Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

Moving into a new home is an exciting time. Moving into a new home right before the holidays take it to an entirely new level. Whether celebrating your first Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Christmas or Hanukkah in your new home, it’s always fun to welcome friends, neighbors and family to join in a seasonally themed inauguration of your house. Needless to say, food and music will likely play major roles – possibly even a favorite holiday film or two, but if you really want to fill the rooms and hallways of your home with laughter, you might want to incorporate a few fun holiday games. Best of all, Paran Homes has trolled the internet in search of the best holiday party games so you don’t have to!

Gratitude Game

This great Thanksgiving Day suggestion comes from Country Living Magazine. It involves multi-colored pick up sticks and a color-coded instruction sheet to match. With five suggested Gratitude themes, you can place a corresponding color next to each command. For instance, Brown for “Name a Person You are Thankful For”, Orange for “Name a Place You are Thankful For”, Green for “Name a Food You are Thankful For”, Blue for “Name a Thing You are Thankful For” and Purple for “Name Anything of Your Choice.”

To play, hold all the colored sticks in your hand and drop them so they fall randomly. Everyone gathers around the sticks and takes turns trying to pull sticks from the pile without making the other sticks move. As they successfully pull a stick, they must follow the command on the instruction sheet you created. The person next to them repeats the cycle. If one of the other sticks moves, they lose their turn. At the end of the game, the person with the most sticks wins!

Please Pass the Corn

For this Thanksgiving-themed game from PlayPartyPlan.com, you’ll need candy corn, popsicle sticks, several pie tins/shallow bowls and a table or kitchen island. Played in pairs, this game requires both players to place popsicle sticks in their mouths. On one end of the table is one contestant and a bowl full of candy corn, on the other is another contestant and an empty bowl. The goal is to empty one bowl into the other using only the popsicle sticks.

The first player can use their hands to place a candy corn on the stick in their mouth, they must then meet the other team member in the middle to transfer the corn from their stick to the others, without dropping it. The other team member must then drop the corn in the empty bowl, and this continues until the bowl full of candy corn is empty. As you become more skilled at the transfer, you can add more than one candy corn to your stick. The team that finishes first – with the fullest bowl – WINS (in other words, you don’t get rewarded for DROPPING your candy corn on the floor).

Santa Limbo

This Christmas party game suggestion comes from Shutterfly and involves a group of three or more guests, a limbo stick and a collection of throw pillows. Have participants put a “Santa belly” under their shirt using one of the pillows. Have two guests hold the limbo stick at a starting height, and then everyone can try to limbo underneath with their Santa bellies in place. Once everyone has tried, lower the stick slightly and have those who made it through go again. Continually lower the stick until one winner remains! For added fun, have everyone don Santa hats, play Christmas music and take lots of photos!

Stocking Guessing Game

Another great Christmas-themed suggestion from Shutterfly, this game comes complete with PRIZES! Stuff a stocking with fun little gifts you pick up that would have broad appeal for kids to grown-ups and boys to girls. Put a notepad in front of four or more participants, tie of the top of the stocking so no one can see inside and then pass it around so everyone can have a chance to feel the objects inside. They can then write down their ideas (but don’t let anyone peek) and pass it on to the next person. Once everyone has filled out their guesses, open the stocking to reveal what’s inside. The person with the most correct guesses wins the contents of the stocking.

Ornament on a Spoon

A fun Christmas game for larger gatherings, it’s the same concept as Egg on a Spoon – with a seasonal twist. According to Shutterfly, you break your group of 8 or more players up into teams for a relay course – with or without obstacles. With an ornament on their spoon, the first person will go through the course and return to pass it on. Players can only use their spoons and NOT their hands when passing the ornament. If someone drops their ornament, that person needs to return to the beginning and repeat the course again. Once the ornament is successfully passed off, it’s the next person’s turn and so on until everyone has completed the course. The first team to complete the course WINS!

Dreidel Scattergories

This Hanukkah-themed take on the popular Milton Bradley game of Scattergories comes from SignupGenius. You’ll need a timer and a list of categories – like food, animals, movie stars, colors, careers, clothing, TV shows, flowers, countries, etc. – written onto pieces of paper or index cards that are facedown. All the players will need a pad of paper and a writing utensil. And – of course – you’ll need a dreidel.

