Sunday morning (12/20/2009) in Dewey Beach, DE
Here comes the next McEnroe
Rehoboth Beach on Thursday November 12th 2009
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What to look for when searching for a builder
December 22, 2009 – 5:37 pm
By far the most important factor when determining the quality of a builder is how happy the builder’s customers are with the builder. However, there are some other factors that a prospective home buyer should explore before choosing a builder. They are:
- What is the builder’s financial situation? Many builders have been hurt by the housing downturn and are having trouble meeting their financial obligations. Financial stress has caused builders to cut back on their staff and operate their business with a skeleton crew, which means it will be difficult for these builders to build a quality home and provide adequate customer service. In addition, some of these builders are close to bankruptcy and may not be able to finish your home. To determine a builder’s financial situation, you can ask questions like: How much debt does your company have? How many unsold Spec homes do you have? Are you currently in any form of “workout” with any bank? Can I see a copy of your most recent company bank statement? Good financially sound builders will gladly answer these questions and provide you with any documentation you request.
- Who specifically will be building my home? It is important that you meet the actual person or team of people that will be onsite as your home is being built. The quality of your home will be directly related to the skill and experience of the superintendent building your home. Many custom builders have owners who are experienced builders and good salesmen but these “owners” are usually not onsite as your home is being built. Make sure you interview the person who will actually be building your home before you contract with a builder.
- Does your company have a dedicated customer service department with separate staff and equipment? Most custom home builders do not have a customer service department and thus will provide minimal customer support after delivery of the home. In our research, this was a major source of frustration for custom home buyers. With custom homes, it is inevitable that issues will arise that need to be addressed by the builder. Without a customer service department, it will be very difficult for a builder to provide sufficient customer support. Unfortunately, most custom builders do not have much interest in allocating resources to customers who have already paid them in full.
Interior design trends – Spring 2010
November 24, 2009 – 3:46 pm
Echelon Interiors is just returning from the High Point Furniture Market. The market was exciting and exploding with fresh new colors. It was wonderful seeing all the latest fabrics and color combinations. The highlights of the latest showings in fabric colors were grays mixed with spa blues and cranberry. Navy made a big entrance with pairings of charcoal.Yellows, greens and oranges are still strong for coastal areas.
Whimsical accessories in fun bright palettes of yellows and oranges compliments the coastal colors from spring. Green was very strong mixed with blue bringing the return of teal to the stage.
We added new furniture lines to our existing collections. On order for some of the newest models, a rare find of a great painted collections that are time worn offering bright custom colors and unique designs.
Please call for an appointment to see all the newest collections hot off the runway of Hightpoint.
Custom home builder is participating in Christmas Parades
November 23, 2009 – 12:59 pm
Echelon Custom Homes & Schell Brothers will be participating in the 2009 Lewes and Rehoboth Beach Christmas Parade. Join us to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year.
Rehoboth Beach Christmas Parade 2008
LEWES – 78TH OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS PARADE
Date: Saturday, December 5th 2009 (rain date Sunday, December 6th)
Time: 5:00pm
Where: Begins at Lewes Ninth Grade Academy on Savannah Road and turns down Second Street ending at King’s Ice Cream Shop at Market Street. Culminates with the arrival of Santa.
~For more information please visit Lewes Chamber of Commerce~
REHOBOTH BEACH HOMETOWN CHRISTMAS PARADE
A local tradition, the parade will feature more music, more costumes and more fun than ever, with volunteers from the Fire Department, Police, Public Works and community organizations.
Date: Monday, December 7th 2009
Time: 6:30pm
Where: The parade begins at State Road, travels east to the Boardwalk and the turns west and goes back up to the Convention Center.
There will be Christmas Party immediately following the parade at Convention Hall. Youngsters can chat with Santa and light refreshments will be served.
Travel
November 9, 2009 – 10:50 am
One of my great passions in life (behind my family) is traveling and surfing. I discovered at 17 years old that you can visit beautiful locations for a fraction of what you spend to stay at “resorts”. Here are my travels up to this point:
- Puerto Rico
- California (three times)
- Costa Rica
- Mexico
- Nicaragua (two times)
- Fiji
I have loved every place that I have visited, however the one place that I truely enjoy is Nicaragua. I have been there twice and plan to go back many times in the future. When I travel I look for many things. I usually want waves, to get away from cell phones, e-mail, TV and any type of schedule. I try not to go to any area that is too much of a tourist destination. I would prefer to just visit a place that has very few people in general. I also try to travel on a tight budget most of my trips usually cost less than 1000 dollars for a week to ten days including airfare, lodging and food.
