The Cookie Monster Bird and a Color Palette

Last week I was in a meeting in our conference room gazing out the window.  (I was absolutely paying attention to the meeting, sheesh!)   All of a sudden I saw a bird so distinctive that I couldn’t believe it was real.

This bird was blue.  Not just any blue, Cookie Monster Blue.  He had a head that looked like a cardinal.  Cute and pointy.  Like he’d had a really nice haricut to make himself handsome in that sloppy way that guys do which suggests that they just got out of bed looking like that.  But, really, there’s lot’s of styling gel involved.  Then the bird turned my way and I was further surprised to see that it looked like this bird put on fake eyelashes and a load of mascara.  Those eyes popped!  What in the world?  Had I fallen asleep in my meeting?  (still paying attention, I promise)  What kind of bird could this be?    A quick Google search turned up the Blue Grosbeak.

I’d never heard of this bird before, nor had I ever seen one in my life.  I’m not an avid birdwatcher, but I do have a bird feeder in my front yard.  My son and I do spend some time identifying the birds at the feeder whose names I can remember, but that’s not many.  The Blue Grosbeak is migratory and nests in Southern States.  They usually prefer to make their nests in brushy woodland edges, near streams.  This is why I’ve never seen them.  We don’t hang out in the same places.

I have a little bit of a color palette obsession.  I’ve been collecting them on our Pinterest page recently and I can’t seem to stop.  Our community Fannin Farms West has a lot of free roaming peacocks and for a quick minute I pinned all the pretty peacock inspired palettes.  They are gorgeous and so rich.  Well, since I’ve been introduced to the beautiful Blue Grosbeak, I decided I wanted to make a palette from his unique colors.

(Drumroll please)

Photo credit: Gary McAlea
Photo credit: Gary McAlea

By the way, Sherwin Williams has an amazing palette generator.  Upload a photo and BAM!  Paint!

 

-Carrie Davis

Antares Home Buyers Club Meeting

So, you’ve just purchased an Antares Home.  You are about to build your dream.  But, you’re also wondering what you just got yourself into.  Well, don’t worry!  We are here for you every step of the way!

We have a great program in place to help our buyer feel comfortable about the building process.  Welcome to the Home Buyer’s Club!  The Club has meetings twice a month to introduce our new home owners to our Warranty department and to learn about the steps of building a home.   It also gives our buyers more of an inside look on “what to expect” and “what’s to come” before they design their home at the Selection Studio.

I decided to sit in on our Home Buyers Club meeting last Wednesday so I could fully understand how we help our buyers from start to finish. Here’s a behind-the-curtain-look!

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Our Warranty Manager, Cecil Smith guides our customers through this meeting with his upbeat and charismatic personality (I promise you will not be bored with Cecil!) He knows everything there is to know about the home building process from beginning to end.

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During this meeting Cecil will give you a brief history of Antares Homes and how we have advanced to where we are today. He will go step by step with you to share what’s to come in the following months. He discusses the stages of building the home from digging the plumbing and pouring a slab, framing the home and running the electrical lines to all of the tests and inspections your home must pass before you can move in.  Since Cecil is the Warranty Manager, he also fills you in on your home warranty.  He then explains how the Selection Studio process affects construction as well.

New Home Buyers Collage 2

As you can see, this meeting serves so many purposes for our home buyers because this is a perfect way to meet other people just like you who have purchased a home from us.  The benefit is that they may ask questions that you haven’t though of yet. Also, it’s a way to break the ice and learn how everything comes together! It’s like the first day of school, your teacher discusses everything to let you know what to expect and how to prepare!

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-Alexa Katchinska

Now Open! Meadow Creek Estates

Meadow Creek Estates in Glenn Heights is now open! Stop by and check out the oversized lots, side swing driveways (no front-entry garages) and brand new floor plans. Conveniently located just 17 miles from downtown Dallas, Meadow Creek Estates offers homeowners room to breathe. The tree-lined entrance and split rail fence is pretty awesome!