Flip a card to reveal the category and then spin the dreidel and whatever letter it lands on – N,G, H or S – your players will have two minutes (set your timer) to write down as many things that come to mind that start with the letter facing up. For example, if the category is food and the letter is N, they might write down nachos, nuts, noodles, etc. When the two minutes are up, each person counts the number of fitting answers and tallies their score. Repeat all the above until all the categories have been fulfilled. The person with the largest score wins.

Two Truths and a Fib

This game can be used for both Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations, but for Festival of Light-specific parties, test your party guests’ knowledge of the historical story of Hanukkah. Have everyone write down two true facts and one fib about Hanukkah – the real fun comes from telling the fib with such detail that it seems like the truth. Go around the circle and have each person tell their two truths and a fib. The other contestants should score which one they think is the fib on a piece of paper, then move on to the next person in the circle. Anyone who gets away with their fib without anyone catching on wins! To customize this game for Christmas, simply make it about the Christmas story. This idea also came from SignupGenius.

At Paran Homes, no matter the time of year, we hope you find many years of happiness in your new home. Best wishes to you and yours for a Happy Holiday Season!

In search of a new home in which you can host holiday gatherings for years to come? Check out our communities throughout Metro Atlanta and the Greater Nashville area! Many of our floor plans come with flexible living spaces or dedicated game rooms that are ideal for families who love to have FUN!

Image link: https://unsplash.com/photos/SUTfFCAHV_A

With the recent debut of Seaboard Junction in Loganville and the upcoming premiere of Gladstone Landing in Snellville, Paran Homes is finding a great reception to its age-restricted communities by Atlanta’s active adult homebuyers. Since the move to a new 55+ community often marks a transition to empty nest-hood, you may want to feather your new nest a little differently than your previous homes. Paran Homes is happy to provide you with a few tips to making your new empty nest feel FULL…

Surround Yourself with Loved Ones

One of the best ways to keep those you love close is by surrounding yourself with photos of their happy, smiling faces. Choose a color theme and stick to it regarding frames, only occasionally mixing in a little metal that coincides with your fixtures and handles – such as a brushed nickel, burnt umber or copper to change things up. If black plays a prominent role in your color story, consider using black frames to highlight several of your favorite photos – then feature them in a collage on a wall or two. Elect to go with all color or black and white in each collection. You can also use standing frames for bookcases and tabletops. Be careful not to overdo it, you don’t want your space to appear cluttered. Clean lines are all the rage these days and fewer frames means less to dust and more time for FUN!

Find Meaning in Mementos

Another way to fill your home with happy memories from your family’s journey is by creating shadow boxes that feature special mementos that hold meaning. Real Simple offers several suggestions for designing beautiful eye-catching shadow boxes that you can cherish for years to come. If your daughter or son played a sport or dance, you could have their jersey or favorite costume quilted onto a backdrop and framed – a great addition to a game room, media space or kids’ room for when the grandkids come to visit.

Choose Happy Colors

Whether for an accent wall or pops of color in your throw pillows and décor, be sure to use happy colors to make your home feel vibrant and full of life. VeryWellMind.com describes this as a modern take on the ancient practice of Chromotherapy and suggests that warm colors like yellow, red and orange are likely the happiest of colors. Although Pink is associated with romance and kindness, purple with wealth and wisdom, white with purity and innocence, green with nature and good fortune, and brown with reliability and strength. When black is used as an accent – particularly in a Feng Shui kind of way to harmonize your home – use it sparingly to have a grounding effect on your environment. It represents power. Blue, on the other hand, is thought to have a calming effect – depending on the shade used.

Incorporate Music to Your Smart Home

If you opt to add the convenience of Smart Home elements to your new home, be sure that music is incorporated somehow. If you have a central system that wirelessly pipes out tunes to various rooms of your home through a series of speakers, you can fill your home with your favorite music. From Mozart to Maroon 5 – and everything in between. According to BeBrainFit.com, “music activates every known part of the brain. Listening to and playing music can make you smarter, happier, healthier and more productive at all stages of life.”

Cozy Up with Comfy Furniture

Although you are an ACTIVE ADULT, you may want to occasionally turn on the boob tube and binge watch your favorite shows. It’s important to have cozy furniture for that reason, but also because inviting overstuffed furniture can help fill a space beautifully without making it feel cluttered. It’s a more practical solution than austere furniture you purchase only for appearance sake. You’ll also want your furniture to rank high on the cozy factor for those grandkid sleepover snuggle fests in front of the fireplace. S’mores, anyone?

Create Dedicated Spaces for Future Visits

While your Master Suite, Kitchen and Family Room may be all about you, you can create dedicated spaces for the people you hope to welcome regularly to your home. If you have grandkids, a bedroom themed just for them is sure to encourage regular visits. You might consider built-in bunkbeds to maximize the space in their room. Theme your adult children’s rooms similarly – maybe a slight suggestion of their room growing up or an homage to a favorite shared pastime like camping or visits to the beach. The same holds true for life-long friends when they come to call for an overnight stay. The point is to create a space that FEELS like it’s all their own – a place they look forward to visiting time and again.

Empty nesters, you aren’t merely limited to our active adult communities for your next home. Many of our communities throughout Metro Atlanta prove an excellent fit for families at every stage of life. To view a list of Paran Homes communities in Atlanta, peruse our floorplans to find the right one for you and check out our inventory of move in-ready homes, be sure to visit www.paranhomes.com.

The arrival of Autumn means different things to different people. It may mean the welcome return of Friday Night Lights to local high school football fields. It could mean the reappearance of long missed “pumpkin-spiced” items to restaurant menus. It might also mark the exchange of flip flops and tank tops for boots and sweaters, as well as the return of fall festivals, corn mazes, haunted houses, hayrides and the prospect for loads of fall fun. Whatever it means to you, it’s likely a season wrapped in warm memories of childhood that you can’t wait to recreate with the ones you love. With a season as well-loved as Autumn, it’s not unusual for people to literally want to surround themselves with the look, smell and feeling of the season. Paran Homes is happy to offer up a list of five tasteful ways you could bring a touch of fall indoors at your own home.

Autumnal Aromas

One of the easiest and most effective ways to set the scene in your home for fall is through seasonal scents. By filling your living spaces with aromas typically associated with the season, you’ll be setting a mood for every guest who walks through your door. From apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice to pecan pie and spiced cider, you can recreate these scents through a series of well-placed candles or diffusers.

Picture This

A very simple way to make the switch from one season to the next is by switching out your wall art and cherished family photos. Your wall art for Autumn could merely reflect colors associated with fall – like the vibrant oranges, reds and yellows – or may portray a fall scene like trees with changing leaves. You could also place a series of images in your favorite frames that show your family during different seasons – like your family at the beach in summer or your kids jumping into a pile of leaves in Fall or the whole family making snow angels on last year’s ski trip. By keeping them all inside the same frame, you could switch them out with every season AND use the frame as a storage space for photos from other seasons until winter, spring and summer roll back around.

Fall Fluff

Much like switching out your photos and artwork to reflect the corresponding season, the same holds true for your throw pillows, rugs and blankets. If you have a neutral backdrop with regard to your walls and furnishings, this should be fairly simple to do. In addition to colors that are commonly associated with fall, there are also prints that often coincide with the season like big bold buffalo check pillows or plaids. Toss a throw blanket here and there to send the message “cozy up and stay awhile.” Tie your rugs in to the season, as well – a great place to add a touch of color like a warm pumpkin geometric area rug or a multi-color stripe that combines rich shades of denim, hunter, crimson and more OR an in your face fall-themed rug that showcases fall leaves. Just make sure all of these elements play well together with one another, your furniture and your artwork.

Seasonal Place Settings

Set your table to reflect the season, as well. From placemats and napkins to napkin rings and plates, find a color story and pattern that gels with your other décor while letting your guests know they’re in for a real seasonal treat. Don’t forget your centerpiece! This is a wonderful place to set the scene for an epic autumnal meal.

“Nature” Up Your Nest

Probably the BEST way to bring a touch of fall indoors is to ACTUALLY bring a touch of fall indoors. Get creative with different sized pumpkins, gourds, acorns, pinecones, dried berries, leaves, dried wheat, twigs, dried corn stalks and more for wreaths, entry hall décor, centerpieces and mantle displays. Don’t be afraid to leave surprising seasonal touches in the powder room and guest rooms so that feeling your trying to create flows throughout the whole home.

If you’re in the market for a new home and hope to move in time to greet trick-or-treaters at your front door, be sure to visit our page of Move In Ready Homes. If you’re hoping to find the ideal community, homesite and floor plan where you and your family can welcome the change of seasons for years to come, visit us at www.paranhomes.com.

Some of us are naturally drawn to the Great Outdoors, while others prefer to enjoy its beauty from the climate-controlled comfort of our homes. Either way, there is a growing trend in interior (and, arguably, exterior) design that calls for a unification of indoor and outdoor living spaces. At Paran Homes, we often design our homes with this in mind – adding lots of windows to let in natural light and provide scenic views, creating outdoor living spaces that serve as great entertainment zones, and providing model homes that embrace this design trend and offer inspiration to our guests. We’ve compiled a list of four tips that you can try in your own home (or future home) to connect your indoor and outdoor living spaces.

1. Mirror Your Interior Design Theme Outdoors: If you have a color story and design theme throughout the interior of your home – say a nautical theme paired with a navy and white color story that boasts pops of bright orange – you’ll want to carry those same colors and theme outdoors to create a seamless flow between spaces. On one hand, it will make your outdoor living space feel connected to the indoors, and on the other, it won’t clash from a color or design perspective when you look out the window at your outdoor living space.
2. Use Window Treatments to “Frame” Your Backdrop: Framing your windows with long curtains hung slightly above the trim and extending all the way to the floor not only softens the room and adds an air of romanticism, but also draws the eye to the window and, more importantly, the scenery beyond the window. This virtually makes your backyard a “work of art” that you, your family, and your guests can enjoy year-round. Other possibilities include plantation shutters with large louvers to let in more light and optimize the view, in addition to shades that can be drawn open on particularly beautiful days.
3. Bring Elements of the Outdoors Inside: A great way to connect outdoor and indoor living spaces is by bringing elements of the world outside your window inside. This can include live plants, hardwood floors and rustic wood walls/beams/furniture, stone fireplace surrounds, nature-inspired artwork and décor, and more.
4. Create an Outdoor “Room”: By extending your ceiling from the indoors to the outdoors, you automatically create the perception that those spaces are connected. A covered porch extends your enjoyment during inclement weather and a screened-in porch could extend it even further. Covered porches also expand your design and usage options so much more so than an open patio. The cover a ceiling provides allows for things like cozy overstuffed conversation seating and wiring for an outdoor flat-screen TV, both of which provide more of a sense of its own space.

If you’d rather start fresh instead of trying to convert your current home to an indoor-outdoor oasis, Paran Homes welcomes the chance to build your next home – complete with a focus on outdoor living spaces. Many of our homes come with options to extend, cover, and screen in the patio. One of our most popular options is our Game Day Patio, featuring a covered outdoor living space complete with a hearth and pre-wiring for a TV. It’s the ideal spot for watching your favorite sports, like college football or major league baseball, while enjoying some fresh air with friends and family members. To learn more about Paran Homes, including our communities throughout the Southeast and our floor plans that offer the Game Day Patio option, please visit us online at www.paranhomes.com. For future tips, news about up-and-coming communities, and more, be sure to bookmark our blog!

At Paran Homes, we applaud and understand that our homeowners have their own interior design tastes and sense of style. After all, interior design can help make a house feel like home, serve as a reflection of a family’s collective personality and act as an inspirational backdrop to all of the memory-making that will occur within the walls, halls, and each and every room of the home.

For those homebuyers and homeowners who also like to design according to the latest design dictates and cutting-edge styles, we’ve looked to our team of award-winning designers to weigh in on the Top 10 Design Trends for 2019. Joy Kirkland of Innovative Interiors and Tracy Cook of Design Etc. regularly create amazing model homes in Paran Homes communities throughout Metro Atlanta and today they share some of their talent and insights with our readers…

1. Focus on Light, Views and Fresh Air: Joy states that many of her clients are seeking a connection with the fresh air of the outdoors. Homes with open floor plans, lots of natural light and outdoor entertainment space is important to buyers.
2. See Your True Colors: The long trend towards grays is swinging back to white, off-whites and beige to appeal to the broadest range of buyers. Joy says that her clients are seeking a more neutral, calm background while Tracy suggests sudden pops of color to add interest. There is less focus on adding color with accent walls and a heightened focus on adding color through accent pieces, artwork and décor like throw pillows, knick-knacks and rugs. Tracy says to keep an eye out for a resurgence of hot jewel tones, as well as a lot of “Blush” color appearing in the spring – thanks in part to the suggestion of Pantone’s Color of the Year: Living Coral (PANTONE 16-1546)
3. And While We’re on the Subject of Accent Pieces: According to Joy, expect to see accent pieces in inky shades of green and blue dominating the accessory market. Mixed metal accents will also be a big trend in 2019, such as soft combinations of silver and gold or nickel and bronze or pewter and aged iron together rather than the traditional purist approach using only one metal house wide.
4. Keep it Natural: When it comes to hot materials and motifs for 2019, Joy suggests that there’s a yearning for more warmth and comfort with natural touches. A mix of warmer natural materials such as wood, leather, silk, and stone will help capture the natural feel. Also adding to the textures are metallic linen draperies, saddle leather, clay accent pieces and woven rugs of cotton and jute.
5. The Ground Beneath Your Feet: One product that is dominating the new home construction and renovation markets is Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) flooring.  Joy says that they are more practical, sustainable and affordable than expensive real wood boards. Elle Décor suggests that you lean towards LVP that mimics light wood floors as opposed to the dark, rich cherry, walnut or mahogany.
6. Relaxed Refinement: Elle Décor predicts that comfort will be key in home décor in 2019 including plush accent rugs and cozy couches. Joy suggests that it will be wise to incorporate warm neutral hues in one’s furnishings using soft, comfortable fabrics like cotton, linen, leather, and velvet.
7. Lighten Up: Joy says that lighting is too often overlooked, even though it’s an essential component of every home. Aside from its functional purpose, when executed properly, lighting can serve as the jewelry of the home, setting a sense of personal style and character for every room. For 2019, the most desirable lighting will consist of clean, simple lines.
8. Go with the Flow: Tracy suggests that in 2019, we should expect to see more tone-on-tone hues on walls and trim – using different finishes. In addition to creating a seamless look, this technique (particularly in shades of white) will give the room a serene and spacious feel. With an open floor plan, this painting style will foster a cohesive flow from one room to the next.
9. Form Meets Function: Tracy also says that there will be an increased focus on creating useful spaces from unused space. Consider the needs of your family and reimagine the use of each space to fit those needs. For instance, an extra guest room might be better used as a playroom and homework station for families that have elementary and middle school kids.
10. Texture Gesture: Last but not least, Tracy suggests that textures will be a must in 2019, but not only textures you can touch – textures that add visual interest. Elle Décor states that measures like adding floral fabrics and wallpaper, as well as boldly patterned backsplashes in the kitchen could help add that textured visual appeal.

From all of us here at Paran Homes, we wish you and your family much happiness in 2019!

Source: https://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/trends/g23550602/design-trends-2019/

Now that there’s more than a slight chill in the area in the Southeast, it’s time to start preparing your home for colder days ahead. As temperatures drop, the weather can have an impact on your home that – if unprepared – could prove inconvenient… and potentially costly. Paran Homes offers the following 10 tips from industry experts to help you guard against a future freeze…

