Jul 6

To Pool or Not to Pool

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To Pool or Not to Pool

Summers in Southern Arizona can be tough. The weather warms up significantly and while the long days of sunshine are great, the heat can be a lot. So what to do? One option is to put a pool in your yard! As a homeowner, whether to buy a home with a pool or install a pool in your backyard is a big decision!

It’s tempting to imagine the aesthetics of a beautiful blue pool in the yard. It’s perfect for summer parties but it’s important to do your due diligence as a homeowner.

Be sure to budget for monthly pool maintenance. It’s important to keep your pool clean and at the correct chemical levels so it’s safe to use. There are also weekly chores that need to be done, including checking the basket for debris, skimming the surface, and vacuuming. Also keep in mind that during the summer months, the heat causes more water evaporation so anticipate an increase in your water bill.

Make sure to talk to your insurance agent about how a pool is covered by your homeowner’s insurance. There are a few different options based on your insurance. This is also an important question if you’re thinking about adding a pool to your yard after you own your home. If you have detailed questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Fairfield Homes agent!

Another consideration is safety. With pets and young kids, it’s important to budget and understand Arizona laws regarding fences and gates around the pool to make sure that everyone stays safe. In Arizona, above and below-ground pools must be surrounded by a fence or gate at least five-feet high that doesn’t have any openings more than four inches in diameter. There are some great local Tucson companies that will install high-quality fences that will enhance your yard design.

There are many advantages to installing a swimming pool in the backyard! For one thing, it’s great for kids! During the summertime in Arizona, kids don’t want to be anywhere except the pool. Anyone with a pool immediately becomes the destination house in the neighborhood!

Swimming pools are a great way to keep people of all ages active and engaged. It’s great for socializing, leisure, and has many health benefits like stretching, low-impact exercise, and is great for rehabilitation. Swimming is one of the most popular outdoor activities! Studies show that swimming burns more calories per hour than walking or biking. Pools are also calming and peaceful.

What a great excuse to have barbeques and bond with your neighbors! Plus, swimming pools in Arizona can be used almost year-round so the cost per use goes down quickly and significantly.

The bottom line is that a swimming pool in Southern Arizona makes a lot of sense. The weather is perfect for it, it’s the ideal playground for kids and family pets, and it’s a feature that increases the resale value of your home. Of course, think through the details and what makes the most sense for your home and your family when making a big decision like this.

Feb 2

Did Arizona Become a State on Valentine’s Day?

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It was February 14, 1912, when President William Howard Taft strode into the Oval Office and signed a bill that amended Arizona Territory into the State of Arizona. Though it took a simple signature to enact statehood, the actual efforts to get here were long and arduous.

While February 14th is nationally known as Valentine’s Day, Arizonans know that on this day in history Arizona completed the 48 conterminous United States in the union.

How did this union begin?

The entirety of present-day Arizona belonged to independent Mexico in 1821. When expansionists spread out West, conflicts over territory arose, leading to the Mexican-American war which spanned from 1846 until 1848.

When the dust settled, Mexico ceded 70% of northern Arizona to the U.S. The land was considered a territory of New Mexico, but later it became its own Arizona Territory under the Confederacy. A couple of decades after the Civil War, residents petitioned for Arizona’s statehood several times, but to no avail. A big reason was population. People were dubious about the viability of the desert land, but that all changed.

The population boomed

From a first look, the desert environment gave doubts to its productivity. Yet, copper mining was Arizona’s premier industry and satisfied a rapidly growing market. Cattle, cotton, citrus, and more agricultural interests brought in homesteaders to develop farming economies. Arizona held the powerful five C’s: copper, cattle, cotton, citrus, and climate.

Gradually, more people recognized the Arizona climate was not only worth developing, but its environment was cleaner than other states and a warm respite from the harsh winter conditions.

Once the widespread availability of refrigeration and air conditioning developed, more people called Arizona home. A far cry from its population of 217,000 people in 1912, Arizona is currently home to 7.2 million people today.

So, Why February 14th?

Bad luck and better timing: It took some time for Taft to feel secure in the constitution of the state. But, when he ultimately decided to sign the statehood papers, planners hoped he would ratify Arizona on Lincoln’s birthday, February 12th. Unfortunately, Taft was out of town and everyone considered the 13th to be bad luck, so the signing was pushed back to February 14th — the day to commemorate love and admiration.

We admire our great state, and all over Arizona, visitors and long-time residents alike can uncover new, exciting opportunities here — from historical landmarks to expansive hiking trails. There’s an adventure for anyone.

Ready to ring in the celebration of Arizona’s 110th anniversary by calling it home?

At Fairfield Homes, we create gorgeous semi-custom and custom homes blended with the natural landscape and optimized for grand views of the Tucson terrain in every direction. Speak with an industry expert today to discover your home options!

Sources:

https://legallegacy.wordpress.com/2019/02/14/february-14-1912-arizona-joins-the-union-as-the-48th-state/

https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/arizona

https://kjzz.org/content/19682/did-you-know-it-took-arizona-49-years-become-state

Nov 22

8 Tips for Getting Your Home Ready for the Holidays

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Holiday plans in place, check. Guests arriving, check. But, oh no, what about the house?! Prepping for the holidays tacks on unwanted stress—there’s no doubt about that. With proper planning, you can enjoy a relaxing time with friends and family without any worries. From now until New Year’s, get a jumpstart on your resolutions with these holiday-home tips.

1. Use Seasonal Scents

Welcome your guests with the aroma of the season. Pine, spices, and sweets galore, your holiday candles’ scents add an extra dimension to your holiday extravaganzas.

2. Clean the Floors

The more you do in advance to prepare your home for foot traffic and activity, the better. Once you catch any dirt from the top of furniture and shelves, move on to cleaning the floors of dust and debris. There’s nothing like welcoming your guests with the sparkle of immaculately clean floors!

3. Clean Out the Fridge

Leading up to the event, it’s key to clear out your kitchen and refrigerator to make room for holiday dishes. Begin by tossing out expired food and freeing up space by condensing items into smaller containers. Take this opportunity, while your fridge is being emptied, to wipe down the shelves and drawers.

4. Transition the Decor

As we pass from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s, there’s certainly no shortage of excitement between those few weeks. And, each holiday tends to have its own set of decorations. Prepare to take the turkey figurines down in lieu of reindeer figurines come December 1st. From then on, check back on this list before setting up your winter decorations.

5. Dress Up Your Entryway

The first place your guests will see of your home is the entryway. Spread holiday cheer to everyone who walks into your home with themed decor. For Christmas, consider setting the nearside table with a miniature Christmas tree, family photos, and jolly garland. These decorations help set the tone for what guests can expect the more they venture inside.

6. Prep the Guest Room

If you plan on inviting guests to stay in your home during the holidays, they’ll need all of the comforts of home for the duration of their trip. Make sure that the room is tidy, and outfitted with a cozy bed, a well-lit lamp, and a dresser for clothing.

7. Prep the Kitchen

A holiday-ready kitchen is key to a successful holiday get-together. This is where people are gathering, food is being made, and messes are likely to happen. Get a head start on shopping for groceries, cleaning necessary cookware for the day of, and clearing tabletops for the expected heap of food.

8. Stock Up On Essentials

From ensuring the heating is up to par to providing essential items for overnight guests, it’s always important to assess your home and prepare for as much as you can. Some items to always have on hand are paper towels, toilet paper, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and toothpaste. In addition, cleaning out the fireplace beforehand can make the cold winter nights much more enjoyable.

Building and customizing your home to fit your vision is exactly what we do. With Fairfield Homes, you’ll build a top-end, quality home on one of the most beautiful sites in Southern Arizona. Enjoy the best desertscape views now and for your next holiday celebration. Contact us today to get started!

