The Cambridge Blog

If you’ve read our “Love Story”, you’ll know why we named our company after Cambridge, Massachusetts.  On Christmas Day, the New York Times travel section ran an article extolling the virtues of that city.

As North Texas’ premiere Builder of Luxury Patio Homes, we at Cambridge Homes specialize exclusively in this small niche of the custom home building market.
There are three major reasons why we’ve chosen to do this:
First, because of the PRIVACY we can create home-to-home.
Second, because a private, OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE is an integral part of each Cambridge Patio home, and
Third, because our clients love the EASY MAINTENANCE of living in a Cambridge Patio Home.

PRIVACY:

Patio homes, instead of being centered on the property, as is typical, are actually positioned directly on the property line.  The side of the home positioned on the property line is called the “Zero Wall” because it rests zero distance from the property line. Because that zero wall has no windows or doors, it actually acts as the privacy wall between neighbors. For this reason, patio homes provide virtually complete side-to-side, home-to-home privacy.

OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE:

On a typical, centered lot, the homeowner must maintainall four sides of the home, even though most of that space is neither visible nor usable.  In a Cambridge luxury patio home, the side and back yards are concentrated in a single, enclosed “courtyard” space which is both visible and immediately accessible from major rooms in the home.This private courtyard becomes, quite literally, an outdoor Living Room.  With minimal effort and expense, each Cambridge homeowner can have a low maintenance, yet immensely livable and attractive, outdoor living area.

EASY MAINTENANCE:

In addition, because the front yard of every Cambridge patio home is maintained by the Homeowner Association, the time required of the homeowner to maintain his home is minimal.  Cambridge homeowners have the happy option of just locking the door and leaving on a trip at a moment’s notice, knowing that their yard will be maintained while they’re away.

When speaking on CNBC this morning, the President of the Dallas Federal Reserve made the following statements about Texas:

1. 38% of jobs created in the USA after crash of 07/08 were created here in Texas.
2. The GDP of India just recently passed Texas
3. Texas passed California 7 years ago in international trading
4. All the natural gas recently discovered in the US is a result of technology developed in Houston
5. Only 1 bank in Texas has failed during the financial crisis
6. Very few homeowners in Texas are upside down on their mortgage

The Morale of the Story???
Things are GOOD here in Texas!!

Appearing on D HOME’s Best Builder List for the 7th Consecutive Year, Cambridge Homes offers irrefutable proof that bigger isn’t necessarily better.

We have built our reputation on the proposition that a truly gracious home need not be enormous.  That it can, in fact, be smaller.  Much smaller.  With fewer, but more spacious, rooms.  With the same elegant features and finishes usually found only in extravagantly large custom homes.

Cambridge Homes creates Luxury Patio Homes for Discerning Adults seeking Low-Maintenance Living and Luxurious Appointments in a Smaller, Custom Designed Home in unique, planned communities throughout North Texas, including Far North Dallas, Colleyville, Allen, McKinney, and North Richland Hills, and coming soon to Southlake, Coppell, and Arlington.

The dedicated members of the Cambridge Homes Custom Design Staff excel at helping each of our clients create a home that perfectly fits their stage of life.   These competent and caring professionals who make up our Cambridge Homes Team are committed to high standards of design and construction, and to giving each of our clients a happy homebuilding experience.

A recent issue of House Beautiful magazine features article after article about the Color PINK.
Yes, Pink.
Pink in all its varieties:  Blush, Rose, Hot.  Pink!
Photo after photo of Pink rooms, Pink chairs, Pink sofas, Pink bedspreads, Pink Lamps!
As I flipped the pages, I marveled at the Courage it must have taken to choose that paint, that furniture, those fabrics, those accessories.

Color is such a personal thing.

One of my dearest friends, Ruth, cannot abide the color Yellow, but adores any version of the color Blue.  Her husband’s favorite color is Green.  Since both Blue and Green are “cool” colors, they find common ground by staying away from “warm” colors (like yellow!).

Ruth’s Cool Colors

Another very dear, and long time friend, Linda, is most comfortable in rooms of neutral tones.   She is willing to use muted colors as accents, but for the most part keeps her spaces very neutral.

Linda’s Neutral Colors

Both Linda and Ruth make no secret that they could never be comfortable with “my” colors.  To them, my spaces are too bright, too glaring, too loud.  They shout.
But I like my colors.  I like bright and bold and shouting!
They make me feel Alive.  Happy.  Energetic.

