The Secret to Maximizing Your Open Concept Home Plan

Guest blog by Interior Design Coordinator, Lauren Miller | Published by Pratt Home Builders

One of the most common questions customers moving from an older home into a new construction home is, “Where do I put my furniture in an open concept plan?”

While an open concept floor plan may be ideal for entertaining, it can feel challenging to determine furniture placement. It may be tricky to define the space the way you’d like to, while still keeping the design of the home feeling natural. With open concept plans, it’s best to define which activates you’d like to accommodate in your given space, then furnish it accordingly. To really get in the mindset of a designer, you’ll need to keep your daily events in mind, too.

For example, let’s dissect a dining room or breakfast nook. Do you often need extra chairs for seating? If so, you may need to consider space for storing chairs or opt for a larger table with more seating to better fill up the room (but don’t lose your 36” of clearance for ease of flow!) Does your dining space provide any other function than being a place to eat? Maybe your children use that space for their homework area, or maybe that’s the first place you drop the mail? In a situation like so, it would be ideal to have a storage piece that can accommodate miscellaneous items. These types of studies will help you really dig into each space and decide what furniture pieces will be needed, first and foremost. Tip: always pay attention to the dimensions.

Once you’ve determined the activities for each of your “open” spaces and have selected some furniture pieces, it’s best to use natural focal points and your starting point in defining your spaces (i.e. fireplaces, large windows, or an accent wall). Rugs are also a great way to anchor your furniture without overdoing it. Lets say your dining room and living room are essentially one room – how do you provide a natural definition without overcrowding and squaring off your spaces? Start with placing your furniture focusing on your architectural features, then add an appropriate sized rug to anchor those pieces. Stools, ottomans, and accent chairs can also act as a divider without feeling heavy with too many sofas or tables.

Above all else, make sure your home is comfortable and suitable for your needs! All families are different, so don’t be afraid to tweak these tips to your requirements. Happy designing from Pratt Homes!

The Secret to Maximizing Your Open Concept Home Plangmwebservices2025-07-31T16:54:17+00:00

Community Spotlight: Creekside at Hampton Meadows

Published by Pratt Home Builders | Guest blog written by Charlene Bickford

It is a beautiful summer day as I sit to write this at Creekside at Hampton Meadows. The sun is shining, a breeze is blowing, and I have a lovely view across the gorgeous pool of all the truly amazing people that have chosen to make this community their home.

The pool and cabana are a great spot for homeowners to gather and fellowship over a shared lunch or maybe an evening cocktail and apparently no one is too old to give the pool slide a try! The homeowners are active in HOA committees and plan activities to bring neighbors together and to make sure that new homeowners get plugged in to the fun.

While the homeowners are unique and individual they all share at least one point of common ground; that when they were considering a move they chose Pratt Home Builders at Creekside at Hampton Meadows! All the owners here recognized the great value of the homes we offer and share a love for the high-style, quality features we build into each one. The added value of our 1-year Pratt Peace of Mind Warranty and extended 2-10 PWSC Warranty ensures that buyers can be confident that Pratt Home Builders will be there for them even after the sale.

Some of our homeowners chose to select a home site and plan and have the entire Pratt Home Builders experience. Once under contract on their new home they had the pleasure of attending meetings with our Board Certified Interior Designers who helped them to select their choice of dozens of included elements for their new space. Our designers were also able to help them determine if the buyer’s own design aesthetic dictated any upgrades that they might want to add out of the hundreds of options and upgrades available at our 2,800 square foot Design Center. Many a dream home has started out just that way at Pratt Home Builders.

Others of our owners decided to forego the time to build and myriad choices at design for one of our many Market Homes that we offer at Creekside at Hampton Meadows. At any given time we are under construction on fantastic homes that have already had design selections made and are on their way to being ready for you to move in!

We have just opened our newest phase at Creekside and are currently under construction on 12 market homes! These 12 homes will all be different plans so that buyers can get a real taste of the different homes we offer and get a better feel for which ones might best meet their individual needs. Of course, we have many available home sites in case you are thinking you want to make all the decisions yourself.

