Spring seems to make everything come to life. People are undoubtedly more enthused about starting home design and building projects when the weather warms up and the sun starts shining. We’re proof of that this year!

I wanted to share a couple of spring projects we have going on right now. As the weather continues to warm up, we hope more and more people start thinking about building, remodeling, and renovating the inside and outside of their homes.

• We have two contract houses in the beginning stages. One in near Shelbyville, and another in Spencer County. The footers have been poured on these houses and we’re grateful that the weather has allowed us to get this part of the process of construction underway.

• We’ll be starting another custom building project in Shepherdsville very soon and will bring you the details and progress of that home as it unfolds.

Although we advertise ourselves a lot as a Louisville builder, we actually cover all of the surrounding neighborhoods and counties outside of Metro Louisville like Shelby County, Oldham County, Bullitt County, Spencer County and more.

Contact me today if you’re thinking about building or remodeling, whether you live in Metro Louisville or in one of the communities surrounding it.

The Home & Garden Show is this weekend. Visit the show to get great ideas for the spring remodeling and custom building season. The show is sponsored by LG&E and powered by The Home Builders Association of Louisville (HBAL).

Here are a couple of quick links for more information about the show:

• Ticket and pricing information
• Location and dates
• Seminars and speakers

We find that even though the show is a wonderful place to get ideas and to see the latest products and services, you as the homeowner still need a quarterback on your team. You need a custom builder and remodeler. Below is a list of things you don’t always want to leave up to a subcontractor or vendor:

• Pricing projects accurately.
• Managing the permitting and appraisal process.
• Handling financing issues.
• Delivering on time.
• Project managing all the egos, timelines and deliverables.

This is where we come in. We have 38 + years of experience that we bring to the table.

If you go to the show this weekend, write down some questions or ideas you get from the show. If you see some new products you’d like to try but don’t know where to start or how to put it all together, then contact PL Lyons today. Let’s have a no-obligation conversation about your custom remodeling or building project. If you’re looking for a Louisville builder, you can start by asking us a question about your project. No strings attached!

We thought this would be a fun topic to put on the blog and share on social media. We’d love to have your input. Not because we’re trying to sell you a home (we don’t have much inventory right now) or because we’re hoping to build your next custom contract home (although we’d gladly take you up on that). We just wanted to see how things are changing in the Louisville real estate market.

So what’s your Louisville dream home look like?

It seems like out are the days of 4,000 or 5,000 sq foot and above homes. Sure they happen, but it seems the market has moved to a less is more focus. Simple homes with more amenities. People are downsizing their mortgages and their upkeep left and right—when they can sell, that is. People have even started buying tiny houses (http://tinyhouseblog.com/). You might not be there yet, but your dreams, goals, and desires for a dream home may have been altered in the last five years of this economic shift. If so, we’d love to know how so.

Do you prefer a community-type development like Norton Commons, or a traditional suburban neighborhood like Fox Run? Would you like an infill home built in an older, existing area like St Matthews, Middletown, Clifton, Lyndon or many others? By the way, these old lots are few and far between.

Would you prefer to be in a town home, patio home, or condo type development with some unique twists? Are you looking at having one to five acres on a tract outside the city in a neighboring county like Spencer, Shelby, Oldham, or Bullitt?

So do you prefer a two story traditional, a one and a half story, or a ranch?

When it comes to the basement, is it a walkout or a traditional basement? Finished or unfinished? Believe it or not, some like an unfinished basement as a romp room, storage space, or more importantly, as one less place to clean and dust.

What are the must-have amenities?

Are you a cottage home, craftsman, traditional, modern, or cape cod fan?

Brick, brick and brick, or hardiplank/ siding?

Leave your thoughts in the comments, on the Facebook thread, or @reply us on Twitter.

We’re wrapping up 2011 having just completed a new home in Shakes Run Subdivision, six bath/kitchen remodels, three basement finishes, three sun room additions, three commercial office build out/renovations, several entry door and window replacement installations, and several other major types of renovations.

Currently we are carrying over into 2012 an addition for A Winning Smile Dental Center located in the Highview/Okolona area, just broke ground on a custom home in Shepherdsville, a contract to build a custom home in Finchville, and working on two more custom contract houses, along with some remodel projects to start.

We look forward to a great 2012 as we continue to design/build new custom homes, design/build basement finishes, decks, sun rooms, and almost any type of renovation—residential or commercial—in Louisville Metro and surrounding counties.

If your 2012 plans involve a new home, residential remodel, commercial build out or remodel, basement finish, or other property improvements; contact us for an estimate.

Wishing you a healthy and prosperous 2012.

Rocky Pusateri of Elite Homes talks about many of the benefits of building a Homearama home in 2012 at Shakes Run.

We figure Rocky hit on all the high points, so we’ll list the bullets here and you can watch the quick video for the rest. He summarizes it well as he usually does.

• Shakes Run gives you the feel of the country (think Spencer or Shelby county but without the bedroom community feel) but has the city life within three miles at the Gene Snyder in Middletown (think churches, Target, Kroger, schools, and restaurants like Wild Eggs).
• A home in Shakes Run (or any Homearama site) would give you an instant value. As Rocky states, many of the contractors and subcontractors want to put their best foot forward. Often times they are willing to discount new products or services in order to get the massive free publicity that a Homearama home gives.
• Shakes Run has lots of green space, lakes, and many walk out wooded lots. Balance this with a clubhouse and pool, and you have the suburbs meet the country.

