San Antonio Parade of Homes Designer

Debbie Baxter

I am excited to announce that for the 2012 Parade of Homes in the Dominion, Mattern & FitzGerald has struck an agreement with Debbie Baxter Designs to help assist us with this project.  This is probably the first and last time you'll see a Longhorn and Aggie work together peacefully (just kidding).  Debbie has done commercial work, residential, vacation homes, luxury yachts and luxury highrises.  You may have read most recently about The Broadway, San Antonio's first luxury highrise in Alamo Heights- well her firm designed the interior and it is stunning.  Her website is http://baxterdesigngroup.com/.  Holly Hickey is also helping us and she is an incredible talent.  We are so fortunate to have them on our team and looking forward to an incredible Parade.  Take time to visit their website if you get a chance and view some of their incredible work.

Parade of Homes 2012

The rectangular windows above are called clerestory

I am very excited to announce that Mattern & FitzGerald Custom Builders has agreed to enter into the Parade of Homes for 2012.  The Parade is undergoing some changes this year, with the first Parade being held the last weekend in May on Memorial Day weekend and continuing through the next 10 days for a total of 2 weekends.  The thought being the weather will be much cooler for visitors.  The Parade location will be in The Aragon in Dominion, which is the last undeveloped property in Dominion and located near the new 3rd gate near the Camp Bullis exit and TMI.  There will be another Parade later in the year with more affordable housing with time & place to be determined.

We will be showcasing some very interesting architecture this year.  It will be one of the smaller homes in the Parade, but will have some very progressive elements that I think you will find very interesting.  The picture above is not one of our homes, but it illustrates a point of something we will be doing this year.  The small, rectangular windows you see above are referred to as clerestory windows.  They are designed to allow more light to come in and really open up the space.  One effect that we will play off of is to appear to make our roof "float".  It will be a very different concept than traditional big roof plans that you are probably used to seeing.  Over the next few months, I will attempt to explain some of the different elements that we are doing, without spoiling the surprise when you come see us.  Mark your calendars and save the date for what should be an amazing show this coming year.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Amazing Kitchen Remodel in 7 Weeks

I wish I could sit here and tell you this was easy, but I'd be lying to you.  I also wish I could find the before photo of this kitchen and bar because it looks completely different.  When remodeling, the first thing you have to do is start with a clean slate.  That means in this case a week of demo, tying down old electrical and plumbing, and game planning for new electrical and plumbing.  You should see it, we write on the walls, the floor the ceiling- everywhere.  It looks like graffiti and a war zone all at the same time.  Then we patch up the walls, paint, get the cabinet guys in and start measuring for cabinets.  This ceiling and lighting                                                                        is new as well,

and it required some framing and repositioning of duct work to pull it off.  These customers were awesome in the sense that they were living there for a good majority of the project and were very patient and kind.  I love before and afters because you get such a great return on effort in such a short amount of time.  They are not easy, and often you miss things that are unforeseen but they are certainly rewarding when finished.  Check out the cool edge the homeowner chose for the island, probably one of my all time favorites.  If you don't think it's that great it's probably because you're not there in person but it's really cool how the granite company fabricated the edge.

How to Improve the Entry of Your Home

This courtyard is only 1 week old

I love this house for a lot of reasons.  True story, the owners brought us a CD of a resort they travel to in the Virgin Islands every year and wanted to recreate it to a large degree.  They really wanted a focus on the outside.  This home has outside showers, amazing landscaping, a wooden door courtyard entry and custom lights we imported from the Virgin Islands that were hand made.  Really cool and fun project.  I wanted to focus however on the sidewalk and front entry.  When you see your home from the street, I think you have 2 curb appeals going on.  The initial impression, and also the feel you get as you walk up to the home.  My theory is it should continue to surprise and impress as you walk to the front door.  You don't have to go over the top, but you can do little things with landscaping, install a water feature, improve the walk way, add lighting, rocks and the focus on the porch area.  This picture was taken shortly after the homeowners moved-in.  If you look closely you can see that they installed a water feature to the left that runs down the rocks and flows into a small pond area, then recirculates back up to the origin and flows back down again.  These kits are sold at Home Depot and Lowes and have come way down in price.  The stones that were laid were field stones from excavation and supplanted with river rock.  The concrete walk path was stained, which is real easy to do with a bug sprayer and could be a fun weekend project.  Lastly, they installed a couple of outdoor speakers in the front, just to welcome guests or have some outdoor tunes going while they work and play outside.  I admit, this is pretty grand, but it if you take an idea or two from this you would be surprised at how different you can make the walk up appeal of your home.

How to Create a Low Cost Media Room

The components are hidden which keeps the room clean

With the decrease in price points for quality surround sound systems, the ability to create a specific space for a theater-like experience has never been easier.  The construction aspect of the picture you see here was relatively inexpensive to do and I can just picture me and my family watching a movie or sports here..  Here are some steps you can do when planning for a media room and how we tackled this project:

• Decide where the components are going to go We walked with the customer and identified the wall where the TV was going to go, and the space where the components were going to go.  Then, we put a flexible conduit in the wall cavity or ceiling leading from behind the TV to the place where the cable box. dvd, etc. is going to go.  If you are just starting this project, I highly recommend leaving additional pull strings in the event you want to add some wires or cables later.
• Consider your light source If you have any windows or natural light, find a way to be able to cover it when need be.  This will make your picture viewing experience the best it can be, just like in the movies. 
• Build a box platform  Because a step is usually 6 inches or so, we use 2X6's as a base framing, then top it with OSB plywood to make it nice and strong.  Screw it together if you don't want creaking.  Then, you can wrap it with carpeting to tie-in to the rest of the floor.  It's so heavy that once you set the platform down loosely, it's not going anywhere.
• Theater seating Buy the best, most comfortable theater chairs you can afford and enjoy!  Make sure when you set up the distance of the chairs, you look to viewing instructions for ideal distance from the screen.

The best part is, you won't have to pay $100 to take your family to the movies and it will be the gift that keeps on giving.  Enjoy your new theater and happy viewing.

How to Create and Open Kitchen and Save Space

I used to get nervous telling people that they didn't necessarily "need" a formal dining room- but not anymore.  The more people we meet with, the more I'm convinced that there is an evolution of less formal, and more open eating spaces going on.  Take this picture as an example.  This homeowner wanted a space where they could cook and visit with the kids and or guests while doing so.  If you look off to the right you can see that the breakfast table is fairly sizeable and can seat quite a few folks as well.  Quick disclaimer, I have a formal dining room and love it, as I'm sure do a lot of you.  This economy has forced us though to think more creatively and repurpose spaces so that you don't have a room that's collecting dust while you live in it.  We are doing more banquettes now, large islands with multiple seating, informal breakfast areas, and breakfast areas on "steroids".  What I mean by that is an oversized breakfast area, with built-ins or niche and plenty of seating for 8 people.  One other cool thing about this picture is if you notice the backsplash is done in venetian plaster- not tile.  Really cool treatment that you could also consider doing yourself. 

How to Design a Cool Ceiling

One area that often gets overlooked is the ceiling.  Sometimes called the "5th wall", you would be surprised what an impact can be made with a little thought.  The ceiling in this picture is one we did that has a sheetrock furr down around it, creating a tray ceiling.  We then added 2 X 4's at the bottom most part of the tray both horizontally and vertically to create a cove to hold rope lights.  This particular tray received a plaster treatment, but you could go a lot less expensive by doing something with a paint.  There are all kinds of cool paints now available at your local hardware store.  We sheetrocked over the cove area, then we triple ran rope light so that you would notice it at anytime during the day.  This is key, because so often people only run one strand of light, and it is lost on the effect that you are trying to pull because you can only see it at night.  The rope lights are switch activated, so they can be turned on and off at your discretion.  This effect can be done on all scales of budget, so if you are considering doing something to your ceiling- this is a fantastic option for the price.

Summit Awards 2011

Wow, what a night.  Fresh off the heels of being surrounded by San Antonio's finest builders, we are still basking in what was an incredible evening.  Once a year we gather for a black-tie event that honors builders and real estate professionals for various categories related to their craft.  We were fortunate enough to come away with 7 Eagles this year.  These were the categories that we won:

• Best site signage- builder
• Best Product Design, Custom: $300,000-$399,000 
• Best Product Design, Custom: $626,000-$750,000
• Best Rural Product: $626,000-$750,000 
• Best Rural Product: $751,000-$1,000,000
• Best Rural Product: $1,001,000-$1,250,000
• Best Theater Room

I think the thing that we're most proud of is the range of homes that won best product.  Most builders specialize in a certain niche- which is smart.  For some reason or another, we focus on all ranges and will build for whatever the budget allows.  I often think of building as a puzzle, and assigning the dollars where you get the most return- regardless of budget.  I often tell people that I don't care what you give us, we'll make it look good.  In fact, the lower budgets are sometimes the funnest because it stretches you to think more creatively and figure out ways to achieve certain looks for less money.  That is a challenge no matter what the budget.  I'm very proud of our team, not only of employees but the wonderful craftsman, designers and partners that we are fortunate enough to work with.

How to Give Your Home Curb Appeal for Low Cost

Outdoor lighting can make a huge impact on the curb appeal of your home.  One trick you can do is consider the outside angles of your home, and amplify the corners and dark spaces.  Not only will it give your home added security at night, but it makes the house transform into something completely different.  On our website at www.matternandfitzgerald.com, I have a lot of exterior photos of homes.  Look at the ones with night shots and pay close attention to the lighting.  On these attached pictures, we have some different elements going on.  First, we have gas lanterns.  They are about $1000/each when you consider the fixture and the gas run, but that is probably one of my most favorite elements.  It's switch operated, and natural gas is so cheap that you won't be stung with a large bill. The other thing we have is called soffet lights.  Soffet lights are actually down lighting, vs. up lighting and it gives the house a very cool look.  These are basically recess cans in the eaves of the roof, and they run about $85/each installed.  We also have low cost landscape lights to concentrate eye focus on the planting beds.  I think a kit of 6 is close to $80 without the transformer.  Lastly, in this case we have a beautiful front door that can be showcased with ample lighting.  If that light wasn't on, it would make for a dark entry anyway.  If you are designing a home, or considering reinvesting some dollars into your current home- consider the exterior lighting which you will enjoy and get a high visual return on investment.

The Importance of Landscaping

Courtesy of sweethomedecorating.com

As Spring approaches, I told my wife the other day my entire goal was to get my yard plush and green this year, with freshened-up mulch and plants.  I don't know about you, but whenever I go to a golf course, or Sea World or a nice hotel like JW Marriot with beautifully landscaped grounds- I can't help but walk away vowing to make my yard a better place by putting a little more effort into it.

At Mattern & FitzGerald we offer landscaping assistance to the homeowners prior to moving in.  There are some different ways that you can tackle it, and I just wanted to point out a couple.

First, you can interview several different reputable landscape companies, and have their draftsman draw you a plan.  This is a service that can be free if you use them, or somewhere in the $500 range if you don't. Usually the hook is they will donate the drawing time to the cause if you decide to use their services.

The next way that I like best is to have a master plan designed by a landscape architect.  Two years ago, I engaged Matt Stevens mwsla.com to do my personal residence.  Matt is a Landscape Architect and got his degree for it from Texas A&M.  My wife and I were extremely happy with his design and he won a Summit Award for it last year.  The cost can vary but a ballpark number for detailed drawings is $2500.  Yes, that's a lot of money, but what it gives you is detailed drawings, quantities, a master plan and lighting and elevation considerations.  The most important benefit though is it gives you a level playing field from which to solicit bids.  There's no real way to cheat the system when it's laid out in detail like that.  My thought is that you will almost recoup the investment in the plans by getting it competitively bid out from the same basis point.

I would encourage you to do a little advance, thought-out planning on the landscaping portion of your home and get some assistance to help you make your yard an oasis from a stressful day.

How to Host a Successful Open House Party

This picture cracks me up of people doing the YMCA and having a great time.  Okay, so maybe your open house party wouldn't want to get this rowdy, but you do want people to leave feeling glad they made the trip to see your house.  At Mattern & FitzGerald we take our open houses very seriously.  If you are in the  market, or will be to sell your home in the near future- I wanted to give you some tips to think about if considering doing an open house.

1. Identify a core group of attendees- there are people of influence in the real estate community that can help get your home sold like realtors, lenders, organizations, etc.  Write down a list of key attendees and give them a special invitation to your event.
2. Put your best foot forward- make sure your home shines.  Try your best to walk the house with the eyes of a stranger, observing everything as you make your way around the house.  Be critical because you have one shot to make a good first impression.
3. Advertise- there are a ton of mediums available to us today that are relatively inexpensive to get the word out about your event.  Internet, newspaper, targeted mailers, etc.  Create a budget and maximize it by putting your dollars where you will get the greatest return.
4. Have some sort of offer- get people to the door by offering some kind of door prize or benefit for seeing you.  encourage people to sign-up with their information in a quick, hassle-free way.  Sometimes a name and email is good enough, but a phone number is ideal.
5. Follow-up- let's face it, chances are high you won't sell your home that day.  However, you now have an invaluable database of influential leads with which to follow-up with.  Make sure you do that on a fairly regular basis.

Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Builder

When interviewing builders to potentially build your dream home, these are some of the more important questions that can be asked:

1. How long have you been in business?
2. How many homes do you build in a year?
3. What is your average price point of home that you normally build?
4. How stable are you financially?
5. Have you ever, or are you currently involved in any legal disputes?
6. What is your ratio of projects to project managers that you average?
7. What lien prevention measures do you have in place?
8. What kinds of warranties are offered with your home?
9. What kind of post-build documentation do you provide to me that was gathered throughout the build process?
10. Can I get a list of past clients that have built with you in the last 6 months to speak with?