I am Charlene Bickford, New Home Consultant here at Creekside at Hampton Meadows, and I invite you to come visit me here at the decorated model at 8454 Gray Fox Court, Ooltewah. The model hours are Monday, Thursday and Friday from 11am – 6pm. On Saturday from 12pm – 6pm and on Sunday from 1pm – 6pm. I do take appointments at our office downtown sometimes and often show homes in another of our communities, The Farm at Hampton Meadows. So, to ensure that I am available when you want to come please call Brittany Newman at 423-757-7687 to arrange your appointment with me. I look forward to meeting you and helping you make your Pratt dream home in this fantastic community a reality!

Community Spotlight: Creekside at Hampton Meadowsgmwebservices2025-07-31T16:55:56+00:00

Getting to know us: What kinds of homes does Pratt build?

Published by Pratt Home Builders | Written by Brittany Shaw Newman

Potential customers are at all phases of the learning process about home building when they contact us. Many buyers start the process with questions about the timing of their new build, finishes, and design process. Are you curious as to whether Pratt Home Builders a good fit for you or someone you know? Here’s a quick rundown of what options we offer to anyone dreaming of building a new construction home in the Greater Chattanooga area.

Pratt Home Builders builds in communities. Many of these are communities that the Pratt team has designed and include special lifestyle amenities and unique features. For more information on communities we build in visit this link. We do not build outside of these areas, but will work with buyers to find the best option in terms of a buyer’s desires for their home plan, timeline, location and price point within our developments. We have nearly 50 home plans to choose from, and a different combination of home plans are offered at each community. Within each community, we offer two different types of homes: Market Homes and Pre-Sales.

One option for buyers is Pratt’s Market Homes. This means our team of design professionals including architects, engineers, and interior designers work together to determine a homesite, homeplan and even selects all the interior and exterior finishes. As the name suggests, Market Homes are built for the current market. Based on our research, current trends, and needs of the market, these homes are curated to accommodate sellers who may not have the time or desire to build from the ground up. The Pratt in-house design team selects all the elements, so buyers who prefer to leave design process to the professionals are often drawn to Market Homes.

They are also great for resale, since our in-house interior design team chooses the interior and exterior finishes. Our designers are trained in color, lighting, and space planning, so these homes reflect the latest finishes and trends. If you do choose to sell in the future, they will shine on the MLS due to the quality finishes like granite, hardwoods, tile and trim details you will find in most Market Homes. These homes are sold as designed, but there may be an opportunity for buyers who get in early in the process to select paint colors. Future Pratt Market Homes will also be going onto the MLS and Zillow when they are in framing.

Market homes sell at all stages of construction, so they can be a great solution for buyers who want a new construction home, but need something sooner rather than later. For example, a buyer may find a Market Home he or she could close on within a few months. Many Market Homes sell in the early stages of construction, so if you’re curious what we have coming up in our pipeline of Market Homes it’s best to get in touch with us directly at info@prattliving.com or by calling 423-757-7687.

The other option we have available at Pratt Home Builders is our Pre-Sale homes. Buyers can select their homesite and home plan within the community of their choice. Exploring our home plans and interactive home plans is a great way to see how you can “edit” our home plans. When you purchase a Pre-Sale, there are options available and opportunities to put more of a personal touch on the home plans we offer.

The best way to get started on a Pre-Sale home to is to call our office or get in touch with our Online Sales Counselor to learn what the best fit for your home plan goals would be. You can go over your desires for your layout and square footage, talk over your preferred locations and ideal price point, and we can make suggestions about what communities and home plans will be the most ideal fit. Then, we will set an appointment to visit the community in person. There, our onsite New Home Consultants for each respective community will help make sure the homesite and home plan work together.

Pre-Sale buyers receive to finish is approximately six months. Of course, there can always be variables due to weather, land development challenges, and other factors. Pre-Sales are a great option for buyers who like to have more choices, and are a way to spend your new home budget on the features and finishes that are most pertinent to your family since they allow for more opportunities to personalize.

We have Pre-Sales available at many of our current communities. We recently opened our brand new Magnolia Farms community, a new phase in Boulder Pass at The Canyons in Falling Water, and a new phase is open in Creekside at Hampton Meadows so these are all great options for buyers who want to be able to choose their homesite, home plan and finishes.

With questions about any community, get in touch with us online at prattliving.com or by calling 423-757-7687. You may also visit any of our communities any day except Tuesday and Wednesday, but we recommend calling ahead for an appointment.

Getting to know us: What kinds of homes does Pratt build?gmwebservices2025-07-31T16:57:02+00:00