Create Curb Appeal at Your New Ball Home!

Now that you've moved into your new Ball home, you're ready to add your own personal style to it. There's furniture to arrange and cupboards to fill, but don't let winter weather keep you from putting your personal touch on the outside of your home. There are things you can do right now to add curb appeal to your new home and add "you" to your new abode.

Knock, Knock

Your front door makes the first impression for your house. Make it shine with a new wreath or door mat to greet your guests, like this DIY welcome mat from bottosblog.blogspot.com. If you have a porch, add a decorative bench or rocking chairs. Create symmetry with topiaries or sconces flanking the doorway.

 Photo Source

Light Up the Night
Attract attention to your home even after the sun has gone down. Install decorative lighting in your landscaping or along your front walkway. The bright side (no pun intended) with installing outdoor lighting is that it provides safety and security as well as looking great. Here's an article from the designers at HGTV on working with landscape lighting.

Stop and Smell the Flowers
Plants and flowers can bring instant color to a dreary landscape. Because planting in the winter can be tricky, install ready-made planters or window boxes. Keep your shrubs trimmed and freshen up the mulch to keep your garden areas from looking overrun or tired-looking. Eventually when the weather warms, you can define your landscape with edging stones to add more color and texture to your garden beds.

New Products Added to our Design Center

At Ball Homes, we're always looking to improve our selection of upgraded products and services we offer in our new construction homes. In the past few months, we've added a variety of new features to include in our selection process. 

We have added new styles of interior doors to choose from in our selections process. These doors are added to our selection options, alongside our standard interior door, which is our two paneled arch top door with a textured finish. 

Cheyenne Two Paneled Plank Smooth Interior Door

Things to Do on a Road Trip

Do you ever feel like Clark Griswold whenever your family takes a road trip? Things don't go according to plan, you get lost, or the kids drive you crazy. As tomorrow is the busiest travel day of the year, we here at Ball Homes thought it would be appropriate to share a few ideas to keep your kids entertained (and hopefully keep your sanity intact) as you make the long car, plane, or train ride to wherever your holiday festivities may be.

Games

• "Name that Tune": a passenger in the car will hum the tune to a song and the other passengers need to gues what song it is.
• "I Spy": Use these printable cards from Prepared NOT Scared to spot different items along your route. The first person to spot all the items on their sheet wins.

Food

• Use an almost empty peanut butter jars to store apple slices or celery sticks. You'll save valuable space by using less containers.
• Use small shower caddies to contain meals for small children. Each child will get their own caddie to put their drink, sandwich and snack into, for an easy-to-hold and juggle-free organizer.

Organization

• Tie an over-the-door shoe organizer to the back of the front seats to keep small toys, crayons, and books in order and off the floor. The best part is that everything is right in front of your child, so they can reach it themselves, which means fewer distractions for the driver.

What other tips and tricks do you use to ensure a smooth road trip? Share them with us on our Facebook page!

New Floorplan: The Claremont II

We here at Ball Homes are always looking to improve our collection of floor plans to meet the needs of today's homebuyer. We have recently updated our popular Claremont plan to make the new Claremont II floor plan. This beautiful ranch-style home features 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, and an array of upgrades and options to fit your lifestyle!


Claremont II is a split bedroom plan perfect for people who are ready for a more luxurious design both inside and out. All the convenience of ranch living, plus the option to add an upstairs flex area with an extra 355sf of living space.

The Master suite includes a sitting room that can be accessed from the Family Room, or by optional double French doors direct from the master suite. The master bedroom has a trey ceiling, and the master bath includes a double vanity, tub/shower combination, and linen storage, and a private commode enclosure. Upgrade bath options are also available. A large master closet is divided into dual areas.   




The kitchen offers a breakfast bar and separate breakfast area with bay window overlooking the rear yard, and a formal dining room is steps away.  


Additional convenience features include a large pantry in the kitchen and a folding counter in the utility room.  A traditionally styled front includes a covered porch and distinctive hip roof with dormer windows and shake siding accents. 

For more information on the Claremont II floor plan, visit our website or contact a Ball Homes Specialist today!

Fall Maintenance Tips

Temperatures are cooling down and that means it’s time to start thinking of ways to prepare your Ball home for fall and winter. These simple steps can lower your utility bills and keep you and your family warm and comfortable throughout the cold season.

• Clear your gutters and downspouts from debris frequently throughout the fall. Neglected gutters can lead to wood rot problems, pest infestations, wet basements, foundation damage and many other expensive complications. Consider installing gutter guards to cut down on the amount of leaves that can clog your drainage system.
  
  
• Caulking is one of the least expensive home repairs out there, with some of the biggest energy savings. Caulk around windows and doorframes to prevent heat from escaping. Silicone caulk is great for outdoor use because it won’t crack or shrink when the weather gets colder. If your weather stripping is cracked or loose or you can see daylight from inside your home, consider replacing it.
  
  
• Now is the best time to get your lawn ready for the spring. By spreading seed now, you give the roots enough time to germinate and develop a good root system before the cold weather sets in. If you can, aerate your lawn before you put down fertilizer, which will allow moisture and nutrients to get into the roots. We’ve found a great tutorial from DIY Network on how to aerate your lawn. If you aren’t able to aerate, consider mulching dry, fallen leaves rather than raking them. When you mow, remove the bag and let the pieces fall among the grass blades. This will allow them to decompose and nourish your lawn over the winter. 
  
  
• Change your furnace filter regularly. Before you switch over to the heat setting, contact a licensed heating contractor to inspect and service your gas heater or furnace to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Your local utility company will often provide this service for free. Also have your wood-burning fireplace inspected, cleaned and repaired to prevent chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. 
  
  
• Just because it’s getting cooler does not mean that your ceiling fan can’t help you lower your utility bills. Change the direction of your ceiling fan to create an upward draft that redistributes warm air from the ceiling. 
  
  
• Take the time to do some additional fall cleaning you don’t normally get around to, like laundering window treatments, vacuuming your mattress and box springs, and cleaning out the clothes dryer vent. These small tasks will help remove dust and dirt that can be circulated into the air while your home is closed during the winter months. This cleaning will also save you time when you begin your preparations for the fall and winter parties and guests you will be hosting in your home.

Are there any other maintenance tips you'd like to share? Let us know on our Facebook page!