Sabal News

This is the place! To find out about all things Sabal, and everything going on in our community. You won't just find information about us and the homes we build, you'll get the inside scoop on events and activities here in the Charleston Area.

Roll Out the Welcome Mat

Feb 15

Summerville HomesWhether it says “Wipe Your Paws,” “Wipe Your Feet” or just plain-old “Welcome,” a mat placed on the outside of the front door of your Sabal Home serves a dual purpose. These multi-tasking mats not only welcome guests into your home, they also ask them (with charm or humor) to please wipe their feet.

These days, you can find pretty much any type of welcome mat you can imagine: funny mats, holiday mats, photo mats, mats that show team spirit or advertise your favorite animal. There are even talking welcome mats! There are skinny mats, wide mats, half-circle mats. Mats made of wood, aluminum, rope, recycled tires, coconut fiber, plastic, rubber and more.

Here are a few of our favorites for dressing up your front door:

Iron grillwork welcome mats. These classic mats can be made from iron, or recycled rubber meant to look just like iron. The designs can be intricate or open, like this mat from Williams Sonoma, and they often resemble the fine ironwork that can be seen in downtown Charleston.

Personalized welcome mats. Have your entire last name, or just the first letter of your last name imprinted on a coconut fiber welcome mat. Here are a few nice examples from PersonalizedDoormats.com.

Design your own mat. If you’re looking for a really unique doormat, here’s a great link for instructions on how to design your very own welcome mat. All you need is a plain seagrass or jute rug, some tape and paint. In no time, you can have a DIY mat that reflects your personal style.

Do you have a welcome mat that you love? Take a pic and share it with us!

 

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Why You Need a Home Inventory & How to Conduct One

Feb 8

Summerville new homesSure, YOU know what’s in your home? But what happens in the event of a fire or natural disaster when some of your belongings are damaged or even disappear? A home inventory protects you in these situations, providing a detailed list of the personal property in and around your Sabal home.

By cataloging the contents of your home, you have proof of ownership and know the value of your personal property if something happens and you need to make an insurance claim.

Benefits of Home Inventories

No doubt, the process is a little time consuming, but it will simplify your life. And in the end, you’ll havea detailed listing of what you own when you need it. This inventory is handy for insurance purposes, estate planning, moving and more.

But a home inventory can have more than just financial benefits. By writing down your possessions, and who gave them to you, you also can record a little bit of your family history. Find out how Grandpa came to own the set of tools he handed down to you; or who gave Aunt Sally the fine China she used everyday before giving it to you. Ask family members how the items you now own were once special to the people who gave them to you and write it all down. These little family stories will be links to your past that are quite invaluable.

How to Do a Home Inventory

So, how do you conduct a home inventory? Check with your insurance company, or check out this list of basic steps from State Farm.

State Farm says one of the easiest ways is to make a video or take pictures as you walk through your home. Photos and/or videos can stand alone as your inventory, but State Farm recommends you combine the photos with another inventory method. For example, you could fill out a home inventory check list. Again, check with your insurance carrier to make sure you follow a specific form, if they have one.

State Farm says there are several digital methods for cataloging the contents of your home. You can create a spreadsheet on your computer, or purchase a home inventory software program to walk youthrough the steps. There also are online inventory programs, and for those who have zero time on theirhands, there are companies that will come to your home and inventory your home for you! They’ll even take digital photos and/or video.

In addition to giving this information to your insurance company (and making sure you are properly covered), you’ll want to keep a copy of all this information yourself, perhaps in a lock box for additional security. And be sure to update your home inventory annually or whenever you acquire new valuable possessions.

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House Plants Can Keep You Healthy, Happy … and More!

Feb 2

Charleston new homesIt does seem a little too simple, but clinical studies show that by simply placing a few indoor plants around your new Charleston home, you can feel healthier and happier. By just having plants around, you may experience fewer headaches and colds.

And there’s more. Plants also can improve your mental health, decrease your blood pressure, help improve idea generation and the list goes on and on.

Of course, you’ll have to do your part to keep the plant healthy :) , but your minimal efforts (water, sunlight, nutrients) will pay off big time.

Plants can help fight colds: Indoor plants have been shown to reduce cold-related illnesses by more than 30%. This is due to their effect of increasing humidity levels and decreasing dust.

Plants can remove airborne contaminants: Indoor plants can help to remove pollutants including VOCs that cause headaches, nausea and more.

Plants can stop your headaches: Filling your home with plants can decrease or eliminate headaches. With plants, you’re much less likely to be breathing the kind of stuffy, stale air that contributes to headaches.

Plants can make you happy: House plants can contribute to a feeling of wellbeing, making you calmer and more optimistic. Studies have shown that patients who face a garden view in their hospital rooms often recover more quickly than those facing a wall.

Plants can decrease your blood pressure: People with plants in their homes have less stress, and plants have been known to contribute to lower blood pressure.

Plants can make your brain work better: Potted plants and flowers can improve your idea generation, mood and more.

Plants provide clean air: In addition to filtering chemicals, plants also put out clean air, improving the air quality around them.

Plants can improve your sleep: Gerbera daisies give off oxygen at night. Filling a vase in your bedroom with these flowers can improve your night’s rest.

You can read the full article here and get a list of the top air purifying plants here. What plants do you have in your home?

 

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Host a Super Bowl Party and Score a Touchdown!

Jan 25

Charleston new homesThe Giants and the Patriots are getting ready to go head-to-head in Super Bowl XLVI. And, if you’re football fans, this means you’re thinking about the best way to enjoy the action.

If you plan to host a Super Bowl party in your Sabal home, we have some great tips!

1. Decorate. Whatever team you’re pulling for, have fun putting up streamers, posters, jerseys and other football-themed paraphernalia. Don’t forget to wear all your team gear! You could use masking tape create a “center line” down the middle of your den so Giants fans can line up on one side and Patriots fans on the other to watch the game. Decorate each side with team colors.

2. Get some foam bricks. Watching the game is intense, so have some fun foam bricks handy for you and your guests to throw at the TV when a ref inevitably makes a bad call … or when a particularly bad commercial runs!

3. Food. Chili seems to be the ever-present food at Super Bowl parties, roasted oysters, too. But this year, why not create a pièce de résistance by creating an over-the-top football themed menu. This year, we’ve seen recipes online for a watermelon carved into a football, football-shaped cake pops and pigs in a blanket, as well as an amazing “Snackadium,” a stadium constructed out of chips surrounding a “field” of dips. Whatever you serve, plan to have all the food on a table within sight of the TV so your guests don’t have to miss a play while they grab a bite.

4. Impress your guests with fun facts. While you’re considering your Super Bowl spread, here are some fun facts about what they’re serving at Lucas Oil Stadium. A local TV station said stadium caterers have ordered these staples (among many other items) to feed Super Bowl ticketholders:

Total pounds of fresh potato chips: 4,600

Total pounds of nacho chips: 10,000

Total pounds of hamburger: 4,500

Total pounds of chicken fingers: 35,000

Total gallons of BBQ sauce: 300

Refrigeration needed: 11 trailers, each 53 feet long, plus 400,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage.

Sabal Homes wants to see pictures of your Super Bowl celebration and let us know if you have any tips!


 

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These Sidewalks Were Made for Walkin’

Jan 18

summerville new homes

The Ponds in Summerville

One of the many advantages to living in a Sabal neighborhood is the ability to get out and walk in a safe environment.

Whether you want to work off the holiday indulgence, take Fido for a walk, or simply stroll and say “Hey” to your neighbors as we love to do in the Lowcountry, Sabal Homes’ communities have sidewalks that were made for walkin’.
Did you know?

•Walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, adds 1.3-1.5 years to your life, on average. This means that for every minute you spend walking, you get three back.

•People who live in the most walkable neighborhoods are 2.4 times as likely to walk for 30 minutes or more than those who lived in the least walkable communities.

•Residents of traditional neighborhoods, with good pedestrian facilities and stores and services just a short walk from people’s homes, get 70 extra minutes of physical activity per week, and are 40% lesslikely to be overweight or obese than residents of sprawling neighborhoods. – The Sightline Institute

Do you walk regularly? If not, did we give you enough reasons to get started?

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Easy Tips for Hanging Pictures

Jan 11

Summerville new homesHanging pictures or artwork on a wall can be difficult. It’s hard to decide what looks good where and how high to hang the frames, much less try to hang the frames by yourself. 

Fear not. Our friends at DIYnetwork.com have some helpful tips for you.

One tip for deciding “what to put where” is to make paper templates of each piece you want to hang. Just trace around the outside of the frame on craft paper, cut out the shape and label it. Then, draw an arrow on it to indicate if it’s vertical or horizontal. Use reusable adhesive to hang and re-hang the templates until you have achieved the perfect formation. Now you can hang the “real” pictures on the wall following the layout of your templates.

The website also suggests that if you’re trying to hang pictures on a large wall space to first arrange the artwork on the floor. Once you’ve settled on a design, you can measure how far the frames should be from one another. Then, take them one at a time and hang them.

When you hang images, experts say to make sure the center of the image is at eye level. However, if you are hanging a picture over a sofa, don’t leave a lot of wall space between the sofa and picture. Try for 3 to 6 inches. If you go any higher, your eye will just go to the wall, not the picture.

As for physically hanging the pictures on the wall, look for a picture-hanging kit at your local hardware or home store. It will include everything you need. And keep in mind, the picture’s weight will determine what size hook to use. For a very large picture, use two hooks.