My ‘Shouting’ Colors

My friend, Lydia, on the other hand, loves hot, spicy colors.  She’s a fabulous cook who specializes in creating Mexican dishes featuring varieties of hot peppers.  And her dress and décor reflect the same sizzling excitement.

Lyndia’s Spicy Colors

One reads so many “RULES” about choosing color.

To me, however, there is only ONE hard, fast rule about color:  Choose only those colors that make YOU feel comfortable!  Choose a color only because YOU really like it.

Most of our clients, when building a Cambridge Patio Home, ponder the issue of resale and whether or not their color selections should mirror current fashion.  I always recommend against choosing anything just because it’s fashionable.  I suggest they  consider only what truly pleases them.   (Remember:  Choosing anything that is now very “IN” virtually assures that within five years it will be just as “OUT”!)

Assuming that you’re planning to live in your Cambridge Patio Home for some time, what’s in fashion now is much less important than choosing something you know you’ll be happy with for many years to come.

Don’t miss the Art Show in Historic Downtown McKinney this coming Saturday, April 9th!
This much anticipated annual event celebrates the talent of more than 150 local and regional artists.
While you’re there, stop by the Historic District’s “sister neighborhood”, Chapel Hill, and tour
our newly decorated Luxury Patio Home model at 824 Chapel Hill Lane.  Call Debbie at (469) 446-2773 for directions!

According to a report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, as today’s Baby Boomers mature, they are seeking some of the same things sought by active adults in their parents’ generation.  These include easy-maintenance homes, active social lives, and close proximity to shopping, health care, entertainment, & fitness centers.  These studies further indicate, however, that the settings in which Boomers will find what they’re seeking are likely to be much different.  Instead of choosing large, highly amenitized communities, often in sunnier climes, with hundreds (or even thousands) of residents, more of today’s active adults are seeking smaller communities close to suburban hubs – and grandchildren.  We, at Cambridge Homes, have built our business on that very change.  The communities in which we build our carefree patio homes in north Texas are smaller, more intimate enclaves, conveniently located in desirable suburbs, near shopping and dining venues, world-class medical facilities, and a wide range of entertainment (including grandchildren’s soccer games and piano & dance recitals!).  Check out our easy-maintenance lifestyle communities in Allen, Colleyville, Far North Dallas, and McKinney.

According to various news media, business leaders, and government agencies, the Dallas - Fort Worth real estate market is improving and the outlook for 2011 is GOOD:

“We think that new home construction will be up by about 15%, so we’ve got 18,300 new homes in the forecast.”
Ted Wilson, Residential Strategies, Inc.
Dallas Business Journal 12/16/2010

“We’re very optimistic about 2011, primarily because corporate America seems to have a lot of pent-up demand, and they’re opening up their pocketbook and capital is flowing.”
Steve Van Amburgh, CEO, KDC Real Estate Development and Investments
Dallas Business Journal 12/16/2010

“We at the Dallas Federal Reserve predict that Texas could gain 250,000 jobs next year.”
Mine Yucel, Sr. Economist and VP, Dallas Federal Reserve
Dallas Morning News, 12/17/2010

“Housing starts in the four largest metro areas in Texas increased 19.9% and new housing permits increased 5.8% in November.”
Texas Economic Indicators - January 2011
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

“Pending sales at the end of December 2010 are greater than at the end of December 2009. We are predicting an increase in closed sales during the first months of 2011.”
Ebby Halliday Companies

Conclusion: The Dallas - Fort Worth economy is improving, the real estate market is recovering, and the outlook for the coming year is very good.

What do your answers to these questions tell you about yourself and your preferences???

The first thing to look for is repetition.  For example, does the same color repeat itself in your answers?  Or does a certain style keep appearing in your answers?

If you notice that a consistent style appears in your answers, you may be on to something.  For example, if you see yourself as “out-doors-y”, your favorite vacation spot is the mountains, and you consider yourself to be very casual, that might mean you like a more rustic style.

On the other hand, if you prefer elegantly formal entertaining, your favorite room is the great hall at Versailles, and you consider yourself to be a sophisticated, formal person, this might indicate a more classical, formal style.

Here’s a personal example:

My two favorite vacations are traveling through Italy and Sailing in the Caribbean.

