Building

February 15, 2016

Planning for Future Savings

Custom Home, New Home Owners, Purchasing Budgeting, Building, Cache Valley, Homes Northern Utah, Housing industry, Mt. Sterling Custom Homes

The beautiful thing about building your own custom home is you’re able to make decisions that will help impact your future savings. Making a few smart choices when designing and building a home will lead to tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars saved in a lifetime. Here at Mt Sterling Custom Homes, we are dedicated to helping you make those decisions that will be in your best interest and help you save tons of money on your future utilities bills. By considering the following options, you will be able to save more money in your new Mt Sterling Home.

1. Use LED Lights

Using a LED light bulb instead of a normal incandescent light bulb, you will be amazed at how much money you can save. According to the Energystar.gov website, LED lightbulbs save up to 90% of the energy of old light bulbs. By using these lights in your home, you can expect to save a huge amount on your electricity bill. We can help you can make decisions while designing your home that will help you see these benefits. We suggest that people should do this not only to save money, but to also do a small part on helping create a greener society.

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2. Insulate Your Home

For those who live in the intermountain west, we know that heating in the winters and cooling in the summers can be a huge cost for homeowners. By insulating the openings of doors and windows, this can help keep the heat or cold air inside. If you couple this with managing your thermostat to make sure that when you aren’t home or during the nights you can save a bit on heating or air conditioning. While other builders will offer insulation upgrades at a premium, Mt Sterling Custom Homes goes above and beyond to ensure that your home is air tight from extreme temperatures. We have thermal tested our homes to ensure our practices keep your windows, doors, and walls as a barrier from the elements.

3. Save on Hot Water

We understand that very few people like jumping into a cold shower. Not every homeowner is willing to sacrifice their warm showers, but did you know that you can save on your water and gas bills by making smart shower head purchases? By installing shower heads that use less water, you will be able to save on both the cost of heating the water and the water itself.

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These are three easy ways to help you live comfortably in your new custom home, yet save money on your utilities. Be sure to ask us about other ways to save when designing your home! At Mt Sterling we have small tips that will help you save money in the long run.

February 1, 2016

Planning a Custom Kitchen

Custom Home, Decorations, New Home Owners Budgeting, Building, decisions, Design, Layouts, Lifestyle, Mt. Sterling Custom Homes

The beauty of building a custom home is you have the opportunity to plan every detail that is in the home. From bedrooms and bathrooms to entertainment centers and living rooms for the whole family, it’s great to have full control over how your home will look. One of the most important areas in a home is the kitchen. Having a great space to cook and eat can really bring the family together. So if you are designing a house and you want to get the most out of your kitchen, we’re giving you a list of things to consider as you start making plans. And because custom homes are just that, custom, we aren’t telling you what you’ll need to choose. But rather what you should consider before making final plans.

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1. Counter Space

This might seem counter intuitive, but just think about it. Even if you have the best appliances in the world, with out the space to bake or cook, you will still not want to spend time in your kitchen. By customizing your home, we will help you to open your kitchen space up and give you the breathing room you will need to get started baking those world class chocolate chip cookies you’re known for.

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2. Storage Space

Having a good amount of storage in your customized kitchen will keep the cook of the family happy. Make sure that the cabinets you choose to put in your exquisite new kitchen not only look amazing, but are functionally great. Having space for all of your kitchen appliances, utensils and food can be a true make or break for a good kitchen.

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3. Appliances

The real cherry on top in an nice customized kitchen is the cool appliances that you have. Whether its the double oven for more baking and meal cooking, or that full range stove top that you always wanted, the appliances really make the finishing touches. Design your kitchen however you want, but definitely put some time into deciding exactly what kind of things you’d like to have in your kitchen.

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If your looking to build a custom home in Northern Utah or Southern Idaho, be sure to take all of these things into consideration when you are determining what you want your kitchen to be like. If you’re not sure what you want, don’t be afraid to reach out and we will be more than happy to help you design your new dream kitchen. Call Today!

January 15, 2016

Why build a custom home?

Benefits, Custom Home, Decorations, New Home Owners, Purchasing Benefits, Budgeting, Building, Custom Homes, Design, experience, Homes Northern Utah, Planning

In today’s world, everything is made the same, from technology to cars to food. Everything is put on a conveyer belt, assembled the exact same way, and shipped off to the masses. It is rare to have something that is truly unique. That is why a custom home is so exciting. You have the opportunity to make something that is only yours. No one else will have the same home, it is genuinely exclusive to you!

Customization is key. The range of products that you can choose from is almost limitless. You get to choose the layout of the home, special features to set it apart, and even the specific material that is used. Everything is up to you. You can pick the most up-to-date technology that can make your home stand out in the modern era and make life much easier and more fun. Green building or sustainable building is also important to make sure that you can do your part in saving the world (as well as your wallet).

Found that amazing neighborhood close to a park or the school? Want to be close to your workplace or family? Great! You have the freedom make sure you are in the perfect location. Part of a custom home is placing it exactly where you want to be. Location is almost as important as the home itself. The location that you select will insure that your home really is ‘home sweet home’.

