If you are considering painting your walls, have you considered painting them white?

I am not referring to off white, light gray, or light beige.  I am referring to pure white.

Pure white walls have become very popular over the past few years, however not everyone has been overly excited about white walls.

I believe that the main concern people have about white walls is that their basic builder home started with light beige walls and they do not want their home's walls to look like that again.

First, there is a big difference between light beige and white.  There might not be a huge difference in color when looking at a small paint sample, but there is a big difference in color when that color is over the huge expanse of many walls.

Second, if your home was built by a production builder (a builder who builds many homes using his own floor plans, typically in the same subdivision), then your wall paint is probably poor quality since builders typically go for the cheapest option to make the most profit.  Any quality paint job using quality paint (even in the same color) would be an upgrade from basic builder paint that is usually watered down and sprayed on.

Here are a few things to consider when considering painting your walls white.

Many of my clients have nice homes, however they want to elevate their home's decor to be more elegant, sophisticated, and refined.

They don't want their home decor to look like a display at Target or like their friend's home down the street.

Their home feels generic to them and they want to bring their style to the next level to have a more high end look.

They want a home that is comfortable but looks thoughtfully decorated, however they cannot figure out what adjustments to make in order to get the results that they want.

 Dining room design by Fletcher Design Consultants

Some production home builders offer an upgrade for home buyers to have 8 foot tall doors in their home instead of the standard 6 foot 8 inch doors.

Builders sometimes install 8 foot tall doors just downstairs in homes, but some higher end builders will install them both upstairs and downstairs.

Taller doors can make a home feel more grand, however that is not always the case.

There are many factors that you should consider before deciding to do this upgrade.

photo courtesy of Bill Wilson flickr.com/photos/okchomeseller/25781307248

If you are looking to decorate your home on a budget, now is a great time to check out some amazing online deals.

Many retailers have end of season sales, overstock prices, and open box items for prices 50%, 60%, 70%, and 80% off, or more.

Don't buy a cheap rug just because it fits in your budget when you can get a high quality rug on sale for the same price as the cheap rug.

Check out these deals that I found on area rugs (hurry because they won't last long).....

Ashburn Dark Blue Area Rug By Mistana

Just as luxury features in high end cars tend to trickle down to the moderate priced cars after a few years, the same is true with homes.

It seems that there are major architectural design trend changes approximately every 10 years.  Home finishes and design styles (such as flooring, countertops, and paint colors) go through a major change about every 5 years, but home architecture trends only change about every 10 years.

Today I will discuss home architectural design trends that have been popular in high end custom homes, but are now becoming popular in mass produced homes.

Here is a list of trends that I have seen in the Houston, Texas area (since architecture varies by region, this list might be different where you live).

design by Highland Homes, photo by Fletcher Design Consultants