Aug 11

Why You Need Single-Story Living

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Young or old, kids or no kids — single-story living is well-suited to a wide range of individuals’ needs and lifestyles. Popularized during the postwar economic boom, one-story homes defined the attainability of the American dream. This popularity carried into the 1970s and declined in the early 21st century, however, within recent years the acclaim of single-story living returned. With the right plan, living in a one-story home brings countless benefits.

Ideal for Any Age

Think of single-story living as an age-defying home. Toting the laundry or walking to your bedroom is much simpler in a single-story home than a two-story home. Stairs pose a problem for accessibility and oftentimes safety. Old and young individuals alike can move with greater ease and independence in a single-story home. And, you do not need to worry about potentially injuring yourself by falling down the stairs. Any age can thrive in a single-story home and you won’t need to worry about age-proofing — or retrofitting your home — to fit your lifestyle.

Simple Maintenance

Buying a home is simply the starting point of years of maintenance. Everything you need in a single-story home will exist on the same level, making upkeep or cleaning more attainable. You won’t need to go back and forth upstairs carrying bulky cleaning supplies or engage in arduous exterior scaffolding. In a one-story home, your paths are straightforward and simple.

Energy-saving and Cost-effective

A single-story home displays energy-efficient choices, saving you money on utility bills. Since heat rises and cool air drops, living in a two-story home means you will face adjusting your heating and AC accordingly. In fact, a two-story home with the same square footage as a single-story home costs double the amount to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer. A single-story house will require much less energy use.

Ability to Add-On

A combined space like single-story homes offers more flexibility in interior design than multi-level homes. It can adapt to your needs and at a lower cost. If you want to add on to your home in the future, like a mother-in-law suite or sunroom, then you won’t need to worry about an upper level thwarting your plans.

Open Floor Plans

In a single-story home, you won’t need to sacrifice space. Without doors and walls acting as barriers to each location, homeowners and guests can roam freely and comfortably. Open floor plans truly enlarge the common areas and give a sense of interconnectedness. You can expect no stone to go unturned in a single-story home, meaning the square footage is used to its greatest potential.

Effortless Indoor-Outdoor Living

Single-story homes blend perfectly with your outdoor living space. Multiple access points to the outdoors from your kitchen, living room, or bedroom are feasible in a one-story home. There are also more options for high ceilings and large glass sliders that not only optimize spectacular landscape views but allow for quick access to the patio or deck. With this convenience of location, homeowners and guests receive the best of both worlds.

When it comes to single-story living, Fairfield Homes know precisely how to optimize the space and feel of a home. We have been designing luxurious semi-custom and custom single-story homes in Southern Arizona for over 40 years. Each home is carefully designed to provide the best from quality resources to exquisite views. Contact us today to get started on a home that fits your lifestyle!

Jul 28

5 Tips for Designing Your Dream Home

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Designing a custom or semi-custom home is a huge undertaking with a number of big decisions falling on your shoulders. When you build, it turns into a full-scale commitment that may look overwhelming — from customizing the floor plan to selecting paint options. As you begin the home-building process, consider implementing these tips to make your dream home a reality.

Start Simple

Start your project with a goal. You’re crafting a sanctuary that you will come back to at the end of each day to unwind and feel at ease. So, take it easy in the beginning. Create a checklist of ideas, features you may want in each room, or important must-haves. Once you lay out the structure of your project, then you can begin working your way towards final decisions with the help and feedback from your builder.

Plan for the Future

Imagine what your life could look like two years, five years, even 10 years down the road. Would your home still meet your style and function desires? When designing a home, you need to think long-term rather than “right now.” Do you plan on having kids? How much storage space will you need? Turns out, most homeowners underestimate how much space they need, which can be inconvenient for organization purposes and cost more to upgrade later on. Planning your home to fit your future needs will save you from continuously expanding to suit your situation.

