We've found some paint colors and tile patterns that we like by going to the PoH's around here. We're never shy about asking for the name of a wall color or where they got a light from.

Sadly, I missed our Parade of Homes this year. I'm getting kind of hooked on it. When we first started building, I went to get floor plan ideas. The following two years it was to look more closely at flooring, cabinets, siding, lighting, etc. Then we built and I thought I was done with the Parade but now I realize I need more ideas for decorating! Sometimes you see some really neat stuff. Have fun!

We are going to Parade of Homes tonight too. Make sure you bring your camera. I think I am in the same area as you. We went to Homerama in Cincinnati over the weekend and left with tons of ideas. My husband wants our basement finished so he could have his home theater which at those homes they have a lot of ideas there. I am with you that I would have to scale it done a few levels for my home. Have fun.

Sounds like fun~~~
Take notes and a lot of pictures and I am looking forward to seeing what the "hot" things in new homes...especially cabinet colors, countertop materials, stained or painted woodwork, flooring, etc......wish I lived near some area that does this....that is what I get for living in rural Kansas!!

We went to the PoH's in our area a couple weeks ago, and surprisingly almost all the homes had signs plastered around saying "No cameras or photographs" While I understand to an extent, isn't the idea of these parades to get ideas. I was very disappointed.

Well we went, we saw and we have ZERO remorse! LOL

The homes were in 3 different subdivisions with 3 different price point levels. The most expensive homes are on a golf course. They were nice but not for us and actually some things were shocking- the bedrooms were small. Some of them were really small in fact even in the higher priced homes.
All and all the middle level homes impressed me the most-probably because they had more creative floorplans.

Of course since "back hall" area was one of our "biggies" when we built we evaluated that in every home. None of the homes came close to be comparable to what we have- not that we expected them to.

I will tell you this- brown is in. Any shade of taupe/brown etc.

There was lots of granite but nothing like the extraordinary pieces I have seen here. One house had granite tiles for the counter top. A couple of the kitchens were very poorly laid out with barrier islands. At least two of the kitchens had very minimal space between the island and the sink. Still many had the two story great room concept going on. Really nice but when the bedrooms on the second floor are very tiny I always question that decision.

parkejo- did you go? Are you in my immediate area? We live about 5 miles outside the little town the parade was based around. What did you think? You know there is a home in the original part of the GC community that was part of the original parade of homes there in 2005 that still hasn't sold. In this part of the world I think it's hard to get someone to pay almost 500K for a spec home when that will build exactly what they want, where they want it. Not to mention having a fairway 10 feet out your back door and zero privacy.

What did you think?

PD

LOL! Every year, there seems to be one trendy item that is hot for about 5 minutes. A couple of years ago, every home had a huge cavernous home theater with all the latest cutting edge technology - surround sound, screen that pops up or rolls down on a hydraulic lift, programable popcorn maker, and a remote control to run all of it that's as big as your head!

Then, the latest hip thing was an English pub in the finished basement with 3 or 4 bistro tables and a HUGE ornately carved wooden bar with a brass rail. There had to be a authentic stone walk-in fireplace, with a teakettle and a cooking rack big enough to roast a haunch of beef - like an English lord's hunting lodge. The beer taps had to be the authentic brass kind - antique-y looking, like you find in real 100 yr old London pubs. They probably cost more than an week's vacation in London.

last year, our PoH featured wine cellars and wine-tasting rooms. Every single house had one, and every one had a built in "cigar humidor" area! We actually cracked up every time we walked through these huge, temperature and humidity controlled wine cellars, with hundreds of racks for the owner's wine collections. Just off the wine cellar, there was the wine-tasting room, complete with little tables with decanters meant just to let the wine "breathe", and "spitting sinks" - where supposedly, you taste the wine and then spit it out!

I like good wine, but I guess I just don't see much use of building these huge cellars and tasting rooms for the dozen or so bottles I might have on hand at any time, but that's just me. I certainly don't need a special room just for tasting my wine - I'll just taste it wherever I am at the moment. And if I "taste" it, unless it tastes like Boone's Farm, I'm NOT spitting it out in a fancy sink!

Can't wait to see what this year's trendy "must have" is!

I love our annual Street of Dreams and while they are usually "over the top and not for everyone, we still found ideas that we loved and used in our home. I'm looking forward to this years show too even though we are finished. I often find small decorating details that I could incorporate.

Mainecoonkitty -

Was that in Columbus? We used to do the Columbus parades when we lived in central Ohio. It was fun but we found that 20 plus homes is toooo many to look at in one day. They all run togther after about 10.

The trend in this area in the last 10 years or so has been to abandon the "over the top" dream streets. As mentioned above we live in a very affordable part of the country. The dream streets were not selling as the buyers in those markets can pretty much build or buy whatever they want. The parades are now done with very reasonable homes. In fact this year the expensive group were all still for sale while the middle and lower priced streets were almost all sold.

It is fun to get ideas and see decorator tastes.

PD

"Mainecoonkitty -
Was that in Columbus? We used to do the Columbus parades when we lived in central Ohio. It was fun but we found that 20 plus homes is toooo many to look at in one day. They all run togther after about 10. "

Yep! And you're right, more than 10-12 is too many to digest, espeically when they're all so similiar. In the past, all the homes were between $500,000 to 1.5 million and mostly on golf courses. The PoH this year in Columbus has been whittled down to 7 houses between $450,000 and around $650,000. Much more manageable and at a better price point, given the current economy.

Enjoyed hearing about your parade of homes....I hope the rest of you that have the privilege to attend these will chime in. Were most of the kitchen cabinets dark stained?..and was most of the woodwork white (or cream), or was the stained woodwork coming back? The last time I talked to a builder in a "rather large city", he said it was about half and half. Keep those ideas coming...love to hear about them.

Wood work was about half and half stained to white. All the cabinets were natural wood. Most fairly dark. One kitchen looked like light maple- it was a contemporary kitchen.

We don't live in a big city- the HBA that did the parade is based in a medium sized city. They moved their parade south to our area- small city of about 5000 this year. Probably because it's becoming a desireable area. We also attract folks from a major city about 60 miles away- in another state due to our better tax structure and proximty to their major airport.

The other thing I noticed in several houses was very small kitchen sinks. They seemed small and shallow. Our new sink is a double bowl farm sink so maybe I am just used to something bigger now.

It seemed that the cabinets were mostly cream, white or glazed medium brown in color. I only remember seeing darker cabinets in the finished basement bar kitchens at the Homerama that I went to over the weekend. A lot of granite. I took lots of pictures of wood paneling and wainscotting in the hallways, laundry rooms, and study.

Ponydoc - I guess we are not in the same area. We live in Columbus. There were only 7 houses and scaled down. I like that.

Love the drop zone area on the 1st pic. I agree about the C-bus area Parade of Homes being scaled back this year to 7 houses with more reasonable prices. This is the 1st time it's been this small and that's a BIG improvement over past years with 20 houses and over-the-top stuff in them. Most of the builders that have always done the Parade here are not in it this year. Times are pretty tough in the building trades right now and most of them can't afford to build pricey spec homes that might take a long time to sell, as some did last year.

From the times that I have been in Kansas City when they had their Parade of Homes, I felt that the most over-the-top expensive homes did not have that comfortable feeling....just too much "show"....I would rather look at the more moderately priced ones any day. Thanks for the information and if anyone else has the opportunity to go to these, please post pics and information.