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Another important aspect is time. You have the chance to spend as much or as little time working on the home as you want. You can choose from featured homes or create a brand new home from scratch. This gives you the power to be as involved in the creation of your home as you want. You have the flexibility to customize every square inch of the home or work on the big picture aspects and leave the rest to our talented team of drafters and interior designers.

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Mt. Sterling is the premier custom home builder in Logan and northern Utah, so building with us carries many advantages. The most important is that you pay exactly what you expect to pay. Before we do anything extra, we make sure that it is what YOU want. We also customize a personalized home owner’s manual that is unique to your specific home. After the home is completed, we walk you through it to make sure you know exactly how to maintain it. We want to help you feel comfortable and confident in every aspect of the upkeep. And before you move in, we help celebrate your big day with a move in event. It is a special opportunity to build houses and we want to help you take the first steps towards making yours a home full of happy memories. Mt. Sterling goes above and beyond every step of the way.

Mt. Sterling makes sure to use the most current techniques and quality materials to insure that your house is truly a work of art. We have established craftsmanship and expertise as well as years of practice to make your home a reality. Your home is going to be exactly what you want, where you want it. It won’t be just another conveyor belt house, it will be your own customized home.

November 15, 2015

5 Bathroom Ideas You’ll Love

Architect, Custom Home, Decorations, New Home Owners Building, custom home, Custom Homes, Homes Northern Utah, Lifestyle, Mt. Sterling Custom Homes, northern Utah homebuilders

Whether we like to admit it or not, bathrooms are one of the most important rooms in our homes – and often of the most neglected when it comes to style and design. If you’re creating your ideal bathroom or simply revamping your current one, here are some ideas that can help make your bathroom the best room in your home.

Feature Floor Tiles

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Gone are the days of linoleum or basic brown tiles. Bring in variety with multi-colored or patterned floor tiles. If you aren’t sure your style is that vibrant, try going with stone tiles – many have several colors naturally that are still different, yet more subtle.

Under-counter Lights

Looking for a high end look for a great price? Not only do under-counter lights mean you’ll no longer have to turn on the light while on your midnight visits, but by placing lights under your counters you help brighten up your bathroom and draw attention to your vanity as well. This feature can look especially stunning when used with a floating vanity.

Free Standing Bathtub

Pulling your bathtub out of the wall can make it the focus point of your bathroom. Find a style that will fit your bathroom decor already – a more curved tub brings softness, while angular tubs can make bold statement. Claw-foot tubs are a well known and loved classic, and can bring a rustic or vintage feel into the room.

Large, Walk-in Showers

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The majority of people start their day in the shower. It’s where we relax, come up with our best ideas, and sing our hearts out. By making it larger, more welcoming, you’re sure to make your daily shower one of the best parts of your day. Try using oversized glass panes surrounding it, or floor to ceiling tile or stone.

Double Your Shower Heads

While you’re envisioning your shower, the most important part is your water flow. Double shower heads are becoming more and more popular, and waterfall style shower heads have been a luxurious choice for the past few years By adding one (or both) of these options, you’re sure to create a shower you’ll never want to leave.

If you’re building your own home it can be a little overwhelming to figure out what you want. Our staff at Mt Sterling Custom Homes would love to help you with the process of designing your custom bathroom – as well as the rest of your home.

August 22, 2013

Housing Industry and the Current Status in the U.S.

Architect, Industry, New Home Owners, Purchasing APR, Building, Homes, Housing industry, Mortgage Rates, Mount Sterling Custom Homes, Safety, US

There are plenty of people that worry about the state of the housing market in the United States. The housing market affects different people on different levels. Some depend on the housing industry for employment. Other people are worried about getting a return on an investment they made on a home in the past. There are groups of people that wonder if now is the time to buy a home or would they be better off renting a home. There are many reasons to worry about the housing market and that is why there is so much information being written about it.

The state of the housing market can be broken down into several areas. These include the sales of homes, the construction of new homes and the interest rates of mortgage. In order to understand how the housing market is doing, you have to look at all three areas.

Sales of Existing Homes

During the height of the real estate boom, houses were selling like hotcakes. You could get a premium price on any home you owned because of the demand that there was. When the bottom of the market fell out, the sales of existing homes also slowed. Homes would sit on the market for a lot longer and the price they could get was much lower. Over the last few years the average price of homes has risen slightly, but it really depends on where a home is. Many homes have still not gotten back to the value they had before the real estate bust, but they will get there eventually. The amount of time it takes to sell a home is also decreasing and homes that are priced well and presented in the right way can still sell quickly.

Building of New Homes

At the height of the real estate boom, the sales of new homes were never higher. When the market fell, no one needed a new home and construction of new homes stopped as the supply of homes in the market was much higher than the demand. In 2012 the construction of single family homes increased a little less than 3% over the previous year. That trend is expected to continue and should increase even more in the future.

The Mortgage Rates

The mortgage rates and the availability of money for people to buy a home is a reflection of the housing market. For the past several years the rates have dropped and people have been able to obtain mortgages for as low as 3% APR. That makes home more affordable for everyone to buy. It also is easier than it used to be to get a mortgage although it is still not as simple as it was 10 years ago.