Building serenity into your modern home

Come home to your ideal retreat

Palo Alto is a beautiful place. But let’s face it – most of us have busy, over-scheduled lives with a lot of time spent behind a computer and in our car, commuting.

After a busy workday, there’s nothing better than coming home to an environment where you know you will be able to find peace, comfort, and relaxation. So, when you are planning the design of your new modern home, it’s crucial to work with your builder to incorporate elements that will create your ideal sanctuary.

Below are tips for creating a living environment that is a perfect retreat for you to get away from the rush of the world and daily stresses. Each day, you’ll be able to kick back and recharge in your own personal hideaway.

1)  Build spa-like bathrooms

With today’s bathroom amenities, you can create a luxurious spa right in your own home.

Imagine coming home from work and climbing into your warm Jacuzzi bathtub with bubble bath and a glass of wine. You can also consider large walk-in curbless showers with rainshower-style showerheads and a steam function – and to take it to the next level, install electronic controls that allow you to preset sprays, temperature, music, and steam settings. Another amenity to consider is built-in cabinetry beside the shower that houses your linens with a warming drawer to keep them toasty. Cove lighting in the ceiling and a stereo system complete the mood.

To enhance the look and feel of your bathrooms, incorporate a relaxing color palette and elegant marble tiles. You can also include large, attractive vanities to add style and comfort to your bathrooms. Ask a lighting designer to help provide the perfect lights for all of areas of your bathrooms so that you look your best whether you are getting ready for your day in the office or for a night on the town.

2)  Incorporate relaxing outdoor spaces

In our last blog post, we extensively discussed how to design your outdoor living areas.

By carefully planning inviting external spaces, you can enjoy integrated extensions of your indoor space that are perfect for lounging, entertaining, dining, and taking advantage of Palo Alto’s beautiful weather. Outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, covered outdoor patios, and elegant gazebos are all ideas to create relaxing outdoor spaces that are a true haven at home.

3)  Ensure healthy indoor air

When you are building a new custom home, indoor air quality should be at the top of your mind.

High-performance home building practices create a pollutant-free indoor environment, and equipped with the knowledge and the right team, you can build a home with superior indoor air quality for the health of you and your family. The building process is one of the best times to take air quality into consideration – the materials, practices, and technology your homebuilder uses can make or break a healthy foundation.

Clarum pays very close attention to the home’s moisture control systems, pest management, heating, ventilating, air conditioning (HVAC) and combustion venting systems and building materials. Our attention to these details means a home that has less dust, lower pollutants, and is more comfortable and healthier for you and your family.

4)  Integrate soothing colors

Different tones and colors have distinct impacts on mood. When you incorporate soothing colors into your custom home, you can create a relaxing, minimalistic look that is a vacation from the bustling world outside your door.

At Clarum, we love neutral colors because they are livable, flexible, and enhance the modern feel of the homes we build. Toned-down palettes can bring out the natural beauty of materials in your home, such as those found in flooring or tiles. We recommend choosing colors that enhance natural light and the airy feel of expansive rooms. Consider whites, beiges, grays and other understated hues. You can enhance this palette with eye-catching textures in flooring, unique finishes, and accent pieces.

5)  Design an indoor theater

Create the ultimate luxury and source of entertainment with a private indoor theater. Picture coming home from work to kick back and escape into a totally immersive experience with a great film. When your modern home offers the same technology and comfort as a theater, you can avoid the lines, enjoy a drink of your choice, and always have the best seat in the house.

You can work with your builder to design a dedicated room that is precisely engineered to provide maximum movie and music enjoyment. The room can be isolated from outside noise with special acoustical treatments that also keeps sound in. You can also incorporate smart automation into your entire home that allows you to lower shades, set lights, and queue up the movie before you even get home.

Make your modern home the ultimate in relaxation

By carefully planning your construction, your new home can be your ideal in comfort and luxury. No matter your mood when you get home from the busy world outside, your modern home can serve as the perfect environment for relaxing on your own or entertaining guests. Creating your own haven is the best way to fully enjoy your high-performance modern home in beautiful Palo Alto.

Want to learn more about how Clarum can help you build the modern home of your dreams? Give us a call at 650.322.7069