Meadow Creek Estates Entrance
Meadow Creek Estates in Glenn Heights is now open! Stop by and check out the oversized lots, side swing driveways (no front-entry garages) and brand new floor plans. Conveniently located just 17 miles from downtown Dallas, Meadow Creek Estates offers homeowners room to breathe. The tree-lined entrance and split rail fence is pretty awesome! Call or visit today.

More Information about Meadow Creek Estates

Texas Housing Hall of Honor 2014

SAN ANTONIO, TX – July 25, 2014 – Ron Formby, Antares Homes founder, was named as the lone honoree for the Texas Housing Hall of Honor class of 2014 during the summer Board of Directors meeting of the Texas Association of Builders (TAB). Ron, past President from both the Greater Fort Worth Builders Association and Texas Association of Builders, joins seventeen other housing legends who have made significant and lasting contributions to the housing industry.

Ron Formby Texas Housing Hall of HonorSAN ANTONIO, TX – July 25, 2014 – Ron Formby, Antares Homes founder, was named as the lone honoree for the Texas Housing Hall of Honor class of 2014 during the summer Board of Directors meeting of the Texas Association of Builders (TAB).

Jon A. Samson, Executive Vice President of the Greater Fort Worth Builders Association (GFWBA), announced the news to GFWBA members:

We are proud to announce that Ron Formby, CMB, CGB, CGP, CAPS of Antares Homes was announced as the lone honoree for the class of 2014. Ron, past President from both the Greater Fort Worth Builders Association and Texas Association of Builders, joins seventeen other housing legends who have made significant and lasting contributions to the housing industry. Ron will join Herman J. Smith (2008 Honoree), Ted Schlossman (2011 Honoree), and J. B. Sandlin (2008); other Fort Worth housing housing legends currently honored in the Texas Housing Hall of Honor.

Ron’s contributions have resulted in the long-term advancement of the residential construction industry in Texas. Ron will be formally recognized during a ceremony at the Texas Housing Hall of Honor & Excellence in Leadership Dinner on November 14, 2014 at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, TX.

Please join the Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, our senior leadership, Past Presidents, Life-Directors, Board of Directors in congratulating Ron Formby, CMB, CGB, CGP, CAPS of Antares Homes, honoree in the class of 2014 for his decades of service and commitment to the housing industry.


From the entire Antares Homes Family: Congratulations, Ron!

Summer Creek South

Grand Opening! Fantastic home designs. Perfect location. Hop on the brand new Chisholm Trail Parkway and visit today!

Concept 2621 D Elevation

Grand Opening! Fantastic home designs. Perfect location. Hop on the brand new Chisholm Trail Parkway and visit today!

Custom 42–inch cabinets stained on site
3 cm Granite counter tops
Stainless built–in appliance package
Entry areas with wood flooring
Crown moulding in formal areas
Picture frame moulding in formal dining
Oil–rubbed bronze fixtures
Sprinkler and security systems
Gas fireplace

Summer Creek South
Sales Office: 8036 Branch Hollow Trail, Fort Worth, TX
[email protected]
682-234-9057 mobile
817-701-3010 sales office

Kitchen

Meadow Creek Estates

Coming Soon! Meadow Creek Estates offers homeowners room to breathe with oversized home sites and side-swing driveways (no front-entry garages). Conveniently located just 17 miles from downtown Dallas, Meadow Creek Estates is secluded and quiet, yet close to all the places you want to go! We’re finalizing our plan line up, but you’re welcome to check out the neighborhood. The tree-lined entrance and split rail fence is pretty awesome!

Coming Soon!

Meadow Creek Estates offers homeowners room to breathe with oversized home sites and side-swing driveways (no front-entry garages). Conveniently located just 17 miles from downtown Dallas, Meadow Creek Estates is secluded and quiet, yet close to all the places you want to go!

