp.

·         Personalize an apron or pick up monogrammed candles

·         Pick up gift cards to a home improvement store for your host to use on remaining projects in their new home in Aiken, SC.

Any way you slice the apple pie or pour the eggnog, your host will be happy with any of these fun and thoughtful gifts!

 

Hot Holiday Gifts for the Last Minute Shopper

If you’re in the market for a new home in Graniteville, SC as this year ticks to a close, check out Keystone Build on Your Land. With Keystone, you choose the custom home you want from a wide range of floorplans. And you build where you want, for the price you need. That’s a last minute gift to yourself that even Santa can’t beat!

But with just a couple days left until the big day, if searching for or settling into that new home has kept you from getting through your Christmas gift list, then you’re officially in the last minute shopper crowd! While the time crunch might add some pressure to your shopping experience, rest assured there are still some great gifts and great deals to be found!

For the neighbor who’s just moved into a new home in Graniteville, SC:

Give them a gift card to a home improvement or home furnishing store. Or, get them a subscription to a home décor magazine like Real Simple or Better Homes and Gardens so they can get decorating ideas all year long.

For out-of-town family and friends:

There are a few online stores that will still guarantee Christmas Eve delivery, and some even with free shipping! But if you don’t have time to research the free shippers and you want to cut out the high shipping costs, go for e-gift cards. Merchants like Barnes & Nobles, Walmart and Victoria’s Secret offer these great options for last minute gift-giving.

For family members in your new home in Graniteville, SC:

Go for a framed family picture for the new mantle or the still-bare bedroom walls. Drugstores or retailers like Target, Costco and Walmart with self-service photo kiosks and in-store photo processing make photo printing a cinch. Many can print within an hour and have online ordering available. Plus they all offer an array of frames to match the size of the photo and styles of your new rooms.

If you still have a really long list tackle for your family, don’t fret the mall! There are actually a lot of great, last minute deals to be found until the doors close on Christmas Eve.