Perry Lyons of P.L. Lyons just finished up a home in Shakes Run. He knows the ground, the restrictions, and the process. He’s also a respected builder in the community, and serves alongside Rocky on the board at the HBAL. Needless to say, we’d love to build a contract home or Homearama home for you at Shakes Run.

If you’d like to visit Shakes Run, we’d he happy to give you the nickel tour, simply fill out this convenient form or call us at 244-0114 to set it up.

These three homes were all built in the Fox Run subdivision in Eastern Jefferson County. We build to suit your needs and have built custom homes and completed custom remodels and additions in a number of prestigious areas and neighborhoods in Louisville including:

• Anchorage
• Lake Forest
• Douglas Hills
• Plainview
• in Briar Hill Estates
• Beckly Woods
• Hunters Point
• Winchester Acres
• Fairway Crossing
• Fox Run
• Glen Lakes

If you’d like to learn more, please contact me today.

Maybe you’re one of the lucky people out there who already knows exactly what neighborhood you want to live in, what type of house you’re looking to build, and everything else is just details.

Doesn’t sound quite like your situation? Don’t worry, that’s actually not the case for most people. In fact, the process of deciding to build a custom home, choosing the perfect neighborhood, and finding the right custom home builder doesn’t always come easy.

Louisville offers some great neighborhoods in many different locations around town, so no matter what end of the city you want to live in, at least you can rest assured that you’re bound to find a neighborhood that is perfect for you and your family.

Ready to start researching communities in the Louisville area? This tool is a great place to start. It’s the Greater Louisville New Home Guide and provides maps, information, and resources to help you narrow down an area, find a custom home builder, and even search communities in surrounding counties.

The homebuyer guide walks you through specific details to keep in mind when searching for communities, builders, and the price range of your new home.

Once you’ve found a few locations you’d like to see, I’d love to talk to you about building a custom home in your chosen neighborhood. I’ve been building homes in Louisville and surrounding areas for more than 30 years and am a trusted registered builder. I can even help with your neighborhood selection process. Contact me to get started!

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I tweet out a lot of industry information like housing starts, mortgage rate information, real estate statistics, and much more. Sometimes you may get a bleak outlook from those tweets. Although things aren’t exactly rosy, we do have several proverbial “irons in the fire.” We’re always looking for more though. If you’d like to build a new house, a Homearama contract, or look into a remodeling project, we’re here to help.

In the meantime, we thought we’d update you on a few of the current and future projects we have going. If nothing more, this should give you hope for a brighter day. Recently, Dave Ramsey, financial author and speaker, tweeted out that hope is the one thing no one can take away from us.

We’re currently:

• Finishing a custom basement remodel in Oldham County, which includes a bathroom, fireplace, media room, family room, laundry room
• Finishing a basement in English Station which includes a media room, hobby room, family room, and bathroom
• Working on a custom room addition in Plainview—this is an all-weather type sunroom
• Preparing to start a custom contract home we’ve signed in Shelby County on a 14 acre farm
• Finishing a custom basement with a media room, family room, and bathroom in Jtown
• Finishing a custom master bathroom remodel in Jtown
• Covered deck with enclosed custom screening in Jtown
• Beginning a commercial dental office addition and renovation—with this job we had a 13 month rezoning process
• Finishing master bathroom and bedroom remodel in Douglas Hills
• Finished a custom home in Shakes Run
• We’re bidding three custom contract homes
• We’re bidding another commercial build-out

This project is wrapping up as we speak. We’ll be sure to post a video once everything is complete. The homeowner, Mike Menkhaus, is actually a repeat customer. We built a custom home for Mike a few years ago and are happy to be working with him again.

If you’re thinking about building a custom home in Louisville, contact me and check out my blog for more information about my business and the custom homes we’ve built in the past.

If you’re like me, visiting Homearama at Norton Commons this year already has me excited about next year. That’s because next year’s Homearama is at not one, but two locations: Shakes Run and Rock Springs. What’s even more exciting is that we plan to build a home at both of those locations. We’ve built several Homearama homes over the years and almost all have been contracts.

I know it’s a little early to be announcing plans for next year, but we wanted to give everyone a heads up, especially if you’ve been thinking about building a custom home in Louisville. Even though we’re planning to build homes for Homearama, we would love to have contracts in place for each of these.

There are several reasons why you should consider talking to us about your custom home needs and preferences. The quality, attention to detail, and uniqueness that goes into a Homearama house is unlike any other. You will still be able to make decisions regarding your home—rather than purchasing a spec house—and you’ll be in one of the more highly sought after neighborhoods in Louisville.

Homearama is always a fun time for the people in Louisville because they get to preview the latest styles in interior design along with some of the most high tech and environmentally friendly building techniques available today. If you’re thinking about building a custom home, contact us and we can discuss living in Shakes Run or Rock Springs.

We are looking forward to helping you build your dream home in the 2012 Homearama.