Another Great United-Bilt Homes Review

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Rebecca

United-Bilt Reviews

We at United-Bilt always enjoy hearing from the people whose homes we’ve built! We just happened upon this great review from a United-Bilt Homes customer on Yahoo:

“I had a wonderful experience with United Bilt Homes in the spring of 2010. I chose an Aspen model home. Starting out, I was treated with courtesy and respect from the sales representative, the UBH manager, and the building supervisor. This was in the Tulsa, Ok. office. We were a team. The staff let me take my time in choosing exactly what I wanted for the entire home. Upon starting the building process, there were professional people who specialized in the area of the house that they were there to do. From the preparation of my land, to the foundation, to the framers, roofers, sheet rock, trim crew, cabinets, painters, plumbing, everyone was an expert in their area of expertise. These people were friendly and took great pride in their work and my satisfaction with the work being done. I could not have been more pleased with the entire experience. I had a wonderful time throughout the entire experience and have had many people stop in my driveway to comment on how nice my home looks. I couldn’t be prouder of it. Another nice thing I found from United Bilt Homes in Tulsa, Ok, is that I know that I can call them at any time should I ever need to. In fact, when I decided to have a home built on my land and found the perfect home that I’d always wanted, little did I know that these people would become my friends. I highly recommend UBH for your new home. You will be glad you did as I am. Barbara H.”

Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your experience with us, and congratulations to United-Bilt Tulsa for inspiring such a great review!

Posted in Home building, United-Bilt Home Towns | Leave a comment

Masculine Decorating

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Rebecca

Masculine decorating — sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Just the idea of decorating sounds kind of feminine. Not so. In fact, only about half of women say they make the main decisions about home decor. Just under half of American couples say that they make decorating decisions together, leaving about 2% of decorating decisions in the hands of men.

We know that a lot of those shared decorating decisions end up in pink bedrooms and kitchens with cartoon poultry, but sometimes you might want a masculine look. You might, for example, be a man. Or you might be decorating a room used primarily by men, whether it’s a den, a home office, or a bedroom for a son. Maybe you’d just like to create a living room that will really feel comfortable for your husband.

We’re talking here about traditional non-decorating men, not about men who really enjoy decorating and design. Design-oriented men don’t need our help. And we’re talking about traditional men, not to them, because they don’t want our help.

Left to himself, the average man may be so embarrassed by the idea of decorating that he’ll leave the walls bare and arrange the furniture according to the principles followed in bus stations. That doesn’t mean they don’t want their homes to look good. They want a masculine look, and that doesn’t have to mean lumberjack plaid with duck decoys.

How can you get that masculine look without ending up with something completely undecorated?

Take your inspiration from vehicles. The interior of a car has the characteristics men like in a room:

  • neutral colors like beige, camel, black, and gray
  • smooth surfaces, with some shiny or slightly textured elements
  • minimal trimming — maybe a button or two, a little piping, nothing more
  • strong, simple shapes

For a living room that lets a man feel at home, you can begin with walls in a nearly-neutral green or gold, add natural-colored leather furniture, and go easy on the decorative objects. A big, blocky lamp and one dramatic painting might be plenty. Skip cushions and candles, and let electronics like a home theater system serve as accessories. Bamboo shades or heavy drapes in a neutral cotton duck make good masculine window treatments.

Follow the same principles in the bedroom. White or black linens, plain dark wood furniture, and a single bold piece of art makes a welcoming bedroom for a guy.

A kitchen can showcase black and chrome appliances, granite (or granite-look) countertops, and an impressive knife block. Pull a few barstools up to the bar and use restaurant-supply dish towels.

Think we’re stereotyping? Maybe we are, but we might still be right. Check out this video showing men’s and women’s reactions to colors — and color words.

Posted in Homemaking | 2 Comments

Efficient Kitchen Layouts

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Rebecca

galley kitchenHome cooking is enjoying a resurgence in popularity — and we’re all enjoying fresh cooked food and time with family and friends around the dinner table, so it’s a trend most of us would like to support.

An efficient layout in the kitchen makes all the difference. Meal preparation is faster, less stressful, and more successful overall if your kitchen is designed for efficiency.

The first principle for efficient kitchen design is the work triangle. As shown here in the Millcreek kitchen, the sink, stove, and fridge should form the points of a neat triangle with no obstacles. With a good work triangle, you can grab ingredients from the refrigerator, stir a pot, and get water with just a step or two.

While all kitchens should have the convenient work triangle shown above, the details of the layout can vary. The Millcreek kitchen is a galley style, with two parallel walls of work space. This layout isn’t the best if you like to entertain in your kitchen and to have several people cooking at once. However, for one cook, it’s the neatest and most efficient plan. The cook scarcely has to take any steps while preparing a meal, and there’s no wasted space. U kitchen

The Acadian III may be a better choice for couples or families who like to cook together, as well as for the kind of entertaining that encourages guests in the kitchen. The work triangle is still compact, but the U shape with a bar and an open wall allows the cook to interact with guests or to delegate chopping to a helper.

The Keystone has an L-shaped kitchen. This is the most open type. Two of the work stations in the work triangle are on the same wall in an L-shaped kitchen.

L kitchenThis can be a very efficient plan, as well as a convenient one for entertaining or for the busy family home where there has to be space for kids and dogs to come and go through the kitchen.

This type of kitchen is also suitable for multiple cooks. As you can see in the picture below, an L-shaped kitchen with an island, like the kitchen of the Keystone, can include two adapted work triangles at once. Here, one cook can prep and cook food from the fridge while the second cook works at the stove and sink.

An L-shaped kitchen’s one drawback can be a lack of counter space. An island is a solution.

The size of a kitchen can affect the cook’s experience, the amount of food that can be stored, or the number of kids and dogs you can enjoy having around while cooking, but it’s the layout — and in particular, the work triangle, that makes the most difference.

 

 

Posted in Home building, Home cooking, Homemaking | Leave a comment

Southwestern Pinwheels

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Rebecca

For your holiday buffet, game night, or any time!

Southwestern Pinwheels

2 green onions, finely chopped
2 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese
1 1 oz. envelope Ranch dressing mix
1 pkg. of 20 flour tortillas
1/4 c. olives with pimentos, finely chopped
3/4 c. ripe olives, finely chopped
1 4.5 oz. can green chilies, drained & chopped **
1 4 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained **
3 tbs. sour cream

Soften cream cheese and mix with sour cream. Add Ranch dressing and mix well. Add green onions and olives I added a sprinkle of onion powder and garlic powder. Spread over one side of tortilla and roll up tightly. If they won’t stay rolled, you can wrap them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Slice in 1 inch sections and serve with salsa for dipping.

Joan
IT Department

Posted in Home cooking | Leave a comment

How Much Does a United-Bilt Home Cost?

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Rebecca

united-bilt homes AspenUnited-Bilt Homes builds houses on site from the ground up, not in a factory for delivery, so it’s not possible to give a quick and easy answer to this question.

In order to be able to say that, for example, “The Aspen costs $X,” we’d have to offer off-the-peg homes, while we are in fact a custom homebuilder. The Aspen on this page is not the same as any other Aspen — and yours will be different, too, if we build an Aspen for you.

Here are some of the factors that affect home pricing:

  • Location United-Bilt hires local contractors to work under the direct supervision of a United-Bilt homebuilder. Supplies all come from the United-Bilt lumberyard, so the cost of materials doesn’t vary from one state to another, but the kind of preparation required on the land and many other aspects of the building process can be different in different places.
  • Materials A builder in an urban area may have to pay more for the same materials than one in a rural area, and some builders may have better relationships with others, plus of course some materials are more costly than others. While the price of materials doesn’t vary with United-Bilt Homes as it does with other companies, granite will always be pricier than laminate.
  • Options Adding a fireplace or choosing a four bedroom plan rather than a three bedroom one will naturally make a difference to the cost of building a home. United-Bilt floor plans often come with multiple options and of course customizations also affect prices.
  • Financing Some financing choices cost more than others. United-Bilt saves a typical homeowner thousands of dollars in upfront costs, but there are still different choices to make.

Request home pricing to find out what your dream home will cost you.

Posted in Home building | Leave a comment

United-Bilt Sherman

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Rebecca

Sherman, Texas, was named for General Sidney Sherman, a hero of the Texas Revolution. The Texas Revolution was a war between Texas settlers and Mexico in the 1800s, and Sherman was settled shortly thereafter as the county seat of Grayson County.

The town was built around a spreading pecan tree, and early court sessions were held in its shade. An old coat hung from the lower branches, with letters tucked into the pockets, making Sherman one of the few towns that could boast that it had a pecan tree for a post office. Residents would just rummage through the pockets looking for something addressed to them, probably picking up a good amount of information to speculate on in the process.

By 1852, Sherman had a post office building, a hotel, stores and saloons, and a log schoolhouse with a hole in the roof to let out the smoke. The Civil War was hard on Sherman, and most of the stores were abandoned as outlaws from the Quantrill and James and Younger gangs held sway in the town. A decade later, Sherman had recovered, several academies flourished, and Sherman was known as “The Athens of the West.” The public school system was established in 1883 and the first college opened just about ten years later. The period of growth and prosperity ended when a cyclone hit Sherman. Rebuilding of the town was stalled by the Great Depression, but by the 1940s Sherman was becoming a major industrial center.

Sherman still has a strong industrial base that gives it economic security. Near Lake Texoma and convenient for day trips to Dallas, it nonetheless has a peaceful small town feel that makes it a great place to raise a family or to retire. The cost of living is low, shopping and restaurants are plentiful, and it’s just about the perfect place for outdoor adventures.

If you fall in love with Sherman and decide to settle down, call United-Bilt to arrange for your Texas dream home.

(903) 868-1555‎
Posted in United-Bilt Home Towns | Leave a comment

The Open Plan Home

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Rebecca

United-Bilt Carlton floorplanUnited-Bilt’s Carlton, shown at left, is a great example of an open plan home. Open plan homes have no walls between the living and dining room or the dining room and kitchen. The result is a large, open space that allows lots of communication among the rooms. Bedrooms have walls, but no hallways, so that one room leads freely into another. The front door open directly into the living room, too.

Compare this with house plans from a century ago and you’ll immediately notice a lack of nooks and crannies. This was one of the reasons for open plan homes: when middle class families quit having household servants, they needed spaces that allowed housewives to get the chores done and also watch the children.

Central heating made it practical to warm large, open spaces, so that new technology allowed open plans. There was also a feeling that having all-purpose rooms gave more freedom than small rooms with specific purposes. The Victorian home with one room where people sat in the morning and a different one for greeting guests and yet another room for children to play in was seen as old-fashioned and restrictive by modern people.

Finally, the efficiency craze made the open plan home appeal to Americans. With less wasted space, less ornamentation, and fewer dust-catching corners, the open plan home was — and still is — more efficient to build, furnish, and clean. With new methods of home building and new home building technologies allowing builders to span large spaces safely with roofs, the open plan was possible. With time and motion studies, “rational living,” and factory techniques brought into the home, the open plan was also desirable.

By the middle of the 20th century, the open plan home was characteristic of American homebuilding and was beginning to influence home design in other countries, as well. The Carlton, a classic open house plan, is great for family life, entertaining,and casual living.

Posted in Home building, Homemaking | 5 Comments

United-Bilt Homes Referral Check

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Rebecca

United-Bilt referral programDid you know that United-Bilt has a referral program?

People often ask United-Bilt homeowners about their beautiful new houses. When someone asks you, tell them who built your home. If they choose United-Bilt as their builder, too, we’ll send you a check for $300. It’s that simple!

One of our happy customers is Oscar Litvik of Wharton, TX. Here he shows off the $300 check he received for referring a friend to United-Bilt Homes. Both of them have beautiful new houses, and Oscar has an extra $300 — it’s our way of saying thank you.

We would love to send you one of these checks, too! Check out the details of the United-Bilt Referral Program.

Posted in Home building | Leave a comment

Follow Us on Pinterest!

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Rebecca

United-Bilt Home on PinterestWe’re just getting started on Pinterest, but already we’re collecting the best and most fun pins for your home. Come make friends with us!

Don’t know Pinterest yet? It’s a fun social media site that lets you make bulletin boards. People use it to plan their weddings, to collect recipes, to share their vacation snapshots, and of course to plan house and garden projects.

When you plan to decorate, you can make a board for each room and pin up the paint colors, fabrics, floor plan, and furnishings. You can make a board showing all the flowers and vegetables you want to include in your garden. Collect floor plans and materials for your dream home. Make friends, too, and share ideas. It’s fun!

Go to Pinterest.com and ask for an invitation. While you wait for it to arrive, you can enjoy looking at other people’s pins. Already on Pinterest? We hope you’ll follow us and share your favorite pins with us. See you there!

Posted in Home building, Homemaking | Leave a comment

United-Bilt Beaumont

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Rebecca

Beaumont, Texas, was named after Mary Dewburleigh Barlace Warren Beaumont, the wife of a businessman who bought land with his partners and began planning a town. Not many men give their wives a gift like that, but the large scale of the gift is in keeping with the large scale of life in Beaumont.

Beaumont first prospered in the 1800s as a lumber town with an important rice mill. It was in 1901 that Beaumont really struck oil, though, quite literally. Spindletop, the first major oil field in America and still the largest, made itself know with the Lucas Gusher, an explosion that shot oil 200 feet into the air and kept on doing that for more than a week.

Within days, 40,000 people had come to Beaumont to have a look at the gusher, which produced 100,000 barrels a day, and many of them stayed. At the beginning of the year, there had been 9,000 citizens, and by March the town had grown to 30,000 people.

The building boom was great for the town, and Texaco, Gulf, and Exxon were all formed in Beaumont that year. Oil kept Beaumont busy, but it was also an important port from its beginnings, and became a major shipbuilding center during World War II.

Athlete Babe Didrikson was born in nearby Port Arthur and her family moved to Beaumont when she was four years old. She excelled at track and field, golf, and basketball. Babe was both loved and derided for her larger-than-life personality as well as her varied talents; she was a singer and a seamstress as well as an athlete, and owned a golf course in Beaumont as well. The Babe Didrikson Zaharias park and museum is also the Chamber of Commerce welcome center in Beaumont.

Beaumont is still a fun place. Celebrate your birthday with the alligators at Gator Rescue Adventure Park, check out the Edison Museum and the Texas Energy Museum, take a ride on a steam boat and tour some of the gracious historic homes of Beaumont. Then enjoy the Cajun and Tex-Mex restaurants and dance the night away.

If Beaumont steals your heart, build your dream home here with some help from United-Bilt Homes.

Visit or call our Beaumont office:

United-Bilt Homes
8056 Eastex Freeway  Beaumont, TX 77708
(409) 899-1388

Posted in United-Bilt Home Towns | Leave a comment