Tips for Organizing Your Laundry Room

Today’s laundry rooms can range anywhere from a stacked washer dryer unit in a closet to a multi-purpose room that functions as a laundry room, a mudroom, a storage room and maybe even a pet’s room at all the same time. But regardless of size or shape, an organized laundry room can help this daily chore feel a little easier to manage.

If you just moved into your new home in Winston-Salem, NC, start your organization by designating specific areas or bins for the numerous items stored in your laundry room. Label the containers so supplies are easy to locate and to put away.

- Contain your cleaning supplies into buckets or bins separated into categories like “household,” “pet care” and “laundry.”

- Design a pet area for the dog bed, food bowls and toys.

- Use portable storage for sewing and garment-mending supplies, as well as for orphaned socks.

-  Have laundry bins marked for “darks,” “lights” and “dry cleaning.”

Whether you’re building a new home in Winston-Salem, NC or looking to remodel, work directly with a builder to design the space that works best for your needs. Add cabinetry above your appliances or even just install a built-in ironing board for easy accessible and easier clean-up. In addition to creating space-efficient laundry rooms, custom builders like Homes by Jonathan Lee can also create energy-efficient laundry rooms by using energy-efficient materials and appliances.

If you’re exploring new home in Winston-Salem, NC keep in mind how North Carolina’s unpredictable weather can have you grabbing for an umbrella one day and a scarf the next. If your laundry room is located right off the garage, build a bench seat and shelving to store all-weather gear and shoes in one spot.

Organizing a laundry room won’t make the clothes fold themselves, but it can surely make the task a bit less daunting!

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Fall Maintenance Tips

As the temperatures start to drop and the days get shorter, the fall is a great time to perform basic but necessary maintenance checks on your home. While older homes require more time and care, even new homes in Lewisville, NC will benefit from a little TLC as the weather changes.

Interior

In order to pull the rising heat back down into a cooler room, reverse the direction of your ceiling fans so they rotate clockwise. Changing the flow of the air can reduce energy costs during the winter.

You can also keep your energy bills lower by sealing drafty doors and windows. To check for drafts, hold a lit candle near window sills and door jambs. Re-caulk  or replace worn weather stripping at areas where you see the flame flicker.

Prepare your fireplaces for the first fire of the year. For a wood-burning fireplace, call a chimney sweep to properly clean the chimney and avoid chimney fires. For a gas fireplace, consult your manufacturer’s guidelines before lighting the pilot.

Exterior

With leaves continuing to fall, it’s best to clean out clogs from gutters and downspouts. If looking for new homes in Lewisville, NC you can ask about built-in leaf guards for your gutters.

Check the roof for loose shingles. Water from rain, ice and snow can cause damage to many facets of your home including insulation and wood.

After a typical, hot North Carolina summer, you may have worked your HVAC unit hard to keep your home cool. Call a service rep to check and clean that your HVAC unit is running properly before you switch the system from cooling to heating.

Yard and garden

Instead of raking and bagging the leaves, mow the leaves. Use the leaves as mulch to nourish your lawn over the winter.

Turn off outside faucets and put hoses away.

Especially for those with new homes in Lewisville, NC, be aware of areas on your patio and porches you think could be hazardous when icy. Purchasing shovels and salt early in the season will prevent the need for you to leave the warmth and comfort of your new home when the first ice or snowstorm of the season hits NC!

Outdoor Gathering Space Trends

Ask just about any North Carolinian why they love living in this great state and undoubtedly they will mention the fantastic weather and beautiful scenic views. Now, with crisp fall temperatures and the brilliant, colorful leaves upon us, the proof of that is in the air. So when you research options for new homes in Winston-Salem, NC, think about how you can take advantage of this North Carolina climate by creating magnificent living spaces in your backyard.

If you work with a skilled, custom builder like Homes by Jonathan Lee, together you can design an outdoor gathering space with unique hardscapes, outdoor dining areas or intricately detailed lighting schemes to extend your living space – and your personality – outdoors.

Consider if you prefer your outdoor living space to flow seamlessly from the inside of your home or to be in a more remote location of your backyard. Complete your space with an outdoor dining table and chandelier closer to the house for ease when entertaining, or situate a sitting area further from the house against a natural backdrop for more serene or solitude experiences. If selecting a lot when considering your new home in Winston-Salem, NC knowing how you want to use your yard will help with your selection.

In order to stay outside longer as temperatures dip, install a fire pit or fireplace.  Think about the size of the groups you envision gathering around the pit to ensure you build a structure ideal for you. You can design a stone bench around the pit for integrated seating but add patio furniture for more seating.

Incorporate softscapes with hardscapes to fully appreciate the abundant variety of plants, bushes and trees that thrive in NC year round. You can also include outdoor lighting fixtures to highlight the plants, illuminate a walkway or just create a mood for your backyard.

Finally, keep in mind that designing an outdoor living space can also be done if you’re not shopping for a new home in Winston-Salem, NC. But remodeling a deck in to a screened porch, constructing a pergola or adding a grilling station can make an old room feel like a new room in your home.

Fall Decorating Ideas

Fall is easily one of the prettiest and coziest seasons year round. The leaves are vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow. The stars are as crisp as your breath. The air smells of wood stoves and fireplaces. Even if your custom home in Winston Salem, NC does not come with a built in fireplace or fire pit, here are some fantastic tips to help you get into the season:

Incorporating some autumn colors into your home’s accoutrement can really help gear you towards the season. Buy or make some throw pillows in beautiful reds, oranges, yellows, and golds. Tans are also very festive.