1. Check Your Gutters: Energy.gov warns that leaves that piled up in your gutters the previous fall could wreak havoc on your home the following year. Gutters clogged with leaves means that rain water can’t drain properly. That water can freeze and – even worse – can start to leak into the home causing water damage and the risk of mold growth. While this is not necessarily a concern for a new home, it’s a great practice to incorporate to your home maintenance routine over the coming years.
2. Schedule an Annual Heating Checkup: The Weather Channel reminds us that as colder temperatures take hold, homeowners turn on the heat for the first time in months. A cold night is not the best time to discover that your HVAC system is not in the best operating condition. The best way to avoid this is to be proactive and schedule a heating checkup. Again – this is not a necessary step for a brand-new home, but it will be an important step in the future.
3. Check the Damper: Cold air has a way of getting into the home in a number of unexpected places. One of those places is through the spot most commonly associated with keeping you warm – your fireplace. Be sure to check your damper to make certain it seals tightly when closed to keep the cold air out, but also check to make sure it opens properly so smoke and fumes can filter into the flue and outside of the home.
4. Seal Your Windows and Doors: While we’re on the subject of drafts, Energy.gov also warns that windows and doors that are not properly sealed can allow the cold to creep indoors. Begin by going around your home to check each for drafts. If you can’t sense it by touch, you might want to try lighting a candle and holding it near all four sides of your doors/windows to see if the flame flickers. If so, caulk or add weather-stripping to help minimize drafts. Much like adding an extra blanket to your bed in wintertime, incorporating heavier drapes is another measure you can take around windows that are particularly drafty.
5. Safeguard Your Outlets and Power Switch Plates: Another often overlooked place where drafts can creep in are power outlets and switch plates. Insulation may SURROUND the outlet or power switch but is rarely if ever placed INSIDE the space where the plate lies. Take an inventory of the number of power switch plates and outlets in each room – particularly those set on exterior walls, then invest in foam gaskets to place behind each plate for an added layer of protection against drafts.
6. Protect Outdoor Faucets: Faucets on the exterior of your home run the greatest risk of freezing and bursting if water is still caught in the pipe. To safeguard against that happening, The Spruce recommends making sure the valve that supplies water to the faucet is turned off, but the handle of the faucet itself is opened to allow any remaining water to drain out of the pipe.
7. Seal Your Air Ducts: According to EnergyStar.gov, about 20-30% of the air that moves through an air duct system in the average home – whether heated or cooled – is lost due to leaks, holes or poorly connected ducts. While some of your ducts are not visible, do an inspection of the ones that are – in your attic and unfinished basement – to make sure they are properly sealed. If you find leaks, EnergyStar.gov recommends “using mastic sealant or metal tape and insulating all the ducts that you can access. Never use duct tape, as it is not long-lasting. Also, make sure that the connections at vents and registers are well-sealed where they meet the floors, walls, and ceiling. These are common locations to find leaks and disconnected ductwork.”
8. Trim Trees Around Your Home: It’s something NONE of us like to imagine, but in the event of a major winter storm, branches heavy with ice or snow can break off and harm your home or property. Make an assessment of the trees around your home and trim back any branches that might cause a problem.
9. Check Your Furnace Filters: While most air filter manufacturers recommend changing them every 1 to 3 months, it’s a good idea to get in the habit of at least CHECKING them for buildup every 4 to 6 weeks. Having a clean filter means your furnace will run more efficiently and the air quality inside your home will be improved. With less likelihood of opening your windows to let fresh air in during the cold weather, that last part is really important.
10. Insulate your Water Pipes and Water Heater Tank: Energy.gov brings it home for the win with another great DIY project. Insulating your hot water pipes reduces heat loss, can raise water temperature 2°F–4°F hotter and reduces the risk of them bursting during a hard freeze. By doing so, you could effectively lower your water temperature setting and lessen your wait times for the water to heat up in the shower. By insulating the tank on your water heater – which is often located in a cold garage or basement – you could cut standby heat losses by 25%–45%. Pre-cut insulation jackets or blankets are available for as little as $20.

As an added bonus, many of these steps will not only increase the seal inside your home to protect from warm air escaping and cool air from creeping in, but they will also reduce your power consumption and help you save money on your energy bills.

Paran Homes takes your family’s comfort very seriously. That’s why we are proud to offer energy efficient construction in all of our homes along with Smart Home technology (per plan/per community). In search of the new home of your dreams in Atlanta, GA, Nashville, TN or ? We encourage you to discover the Paran Homes’ difference by visiting one or more of our communities throughout the Southeast today. To view our current communities, search available homes/home sites and find directions, please visit us online at www.paranhomes.com.