Trends at The Parade of Homes

Well, I am back in Lexington after a wonderful week-long visit with Jordan and Mr. Spring.  It was especially fun to spend Sunday watching Mr. Spring complete his first half Ironman.  That involves swimming a mile, cycling 56 miles and running 13 miles, and he did it and ended with a smile on his face.  It was a beautiful day, and Jordan and I broke our personal records of how many steps we ticked off on our fitbits for one day.  I’ll get to see the two of them next week as we start the finish the count-down to our son’s wedding on July 5.  Tonight my garden club is hosting its bi-annual fundraiser in the form of a garden party.  We’re expecting hot and muggy conditions but no rain, thank goodness.  And I just want to add that my parents observed their 68th wedding anniversary this past week-end by going camping.  Daddy is 91, and Mother is 87!!!

 

We mentioned on our blog last week that Jordan and I went to a parade of homes right after my plane landed in Syracuse.  It was located in a new subdivision outside of town.

 

 

The new neighborhood was built on what was once the Lepinske family farm.  I thought it was nice that they paid homage to the family with this plaque and also by naming some streets after them.  There were a few trees on the surrounding properties, but the new development only had little yearlings that had been planted by the developers.

 

 

 There were twelve homes on the tour.  And let’s just get this out of the way:  Almost every house had gray and purple somewhere on its interior.  We were surprised how many shades of gray and how many shades of purple there are.  Some were very soft and mellow, and some were very IN YOUR FACE!!

 

 

Most of the homes had the open concept of kitchen and great room/family room combined.  There were a couple with banquets, and we both love a good banquet.

 

 

We liked this banquet for two reasons:  We thought the stripe was clever, and we appreciated the extra storage the pull-out drawers provided on both ends.

 

 

White was the most popular kitchen cabinet color.  Is anyone surprised?  It’s a trend that keeps on going, and we understand why.  We both love our white kitchen cabinets and think it is a timeless look.

 

 

However, there were a few that had stained cabinets.  Some of the homes were already sold, and the builders had to do what the homeowners wanted.  That makes perfect sense.

 

 

If a home had the space, it usually had a bulter’s pantry/bar area.  We really like a good butler’s pantry.

 

 

Each house had a great walk-in pantry.  We especially liked this one.  The doors of the pantry look just like the cabinet doors.

 

 

However, when those two doors were opened, there was a huge pantry with a window behind them.

 

 

Most mudrooms had a built-in sitting area. In case you missed it, you can see how we used one of the Parade of Homes mudroom ideas in Jordan’s home, here.

 

 

Stencils were used in most of the homes in at least one room.

 

 

We thought this feather stencil was cute.

 

 

We really enjoyed the themed children’s rooms.  This circus theme was adorable, and we like the vintage-style circus posters that were framed and hung around the room.  This room would be easy for any DIYer to duplicate.

 

 

This sports themed bedroom would be perfect for an active teen.

 

 

The room that made us smile the most was in one of only two finished basements in the show.  It was a game room that was adjacent to a wonderful theater room.  This room housed a ping pong table, but the smile factor came from the black wall.  It was covered with famous quotes from well-known movies and had a few movie posters scattered around.  (There were plenty of windows in this basement, so the black room didn’t make it feel like a dungeon).

 

 

If you look closely, you can see the best quote of them all:  “Nobody puts Baby in the corner”.  Of course, it was in the corner.

 

 

Another thing that made us smile was the doggy wash station in the laundry room of one of the homes.  That particular home was sold and had been custom-built for a single dad.  As we walked in, we saw a pool table in the dining room, and without moving we could see three big televisions.  It was definitely a bachelor pad, but his daughters’ rooms were very feminine – one in the brightest purple I have ever seen.

 

 

This little laundry room art would be easy to make.  The price list said it was $60.00.  I’m thinking you could use scraps that are lying around and make it for free.

 

 

This vignette was in the same laundry room.  The pulls on the cabinets were little clothes pins and knobs that looked like little shirts.  The window curtain was a child’s outfit.

 

 

We’ll leave you with this.  You have to love a decorator who doesn’t take herself too seriously.  This guy was hanging over the loo in one of the bathrooms.  He definitely made us smile.

 

 

Take care.

We would like to thank  the sponsors for the Parade of Homes tickets.