Holiday Lights

When the holiday season comes around and it's time to hang decorative lights, most people tend to bring out tangles of extension cords, duct tape and hope for the best! It's usually a bit of a mess. However, over the years, we've had a number of customers come up with some very clever ideas on how to install electrical items on their homes during their Mechanical Walk .

Our Favorites:

Admiral's Walk Townhouse with Candles

Outlets are placed in our homes, by code, about every 10 feet.  It is very helpful to add or center an outlet under windows for illuminated candles or wreathes.

Loudonville Off Site Renovation

Another great option is to add a couple exterior GFI (ground fault interrupted - for exterior use) outlets on the underside of a porch.  Such outlets can also be put on a switch, so that you can control your twinkling light show from the comfort of your home!


Recessed Lights Up High, Spotlights Down Low

Exterior recessed fixtures or spot lights placed in landscaping beds are great options for washing your home with light.  Beyond that, plant shelves often sit behind a large, upper Foyer window.  This makes it the perfect visible spot for putting decorations. Placing an outlet in a high spot ahead of time makes for convenient decorating.  Connect that outlet to a switch, and you can hide cords and won't ever never need to climb on a ladder to access your plug. We're all about making the holidays LESS work for you! 

Merry Christmas!

We here at Hodorowski Homes wish you and yours a holiday season that is happy, healthy, merry and BRIGHT!

Hodorowski Homes is the Capital Region’s premier home builder building single family homes in Schenectady, NY and its surrounding areas. Please visit www.hodorowskihomes.com for more information.

DIY Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father's Day is this weekend, and there are so many ways that you can celebrate the father in your life. We've put together a short list of gift ideas that will hopefully inspire you to give the perfect gift to Dad. 

Fun coupons for home- If the dad in your life is the kind of guy who loves receiving acts of service, then coupons for fun activities or chores at home are perfect for him. These coupons are a ridiculously easy gift because they are already pre-made, or you can create your own. All you need to do is click on the downloadable PDF, print, cut, and put them together in a nice envelope.

Home made photo frame- A great activity to do with the kids for a Father's Day gift idea is a DIY cut out frame, like this one. It's the perfect way to capture memories and share how much you care for Dad.

For the sporty Dad-  A sweet sentimental gift idea for Dad is to get a box of golf balls and write "I love you Dad" on them with permanent marker. Golf not your dad's thing? You could do this same idea with any sport ball like a basketball, soccer ball, baseball, or football.

Give Dad your time- With the busyness of day to day life, sometimes the most precious gift we can give our father is our time. A great way to show Dad how much you care, is to set aside a day to spend some quality time with him. This could be anything from planning a hike, a day at the golf course, or even a drive to spend the afternoon at the lake.

To all the dads out there, we wish you a wonderful Father's Day!

Hodorowski Homes is the Capital Region’s premier home builder building single family homes in Schenectady, NY and its surrounding areas. Please visit www.hodorowskihomes.com for more information.

Mother’s Day Ideas to do at Home

Mother’s Day is this weekend and there a million and one ways that you can celebrate and honor your mother. Our favorite way of celebrating Mother’s Day is at home close to the family. Here are a few simple ideas that will show mom your love, without breaking the bank.

Make Mom breakfast: Nothing beats waking up to a freshly cooked breakfast with her favorite hot beverage already made, especially if she is the one always making it for everyone else. Here are some fun and easy breakfast ideas that you can make for mom- both sweet and savory!

Handmade gifts from the heart: A great way to say "I love you" to Mom is giving her a handmade gift, especially one with sentimental value. The Huffington Post has 10 adorable easy and inexpensive DIY gift ideas that Mom will be sure to love.

At home spa: Bring the spa into her home with fresh soft towels, relaxing lotion and a handmade body scrub like one of these. Moms are always busy putting other people's needs above their own, so this is a great way for her to pamper herself.

Help with spring cleaning: On her special day, offer to help Mom with some of the chores around her house. Picking up fallen branches, pulling weeds in her garden, cleaning the gutters and washing her windows are just a few ideas of how you can help out Mom.

Whatever you do for Mom this year, she is sure to love and appreciate it, especially if it is from the heart. 

Hodorowski Homes is the Capital Region’s premier home builder building single family homes in Schenectady, NY and its surrounding areas. Please visit www.hodorowskihomes.com for more information.

St. Patrick’s Day Treats to Make at Home

Bring out the green because St. Patrick’s Day is next week! St. Patrick’s Day was invented in honor of patron saint St. Patrick, who was the known for bringing Christianity to Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated as a day of spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries around the world. As you know, here in the US, many people will be celebrating this Irish holiday by sporting top hats, green clothing, shamrocks, and toasting good luck to their neighbor with a Guinness. If you’re looking for some creative ideas to bring St. Patrick’s Day into your home, we’ve put together seven lucky St. Patrick’s Day inspired treats for people of all ages.

Beginner: (Perfect activities to do with the kids)

1). Make Your Own Pot of Gold: 

www.makeandtakes.com

2). St. Patrick's Day Rice Krispie Treats:

www.classyclutter.net

3). Healthy Rainbow Snack Ideas:

www.fantasticfunandlearning.com

 


Intermediate: (For those who are a little more adventurous) 

4). Leprechaun S'More Hats. 

www.thecakeblog.com

5). Shamrock Buns (Our personal favorite!) 

www.creativetryals.blogspot.com

 Advanced- (21 and older)

6). Extra Stout Brownies: 

www.debbiesweets.blogspot.com

7). Green Apple Sangria:

www.madewithhappy.com

There is so much more about the interesting history of St. Patrick’s Day, which you can read here. If you and your family decide to make any of these treats, we’d love to know and share it on our Facebook page! 

Hodorowski Homes is the Capital Region's premier homebuilder building single family homes in Schenectady NY and it's surrounding regions. Please visit www.HodorowskiHomes.com for more information.

Lovely Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Home

Ahh Valentine’s Day... the flowers, heart shaped candies, fine jewelry, and a quiet evening together at expensive restaurant for dinner. These are all wonderful ways to express your love and affection toward your significant other, but Valentine’s Day is also a terrific holiday to remind the people around you how much you care about them, especially your family. Before you confirm your Valentine’s Day plans this year, consider some of these lovely ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the non-traditional way:

Exchange Valentines with your children at home. Remember those days when you were a kid in elementary school and you exchanged Valentine’s Day cards in the mailbox you made during art class? A great family-friendly activity for Valentine’s Day is to have your children write Valentines to each member of the family of what they love the most about them. Each of you can even create your own mailbox from a recycled shoe or cereal box.

Throw a party! A fun way to celebrate Valentine’s Day is to invite your friends over for a Valentine’s Day themed party. It doesn’t really matter if people are single or attached to anyone, Valentine’s Day is a great way to share the love with your friends, and it gives you the opportunity to possibly meet someone if you are single.

Have a heart. People aren’t the only ones who need love on Valentine’s Day, pets need affection too!. Talk with your family about supporting a local animal shelter or even adopting a pet who need a loving home.

Know anyone who recently had a baby? A really sweet thing you can do for a friend is to bring the couple a homemade Valentine’s Day themed dessert. Better yet, one of the best gifts you can offer is to babysit while they have a night out together.

Hodorowski Homes is the Capital Region's premier homebuilder building single family homes in Schenectady NY and it's surrounding regions. Please visit www.HodorowskiHomes.com for more information.