Feb 25, 2015
In the last 30 or so years, floor plans have gone through many changes, mostly for the better! When designing your floor plan, you no longer need to worry as much about the load bearings. This is due to multiple factors, namely improvements in construction materials, design, and engineered products. This innovation in design allows for a beautiful open floor plan that allows for natural lighting and great spaces for entertaining.
Having a home with an open floor plan is great, it feels more spacious, allows for natural lighting, and is great for entertaining. Unfortunately an open floor plan also has a trade-off. What do you do if you want an intimate dinner or simply want a little privacy? Or what if, after living in your home for a while, you realize you don’t like open spaces?
When you purchase a new home that has been built with an open floor plan, there needs to be a little creativity when it comes to adding intimate spaces. Tall ceilings and expansive walls can make your home feel cold, and a poorly designed open floor plan can also cause you trouble when it comes to heading and cooling your home. As a homebuyer you want a large, open plan, while retaining some of the coziness that smaller rooms give.
There are many ways you can create this warmth and intimacy in a home without having to put up walls!
Here are some of the ways to make a home appear a little more intimate;
Color – Proper choice of color is a great way to create warmth and provide that cozy feeling that you want to retain without giving up the benefits of an open floor plan. Implementing a warm color scheme that also mixes colder and darker shades can completely transform the look and feel of a room. Choose paint, fabrics, and decorative elements with the entirety of the color scheme in mind. Colors that add warmth to a room are yellow, orange, and red.
Furnishings – Clever placement of furniture is a great way to carve our smaller areas in the room. Area rugs are a great way to define an area of the room, and combined with different light fixtures, can create a room within a room. The placement of your couch or cedar chests and benches can also help to separate the living area from the dining area.
Flooring Choices – Using different flooring materials can break up a large room. You may want the kitchen and dining areas to be wood or tile, while you choose to carpet the living area to carpeted. You can even change the color of the flooring for a similar effect.
Plants – Adding plants to your home can not only add a great splash of color to your home, but they also help add warmth and life. Filling your home with plants and flowers is a very inexpensive way to make your open floor plan look lively and intimate at the same time. When choosing your plants, be sure to pick plants that need little light and care. Before buying your plants, be sure to find out if they can be toxic to kids or pets.
A little creativity can go a long way when transforming your home into a warm and intimate place to live regardless of the type of floor plan.
For more ideas and tips for building a custom home please download our resource guide.
Feb 18, 2015
Available immediately is this model, based on our Pinecrest floor plan, located at 14950 Wild Indigo, Bennington, NE 68007. This home has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a three stall garage. The home was built with livability in mind, and at 1894 sq ft of living space this home is extremely spacious and versatile, and at only $340,000 you had better act soon or this home will be gone!
The three stall garage is perfect for families with multiple cars, or for those who would like to use the additional garage space as a workshop.
If you’re looking for a home that is easy to maintain but has plenty of space for everyone, this beautiful new home in the Heritage Community of North West Omaha has all the amenities you could ask for but is still a home that is easy to navigate as well as easy to maintain.
The kitchen is gorgeous, warm and open to the great room. It has energy star rated stainless steel appliances and expansive granite countertops that make preparing meals a breeze. This kitchen has beautiful wooden cabinetry that allows for plenty of storage space. Additionally it also has a large pantry where you can store more food and appliances. You’re sure to find a place for everything in this kitchen. The large island is great for preparing, serving and eating at, and is a great addition for families who like to entertain.
The kitchen is openly connected to the great room and the dining room.
The great room features a gas fireplace to add warmth and ambiance to your home, as well as expansive windows. The great room is connected to the kitchen to allow for an open feeling in the home as well as allow light to flow freely throughout the living space, but it is also disconnected from the kitchen in that it has a plush carpet where the kitchen has gorgeous hardwood floors.
If you’re concerned about making the great room a little more intimate than an open floor plan usually allows for, push the thought out of your mind. Making intimate spaces in an open floor plan can be as easy as painting the rooms different colors and using furniture to separate the areas.
The master bath has a double vanity that will make getting ready for the day, or bedtime, a breeze. This bathroom also has a luxurious soaking tub/whirlpool. This bathroom is perfect for anyone who comes home from a long day and simply needs to find a place to relax.
Not only is this home beautiful on the inside, but if you ever want to go outside and relax on your porch, you’ll be greeted by the gorgeous view offered outside of the home.
To learn more about this new model home for sale in Omaha, NE please contact Regency Homes. If this home isn’t quite what you’re looking for, be sure to take a look at our Available Homes, or our Models and Plans library.
Elevation as shown may not represent base elevation. All Plans are approximate. Some optional items may be shown. Copyright holder will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law for copyright infringement.
Prices subject to change.
Feb 11, 2015
Choosing a new home can be a daunting task. It can be difficult to know exactly what you should be looking for in good home design. One thing to look for when shopping for a new home is ‘Flexible Living.’ A home with flexible living will not only work for your family now, but will also work for your family in the future. That office may seem like a great idea now, but if you have another family member move in and need to convert that office into another bedroom, it’s best if that office already had a closet and window.
Flexible living areas allow your home to adjust as your life evolves or changes. Children moving out of your home, temporary visitors, crafts or hobbies and a home based business necessitate rooms to serve dual purpose for temporary periods of time.