What I love most about both is the casual atmosphere, the emphasis on living & dining outdoors, the vibrant colors all around, and the palm trees & lushly wild landscape.

My favorite colors are bright pastels: Green, Yellow, Hot Pink, Bright Aqua, etc.

My two all-time favorite “rooms” are the Garden Room at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and the late, much lamented Tavern on the Green in New York City.

My favorite painting is Matisse’s The Open Window (see previous BLOG:  “Mastering the Art of Outdoor Living”).  My preference in all things is Casual, and I love the idea of anything outdoors.

My ideal environment would be 75 degrees year round (with no insects!) so my home could be completely open air.

There would be little difference between the inside of my home and the outside.  I’d have only very casual outdoor furniture and enough green plants and flowers inside that it would be nearly indistinguishable from the outside. 

Although our temperatures in north Texas are too extreme for living “open air” year ’round, I did my best to create that same feeling as much as possible in my own Cambridge patio home - as you see in these photos.

If you’d like help interpreting your responses to the Questionnaire, feel free to send me your answers and I’ll be happy to offer you my thoughts.  And, of course, if you’re in the process of building a new Cambridge Homes luxury patio home, bring your answers with you when you come to our Design Studio and we’ll help you create your new home around your preferences, so you truly can Have it Your Way!

THIS TIME…

Most of us who have owned several homes during our lives have tended to limit ourselves to neutral palettes because “re-salability” was usually a priority.

When planning the new home that may actually turn out to be your “last new home”, why not choose the style & colors that you’ve always wanted?  This time, have it Your Way!

If years of compromising have left you unsure what “your way” IS, the following Questionnaire may be of help.  Be specific and provide as many details as possible in your answers.

PERSONAL STYLE QUESTIONNAIRE

How would you describe you “style”?__________________________________________________

Why?______________________________________________________________

What is your favorite color?__________________________________________________________

What color do you most often wear?___________________________________________________

What is it about that color that appeals to you?_________________________________________

Do you consider yourself to be a fashionable person?        ________Yes   ________No

Do you like your surroundings to reflect current fashion   ________Yes  _________No

Do you not much care about what’s fashionable and what’s not?  ________Yes   ________No

Where is your favorite place to vacation?________________________________________________

Why?___________________________________________________________

What color do you most associate with that location? _____________________________________

What “style” do you most associate with that location? ____________________________________

Describe the most beautiful room you’ve ever seen: _______________________________________

What was it that made you like it so much? _______________________________________________

What color do you most associate with that room? ________________________________________

What “style” do you most associate with that room? _______________________________________

If you could adapt that room to have it as your own, what changes would you need to make to it so that it would be truly comfortable and pleasing to you? ___________________________________________

What is your favorite flower? _____________________________________________________________

Why? _________________________________________________________

What color do you most associate with that flower? _________________________________________

If you have a favorite painting, what is it? __________________________________________________

What color do you most associate with that painting? _______________________________________

If you read home decorating magazines, what kids of photos most appeal to you? _________________

Why? _____________________________________________________

What are your hobbies? ______________________________________________________________________

What is it that you enjoy about them? _________________________________________________________

What do you most enjoy doing when you’re at home? ___________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________

What do you most enjoy doing when you’re away from home? ____________________________________

Why? ________________________________________________________

Circle all that describe you:

Reserved         Understated         Gregarious        

Flamboyant         Fun-Loving        Serious           

Shy                      Quiet                  Private                

Intellectual        Bookish            Sophisticated     

Minimalist          Practical              Joyful

Morose            Out-Doors-y        Urban               

Suburban             Small Town       Country          

Wilderness            Likes Sci-Fi       Likes History        

Likes Fiction        Likes Current Events     Likes Travel        

Likes Spectator Sports      Participates in Sports

Formal              Informal               Casual              

Very Casual          Homebody        Lots of Friends       

A few very close Friends           Family as Friends

Prefer to Entertain Large Groups          

Prefer to Entertain Smaller Groups

Prefer to Entertain Family                    

No Longer Enjoy Entertaining - Been There, Done That

Prefer Casual Entertaining                   

Prefer Formal Entertaining

Like to Entertain Outdoors When Weather Permits

Prefer to Entertain Indoors, Regardless of Weather

Save your answers!  The next BLOG will help you interpret your responses to the questionnaire!