Click here for more tips from DIYnetwork.com on hanging pictures and artwork. Share with us pictures of the final result of your hard work!

 

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Safety First – Prepare a Household Emergency Kit

Jan 4

Goose Creek new homesYou never want an emergency or disaster to strike, but if it does, you can be prepared by putting together a household emergency kit.

About.com says the following items should be included in your basic kit:

  • *Sufficient drinking water for every family member for 3 to 4 days.
  • *First aid kit.
  • *Special medications your family members would need for a few days.
  • *One blanket for every family member.
  • *Flashlight, at least one, but preferably two, with spare batteries.
  • *Manual can opener.
  • *Basic cutlery to prepare simple meals, as well as for your family to use.
  • *Plastic containers for water.
  • *Small amount of plastic or tin plates and cups.
  • *An assortment of nonperishable foods to sustain your family for 2-3 days.
  • *A transistor radio with spare batteries.

MayoClinic.com has a great list of items you should put in a homemade first aid kit, including basic supplies and medications, as well as emergency items like medical consent forms, medical history and cell phone rechargers that can plug into your car.

Here’s another good link for where you can find and purchase ready-made emergency and first aid kits.

 

Do you have a household emergency kit?


 

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Sabal Homes Unveils New Model Home: The Tupelo

Dec 28

Moncks Corner homesSabal Homes’ newest model home – The Tupelo – is now open within the Foxbank Plantation community in Moncks Corner. The Tupelo boasts 2,400 square feet with four bedrooms and 2 ½ baths.

This spacious home plan features Lowcountry architecture, a rear-entry garage, a raised foundation to accentuate the full front porch and premium beaded siding. Other options include a screened porch, study  and 2-car garage.

In addition to its many beautiful details – including 9-foot ceilings on the first floor and a cultured marble vanity in the owner’s suite – the Tupelo is very practical. It comes with a standard energy efficient package, which includes: energy-saving insulation; a 50-gallon gas hot water heater; a 14-SEER heating and cooling system with digital thermostat; and vinyl windows that are Low-E, insulated, single hung and dual-pane.

Foxbank Plantation boasts 800 acres of beautifully preserved land, complete with community lakes, ponds and plenty of green space for you to enjoy the best that nature has to offer. Picturesque shade trees, along with coastal breezes and sunlight dancing across the lakes will transport you to a simpler place and time. Current amenities include a swimming pool, parks and walking paths. Future proposed amenities include a boutique village featuring retail shops, a grocery store and an elementary school.

All of these touches make Foxbank Plantation a wonderful place to live and play.

Call Lindsey Tyler at 843-761-5616 for more information or stop by for a tour!

 

 

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The Best Blessings Often Come From Gifts Given, Not Received

Dec 12

Sabal Home builders in Charleston, SCWe recently received an email that simultaneously stopped us in our tracks and made us take immediate action.

The email told the story of a young woman from North Carolina who joined the U.S. Navy and in November reported to the Naval Weapons Station in North Charleston for her first assignment.

Upon her arrival, the sailor received a call that her mother had passed away while giving birth to a baby girl. This young woman was suddenly faced with planning her mother’s funeral and finding a way to care for her baby sister.

The sailor’s original plan was to move into the dorm, but Joint Base Charleston has arranged for her to move into base housing when she returns from North Carolina with her baby sister.

When Sabal Homes learned donations are needed for furniture, baby items, gift cards and more, we decided to donate living and dining room furniture from a recently sold inventory home to this young lady in need.

Sabal Homes encourages you to look for ways to help those in need this holiday season. Look at how you have been blessed and look for ways you can share these blessings with others. It may not be giving away furniture; it may not even be a monetary contribution. It might just be giving your time or your love to someone who needs it.

If you are interested in more information on how you can help this young woman in need, please contact Jennifer Foster at jfoster@sabalhomes.net.

 

 

 

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Home “Sweet” Home

Dec 5

Sabal home builders in Charleston, SCAs much as we love building homes, we also love it when the process is complete and our clients move in.

Through the years, we’ve received many thank you notes and calls from our customers and we are always so happy to hear about how much they love their new Sabal home. One of our new homeowners went above and beyond to show their love for their Sabal home in a way that is just too cool not to share.

Check out the amazing cake replica made by Sabal homeowner Jenny Wilke. Jenny and her husband Steve are great examples of the great people we get to meet through our work here at Sabal. We can’t believe the attention to detail on this “home, sweet home”! Look at the columns, the roof and the trim work. Just the kind of homebuilding quality we like to see :) .

This sort of reaction is exactly why we’re in this business and why it’s important to make sure our customers are satisfied with the building process as well as the completed home. We’ve assembled a team of passionate, professional and caring individuals who work with our homeowners every step of the way to make sure the home buying process is as pleasant as possible.

We always love to hear what our homeowners think of their new Sabal home. And when they say it with cake, it’s even sweeter.

 

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