Here are some areas of the home that are commonly build without flexibility that you may want to reconsider; the flex room, the pantry, lofts, and basements.
On the main floor you should look at the spare room, or flex room, and ensure that it can not only be used as an office, but can also be used as a spare bedroom. Generally the flex room has no set purpose and does not include a closet, and sometimes doesn’t even have a window. In that situation, you’re not likely going to be able to turn the room into a spare bedroom. By adding a closet and window to the room you’ve nearly doubled the rooms possibilities. If there’s a nook in the room, it would also be a great place for a reading area or yoga room.
Also on the main floor, is the pantry. If the pantry has a decent amount of space, adequate shelving, and some electrical outlets it can be used as, not only a place to store food, but as a place to store appliances and prepare food as well. If you have enough room you can even add a vegetable sink, this means that the mess you make preparing a meal can be hidden away behind a closed door when you’re entertaining.
Lofts or furnished attics are a great addition to any home as they have amazing flexibility. The loft could be an area for quiet reading, a tv room, an office, or even a spare bedroom! The lofts purpose is generally set by what furniture you place into it.
A furnished basement is one of the most cost efficient spaces in the home and there are tons of options available for these spaces. Basement rooms can be used as a storage room, exercise room, home theater, wetbar and game room, craft area, workshop, and more! One of the best things about these basement rooms, is that if you want to hide the mess, you simply have to shut the door!
If you’d like to learn about more ‘Tips and Tricks for Building and Designing a Quality Home’, check back at our blog every now and then, or if you’d like more info now, sign up for our FREE planning guide where you can find this information and more! Secrets to Building a Quality Home.
Feb 4, 2015
Omaha is a great place to live! Not only do we have great attractions like the Durham Museum, CoCo Key Water Resort, Strategic Air & Space Museum, and the Joslyn Art Museum, but we also have a large variety of monthly events to keep your eyes out for.
Some of this months events include the following; The Craft Brewery Tour, Nature Connects 2: Art with LEGO Bricks, the Dinosaurs Rock! Exhibit, Love at the Zoo, Little Women, and the FIBER Opening Reception.
Here’s an overview of some of the events in and near Omaha for the month of February;
Nature Connects 2: Art with LEGO® Bricks
When: January 17th, 2015 – April 26, 2015 (Daily)
From 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Where: Lauritzen Gardens
100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE 68108
Cost: $10 adults, $5 children (6-12), FREE for children under 6 and garden members
Contact: Mia Jenkins
402-346-4003
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From January 17th to April 26th come to the Lauritzen Gardens to view 27 new sculptures inspired by the natural world. The fun part is, they’re all made out of LEGO®’s!
Not only will you be able to look at the amazing sculptures, you’ll also have the opportunity to make your own LEGO® brick creations in the LEGO® brickyard, as well as participate in some of the many LEGO®-inspired events throughout the duration of the exhibit.
FIBER Opening Reception
When: February 6th, 2015 – February 6th, 2015
From 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Where: Kaneko
1111 Jones Street, Omaha, NE 68102
Cost: FREE
Contact: Michael Hollins
402-341-3800
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visit website
February 6th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, FIBER will be providing a diverse and engaging sampling of the ways in which textiles and fiber art serve as a canvas for expressions of culture and the creative process.
Love at the Zoo
When: February 13th and 14th, 2015
From 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Where: Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
3701 S. 10th Street, Omaha, NE 68107
Cost: $75/person
Contact: (402) 738-2038
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Join Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium for a lighthearted presentation about dating and mating in the animal kingdom on Friday, February 13 or Saturday, February 14, 2015 from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Tickets include a champagne welcome, heavy hors d’oeuvres, two free drink tickets to our cash bar, dessert, special animal encounters and a presentation about the courtship, romance and reproduction of animals held inside the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium.
Reservations are required. Tickets are non-refundable and will be held rain or shine.
This event is for adults 21 and over. No infants or children.
Click here to register.
Craft Brewery Tour
If you’re visiting Omaha, or live in Omaha and have simply never participated, check out the Omaha Craft Brewery Tour. This is a do-it-yourself tour in which you will visit eight of Omaha’s craft breweries. You’ll be able to pick the date, friends, and order of the breweries as you enjoy free beer as well as a souvenir pint glass from the Omaha Visitors Center.
Simply request your own ‘Explorer’s Journal’ and enjoy a free beer at each of the eight featured breweries. You’ll have the opportunity to sample fantastic beer created by craftsmen who have made beer their life.
(Visitor Center Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-4:30pm. Sat 10am-4pm. Sun 10am-2pm.)
If you participate in the Craft Brewery Tour you’ll visit the following breweries;
- Benson Brewery – 6059 Maple St., Omaha
- Brickway Brewery & Distillery – 1116 Jackson St., Omaha
- Farnam House Brewery – 3558 Farnam St., Omaha
- Infusion Brewing Company – 6115 Maple St., Omaha
- Lucky Bucket Brewery – 11941 Centennial Rd, La Vista
- Nebraska Brewing Company – 7474 Towne Center Pkwy, Papillion
- Soaring Wings Vineyard and Brewery – 17111 S 138th St., Springfield
- Upstream Brewing Company – 514 South 11th St., Omaha
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