We’re finalizing our plan line up, but you’re welcome to check out the neighborhood. The tree-lined entrance and split rail fence is pretty awesome!

And please don’t be shy… Call today for presales information!

817-701-3009

Meadow Creek Estates

Green is Good. Guarantee is Better.

Smart customers prefer numbers over colors. Numbers like guaranteed kilowatt-hours for heating and cooling are more important than a green logo on a brochure. Why not take the money that buys a logo and use it instead to test every home for energy efficiency? And then offer a guarantee for heating/cooling electricity consumption.

greenHow many times have you heard the G word while shopping for a new home? Everything’s green, from the water heater to the dishwasher to the high-efficiency toilet. According to some utility companies, even the electricity is green when it comes from wind power.

But how about a G word that has some substance? One that makes a difference you can see–like, in your monthly electric bill.

Some builders test a small sample of homes in order to slap a Green label on their product and call it a day. But if you want to offer an electricity usage guarantee, you have to go further. You have to test every home you build, not just a random sample. Some builders think the logo is important. Others think a guarantee has more value.

The crazy thing? Getting a “green” certification using a random sample costs a significant chunk of money. And the only entity that benefits is the Green Logo company. The builder gets to put a fancy logo on a brochure. The customer gets a brochure that gathers dust. Hooray for the Green Logo company!

Smart customers prefer numbers over colors. Numbers like guaranteed kilowatt-hours for heating and cooling are more important than a green logo on a brochure. Why not take the money that buys a logo and use it instead to test every home for energy efficiency? And then offer a guarantee for heating/cooling electricity consumption.

That’s exactly what a local builder in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has done. Antares Homes builds in Arlington, Crowley, and Fort Worth, and guarantees the heating and cooling costs for every home. Curious? Check out their guaranteed heating and cooling costs online or stop by any sales office for details and a demo. 800-ANTARES (800-268-2737)

Now Building in Arlington!

Fannin Farm West is open in Southwest Arlington! When it comes to home construction, most Arlington, Texas, residents know land is scarce. Sure, you can buy a pre-owned home, but buyers who want to build a home from the ground up have had few, if any, choices. One local builder has managed to solve this problem by working with a developer to prepare home sites in a gem of a community in Southwest Arlington–Fannin Farm West.

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When it comes to home construction, most Arlington, Texas, residents know land is scarce. Sure, you can buy a pre-owned home, but buyers who want to build a home from the ground up have had few, if any, choices. New construction is rare because most of the land is already developed.

One local builder has managed to solve this problem by working with a developer to prepare home sites in a gem of a community in Southwest Arlington–Fannin Farm West. This desirable neighborhood is well-known to local residents; it’s quiet, filled with trees and walking trails, and located right in the heart of the Metroplex. For many homeowners, though, the best feature has nothing to do with trails and everything to do with schools–Fannin Farm West is within the Mansfield School District.

Sharon White, the on-site sales counselor for Antares Homes at Fannin Farm West, says buyers are excited about the new plans being built here. Some customers are empty-nesters who want less space but don’t want to sacrifice luxury features. Others, the “move-up” buyers, are looking for larger homes for growing families.

Modern buyers expect all the usual amenities–granite tops, stainless appliances, oil-rubbed bronze hardware–but they’re also demanding energy efficiency, something you can’t get in a pre-owned home. Lots of builders like to use the “G” word–green. Unfortunately, the term is overused and has become tired because of all the marketing hype. Blah blah blah green blah blah blah. The “G” word at Antares is Guarantee–as in guaranteed heating and cooling costs. Read more about guaranteed heating and cooling costs on the Antares Homes website, or stop by the Fannin Farm West Sales Office and ask Sharon for a demonstration.

Looking for a home in Arlington? Put an energy-efficient new home at Fannin Farm West on your short list. Stop by or call Sharon: 817-447-7502.