Collins Builders Blog

A spacious pantry is on the list for most of our clients when it comes to their needs for a new home. It’s essential to consider your family’s storage needs for bulk purchases and weekly grocery runs when creating your new custom kitchen. Walk-in pantries are a staple of the homes we design at Collins Builders, and when combined with innovative storage and features, it just might become one of your favorite spots in your home!

We all know what a difference the right front door color can have on the curb appeal of a new custom home. You can achieve the same significant design impact on the inside of your home by changing the color of your doors. Framed by crisp white trim, a door in a contrasting color really makes a statement!

Gray exteriors are incredibly popular, and the neutral color works well with any architectural style. Grays can be warm or cool in tone, and are found in every hue. Below we’ve listed the 5 most popular gray exterior paint colors that our clients choose to help assist you in finding the perfect one for your new home.

Today’s popular floorplans often include large covered entry and rear porches. These not only make a beautiful architectural statement, but they provide you with a place to create an outdoor living space. The front entry is the first thing visitors see when they arrive at your home, and a wood porch ceiling adds immediate impact. A warm stain on the rear porch ceiling can complement your outdoor furnishings and helps to make the space feel more like another room in the house.

Frameless cabinetry is relatively new to the mainstream market in the United States. It is sometimes called “full access” or “European” cabinetry. Traditional cabinets in America have a face frame on the front of the cabinet box that the doors attach to, where frameless, as the name implies, does not. This change in construction offers some unique advantages Collins Builders have helped clients use while designing their new home, and might just be the perfect option for your new kitchen.

Patterned floor tiles have exploded in popularity in the last year. We can now mimic the look of expensive (and hard to maintain) cement or brick tiles, with mosaics in every possible shape, size, and color. With so many choices and such a bold floor, choosing where and how to use patterned tile can seem overwhelming. However, there are a few tried and true spaces where patterned tiles always look great, and may be the perfect way for you to incorporate them in your new home.

In the past, modern architecture was a clearly defined genre with flat planes and minimalist details. Today, there are modern versions of almost every design style, with Modern Farmhouse being the most well known. So what exactly are these new types of modern architecture?

Modern Farmhouse

The modern farmhouse style is a fresh take on the traditional low country farmhouse. The rooflines will often have sharp, tall gables instead of long straight lines. The front elevation will be mainly one dimension, with just a few bump-outs for interest. To keep the farmhouse feel, wood accents on columns, shutters, or beams dress up what is almost always a white exterior. Black accents on the windows and roof create a clean, minimalist palette, true to modern design. Board and batten or painted brick exteriors complete the look.

Many of the custom homes that we build here at Collins Builders include a Powder bath with a pedestal sink. These little spaces are the perfect place to infuse your design style in a bold way. Shiplap walls and mosaic tile floors really shine in a powder bath, but it’s important not to overlook the main feature of the room – the sink. There are several ways to turn the ordinary pedestal into a fun, yet functional centerpiece of the bathroom.

Choosing paint colors for a new home can be one of the most challenging things for our clients to do. On the exterior, there is so much wall space, and often times it’s hard to know how a small sample is going to look on the outside of a new home. On the inside, you want a color that will accentuate your other selections, while still giving you the freedom to decorate with your favorite pieces. So how do you narrow down the thousands of choices? Sherwin Williams has created some fun and helpful tools to help guide you through the process.

The new golden hues of brushed gold, burnished brass, and brushed bronze are everywhere in design today. These are not the bright brass fixtures we grew up with, but a fresh and modern way to warm up your interior design. Adding intentional touches of brushed gold can add a tremendous wow factor to your space and truly elevate the design. But what are the best ways to incorporate it?