Drop by your local farmer’s market and pick up squash to leave on your dining room or kitchen table. These make excellent centerpieces, and you can, of course, use them to make a pie or stew when you grow tired of them. Stuffed pumpkins make for quite a delicious meal. Dried Indian corn, full of majestic blacks, browns, and yellow kernels also make for an eye catching decoration, and it can last quite some time

White pumpkins make for a ghastly alternative to traditional orange ones. Try your hand at painting faces on pumpkins rather than carving them. They can make a cute unconventional approach to the same tradition. Pumpkin etching is also an artful way to display your talent. Instead of cutting holes into the pumpkin, shave away at the skin and sculpt faces into it. As long as the pumpkin is properly vented, a candle or light should be able to glow through the skin at night.

Make a scarecrow. Not only will this fellow scare the crows away from your pumpkin, but it’s a nostalgic and adorable way to celebrate the harvest season. Buy yourself a bale of hay and fill some old raggedy clothes with it. A small burlap sack for a face and hands can be painted with a lovely face and a hat can hide some of that messy straw hair.

Using twine, weave a wreath and cut out bright felt leaves to glue to it. If you want your new wreath or garland to go outside to decorate your custom homes in Winston Salem, NC, just be sure to treat it with a sealant so the felt doesn’t mold or fade in the rain and sun.

Home Furnishing Trends with Meg Brown

Meg Brown of Meg Brown Home Furnishings recently worked with Homes by Jonathan Lee to furnish our Parade of Homes model this year. Meg Brown can also help you design and transform your new home in Winston Salem into the elegant home you’ve always wanted.

Furnishing a new home should be about balancing your need for practicality and individuality.  “The nicest homes we’ve visited aren’t the largest, the most expensively decorated, or those in the most exclusive neighborhoods,” Meg Brown said. “They are the homes whose rooms have a style all their own and reflect the personality and tastes of the owner.” Meg Brown and her team can help you coordinate colors, patterns, furniture and more to help you express yourself in a more cohesive way as you design your new home in Winston Salem with Homes by Jonathan Lee.

Once you commit to a particular style or genre for your new home, keep it constant throughout the room. Too many themes or influences can really clutter the feel of your room. For the best effects, choose versatile designs. Striking a balance between elegant and practical will make your new home in Winston Salem feel lavish and tranquil, as well as durable for everyday use. Your new home should set a mood and reflect your individuality.

Meg Brown and her team specialize in helping you choose furniture that really embodies your personal individuality and lifestyle. From color palates that create balance and accenting your room, to choosing brands and styles that suit your needs for your new home, Meg Brown Home Furnishings has it all.

Fall Parade of Homes

Looking for new homes in Winston Salem? Luckily for you, it’s that time of the year again. It’s time for the Fall Parade of Homes! Homes by Jonathan Lee is proud to announce our entry in the Brookberry Farm neighborhood at 910 Brookberry Farm Circle. Brookberry Farm is one of the newest additions to Winston Salem’s suburban spreads with many new homes for sale.

Brookberry Farm is an 800-acre neighborhood and we’re happy to say our homes feature a wide selection of floor plans, sizes, custom features, and more. The neighborhood shares amenities including lakes, trails, a fitness center, swimming pool, tennis courts, and a country-style clubhouse complete with a deep-seated porch, outdoor fireplace and a fully-restored barn for parties and community events. Just 15 minutes from Downtown Winston Salem and hotspots like Hanes Mall, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, and Forsyth Medical Center, Brookberry Farm is a choice location; close enough to the essentials without feeling the urban strain of traffic or crowding.

Be sure to get a copy of the Winston-Salem Journal tabloid in their October 14 and 21 issues, since each issue will feature all of the new homes in Winston Salem in the Fall Parade of Homes, complete with maps and information necessary to attend the Parade and visit the homes you are most interested in.

910 Brookberry Farm Circle will be open to the public this weekend, October 15 and 16, and next weekend, October 22 and 23. Each day, the model home will be available from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for open house, so be sure to stop by for a visit! The builder, Jonathan Lee, will also be onsite to discuss any home building questions or floor plan options! We look forward to seeing you at the Parade of Homes this weekend.

Brook Forest Neighborhood

The Triad area is growing by leaps and bounds, and luckily, so are we. Homes by Jonathan Lee is proud to announce new homes for sale near Winston-Salem, NC’s sister city, Lewisville, NC. Brook Forest neighborhood sits in a quiet location off of Concord Church Road with all of the convenient amenities of Winston-Salem, US Highway 421, and I-40 readily available.

Lewisville is a fantastically beautiful area with rolling hills and breathtaking farm lands surrounding most of the undeveloped land. It is rich with schools and parks, making it an ideal place to build if you are thinking about new homes for sale near Winston-Salem, NC. Homes By Jonathan Lee uses a state of the art energy efficiency design and build plan, reducing waste and only using quality materials that will last and help insulate your home and offer the best quality of life we can offer. High quality painting options and chic home designs set us apart from so many other homes on the market today.

Specializing in custom homebuilding, Homes By Jonathan Lee can build and design any home of your choosing or instruction. As long as the design is approved and reviewed by our NC-registered structural engineer, it can be built. Homes By Jonathan Lee hascompleted three homes thus far in Brook Forest, so be sure to claim a lot in Brook Forest and pick out floor plans perfect for your needs!