Prioritize Function and Flow

A design that serves a purpose holds up over time. Dig into the details of your daily routine and consider what would make your everyday life uncomplicated. An open floor plan, for example, establishes a good connection and logical layout for smooth access throughout your home. Think about your previous or current home, what you like or dislike about the setup, and make sure you can achieve this with your future home. Leave no stone unturned and use every space to its fullest potential.

Upgrade During the Build

Some materials can be easier to change than others, but larger functional characteristics that impact important structural elements will not be. By upgrading at the start, you won’t need to worry about improving later. High-end materials and new appliances will last for years and save you money on maintenance and repairs. And, new homebuyers will be looking for the updated features. All in all, don’t set yourself up for additional work and money spent down the road — upgrade now.

Make it Your Own

You deserve to look around 15 years from now and still love the selections you chose. Although your custom home builder has the experience and expertise, YOU make the decisions. Pick the materials that best reflect your taste, personality, and style, that you will appreciate for years to come. Designing your own home can be a meticulous process, but it’s also so rewarding to take a part in building your future!

Fairfield Homes designs custom and semi-custom homes with wellness and luxury in mind to fit your lifestyle. Contact us today to get started on the home of your dreams!

Mar 1

The 6 Best Plants for Your Home

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Your home is your garden — or perhaps your garden is your home. In-home gardens are a perfect way to bring life to your home, especially if your desired plants can’t live outside or you don’t have space for a garden. Here are some amazing house plants to turn your space into a natural paradise.

Many plants will grow well in your home, especially if they have a sunny window to sit in. Plants are also a great way to add a bit of color accent to your home, offer air purifications, and grow something delicious for your table.

Before you start perusing all your plant options, here are a few tips to get your garden started. Choose a location in your home that gets lots of sunlight without any weird drafts. You’ll want to ensure that they’re planted in high-quality potting soil and that you water them regularly. But keep in mind that some plants only need minimal care, sunshine, and water.

Snake Plant

This minimal care plant is perfect if you don’t think you have a green thumb, but you want to have plants. A snake plant can survive with hardly any light and very little water. Basically, you could stick it in a closet and water once a month, and it would somehow live. A snake plant is also shown to be a great air filter, removing chemicals from the air such as benzene, formaldehyde, and toluene.

Herbs

Imagine pretty plants that you can use for your cooking, too! Herbs are a pretty addition to any kitchen window, and their proximity makes it even easier to add some fresh herbs to your cooking. These plants are a perfect and practical addition to any in-home garden!

Scallions

This low maintenance and fast-growing plant is the perfect option for new gardeners. Scallions grow easily from seeds or even scraps of leftover scallions from your recipes. This grass-like plant is a fun window accent, and it will make your cooking even more delicious.

ZZ Plant

If you want plants in a lower light environment, the ZZ plant is a perfect option because it is both drought tolerant and low maintenance. The plant is able to store water to help it survive droughts, which means that you don’t have to water it often. It prefers once a month.

Peppers

Small peppers can be the prettiest addition to your indoor plant life. Edible and cute, small peppers such as chili peppers and shishitos can be grown inside. They need plenty of sunshine to thrive so choose a very sunny window.

Aloe Vera

Another multipurpose plant, aloe vera is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. It soothes wounds and various skin conditions as well. Aloe vera prefers super dry soil and lots of sunshine so stick it in a window and feel free to forget to water it for weeks on end. It will thrive. And that’s perfect for people who don’t have a green thumb.

No matter what plants you choose to grow indoors, you’ll discover a perfect way to add to the décor of your home while also purifying the air. Plants of all kinds offer an uplifting presence to any home.

Create your own haven with Fairfield Homes today. We build homes that meld with the Arizona terrain, becoming a part of the flow of the land and featuring stunning views. Contact an industry expert.

https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/gardening/g28506899/growing-vegetables-indoors/