Nicaragua provides all of those things for me. When I arrive there the place I stay is about a 3 – 4 hour ride from the Managua airport. There is usually a local guy waiting to pick me up and drive me there (this is cheaper than renting a car) since when I arrive I can walk to anything that I need. I also travel with a small group of friends to share the memories (and cost). The first hour of travel is bumpy paved roads and the occasional police checkpoint. After that you will be on dirt roads headed towards the coast for the next 2 – 3 hours. There is lots of bumps and potholes along the way but the journey makes the destination all the more enjoyable. We stay in a small compound and rent a house for the next week. Three meals a day are available if you want for about 3 dollars per person and the beach is a 5 minute walk from our front door. You can access the Internet if you want but I usually choose not to since my goal is to escape. I won’t get into it too much here but I must also say that the waves are phenomenal.
I look forward to my next trip there sometime soon.
My wife was there last time I went and shot a ton of pictures so here is a link to them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gilliemichet/sets/72157606765484402/
Rehoboth Main Street announces Cottage, Town Award winners
October 30, 2009 – 9:40 am
Thu, Oct.29, 2009
A new and expanded Rehoboth Beach Main Street Design Committee met recently to discuss and evaluate the 2009 submissions for the Cottage and Town Awards.
Competition is always keen for these awards, and the committee’s deliberations delve into the true nature and intent of the prizes. First and foremost is a design reflection of Rehoboth’s history of seaside homes on small lots with modest scale and polite demeanor. Construction renovation and preservation is intended to reflect that long history of the good neighbor policy. New construction must similarly relate to design and style constraints that echo those same standards.
The award for Residential Preservation/Renovation went to the home at 161 Columbia Ave. In keeping with Rehoboth tradition, this dwelling essentially retained its profile and façade. A very modest addition connected the two separate structures on the property, and the entire place was redressed with authentic shingles in a simple and straightforward exterior refurbishment. The committee was impressed with the restraint and a strict adherence to the structures’ original footprints in modernizing this classic Rehoboth cottage.
Design committee members congratulate 223 Rodney St. with an honorable mention. The transformation from a closed-off, jalousie-windowed porch from a sadly 1950s-style remodel into the open-faced façade with river rock columns is a remarkable one indeed.
In the category of Residential New Construction, this year’s winner is 1006 Scarborough Ave. Extended. Here is a classic Rehoboth Colonial – quiet and unassuming – surrounded by long-term trees and shrubbery. The home is so comfortably situated that it is difficult to believe that it is new construction – but it is. This reassuring look back into history made the entire design team do double-takes to be sure of what they were seeing.
The Commercial Preservation/Renovation category winner is Grub Grocery, 305 Rehoboth Ave. Aside from the ease and convenience of having a new food purveyor on the avenue, the design committee applauded this renovation for its simple reclamation of what was once an exceedingly unattractive and essentially inconvenient service station and food mart. Colorful umbrellas and plentiful picnic tables now punctuate the plaza in front of this simply and refreshingly reconfigured structure.
The City of Rehoboth Building and Licensing facility at 306 Rehoboth Ave. is the winner in the Commercial New Construction category. Here the committee honors the restraint the town exercised in erecting its new offices. Offering a bridge design between higher-profile commercial facades and the more reserved residential elevations nearby, this building underscores the continuing mixed-use nature of much of Rehoboth Avenue beyond the second beach block.
The Hotel Rehoboth is awarded an honorable mention in this category as well. While the design of the overall building does not embrace Cottage and Town standards, the building nevertheless remains more in scale with the town profile and is well sited on its land to reduce its front-foot façade.
The Landscape Renovation/New Plantings award goes to 600 Scarborough Ave. Richly conceived and densely planted, its fully realized beds look like they were planted some years ago and promise continued pleasure and pride as they actually mature. The gardens are clear evidence of the homeowner’s commitment to completing the project – including a fully realized landscape plan.
The formal rear garden at 8 Fifth Ave. has been awarded an honorable mention. An earlier remodel of the guesthouse on the same property was honored with a Cottage and Town Award. This garden warmly embraces the low-key elegance of that structure and promises much for the refit of its primary residence and its street-front façade. Stay tuned for future developments.
Rehoboth Beach Main Street thanks Echelon Custom Homes for sponsoring the 2009 Cottage and Town Awards Ceremony.
Visit downtownrehoboth.com for more information on Rehoboth Beach Main Street and downtown Rehoboth Beach happenings, or call 302-227-2772.
Echelon:
Tim Green:
Christina Wagamon:
Tim Tice: