Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Mountain Biking Around Broomfield, CO

Just a few of the many benefits of living in Broomfield are the fresh air, mountain views, and pleasant weather. Spring is a great time of year to welcome the warmer weather by enjoying some of the best mountain biking in the country just minutes from your Alta Harvest Station Apartment. Even if you’ve never tried mountain biking before, now is an excellent time to start. Mountain biking builds strength, stamina, and balance, and it’s also a wonderful way to see much of the natural beauty Colorado has to offer.

Walker Ranch Loop
The Walker Ranch Loop is one of the most popular hiking and biking trails in the Broomfield and Boulder area. Located just a few miles from central Boulder, this 7.5-mile trail is both family- and dog-friendly. The Walker Ranch Loop is best for intermediate and advanced riders, though less experienced riders can also enjoy this trail as well by dismounting and walking through the few areas of steep or difficult terrain. A typical ride on this trail takes one to two hours, but a more leisurely pace is recommended for those who’d like to make frequent stops or enjoy the scenic views as you gain a total of 1650 feet during your ride.

Rock Creek Trail
The Rock Creek Trail is an excellent mountain biking experience for beginners. This 12-mile soft-surface trail will take you through the Carolyn Holmberg Preserve between Broomfield and Lafayette. Many mountain bikers use the Rock Creek Trail as an easy warm-up for more challenging trails, such as the Dirty Bismarck Loop that can be reached from the Coalton Trailhead at one end of the Rock Creek Trail. Alternatively, you can choose to stop off along the Rock Creek Trail and enjoy picnicking or fishing in the Carolyn Holmberg Preserve, which offers an additional three easy hiking and mountain biking trails: the Cradleboard Trail, the Lac Amora Link Trail, and the Mary Miller Trail.

North Table Loop
North Table Mountain Park is well known for its breathtaking views and enjoyable mountain biking trails. The North Table Mountain area was formed by lava flows nearly 60 million years ago and today features panoramic views and plenty of native animal species, including golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, mule deer, and prairie dogs. A moderate difficulty 5.9-mile trail, the North Table Loop is just one of many trails that snake their way through this amazing 2000-acre park. As you travel this trail, you’ll enjoy views of Colorado’s riparian habitats and climb all the way to the mesa’s top, where you can hook up with the Mesa Top Trail to add an additional 3.65 miles to your ride.

At Alta Harvest Station, we offer luxury apartment living just 20 minutes from Denver, Boulder, and the Flatiron Mountains. If you’re looking to lease a one-, two-, or three-bedroom apartment that puts you in the middle of some of Colorado’s best mountain biking, hiking, shopping, and dining, check us out on the web to find out why you’ll love living at Alta Harvest Station. You can contact us online to inquire about leasing or stop by in person to tour our community, which also features a swimming pool, dog park, and ample community greenspace.

Enjoying Your Apartment's Balcony

Broomfield, CO, is a great place to enjoy outdoor living in the spring and summer. One of the many benefits of choosing Alta Harvest Station is access to a private balcony right outside your apartment door. Keep reading to discover how you can make the most of your luxury apartment’s outdoor living space to create a private retreat where you can entertain or relax.

Make Your Balcony Another Room
Balconies are often the most neglected areas of an apartment, especially when it comes to décor. These areas are frequently left empty or furnished only with uncomfortable and unsightly folding tables and chairs. Without proper furnishing, your balcony will look unappealing and you won’t be likely to use it. Making the most of your apartment’s balcony means viewing it as another room in your apartment. Rather than thinking of your balcony as a separate space, consider it an extension of your indoor home. Use this idea to bring your apartment’s décor outside, choosing furniture and accessories that mesh with your indoor decorating style. One of the best places to start is your balcony’s furniture: today, there are many choices in sturdy, weather-resistant outdoor furniture that far exceed hard (and unattractive) plastic furnishings. Adding colorful pillows and cushions to your furniture will help to create a vibrant and comfortable outdoor space. Additionally, outdoor lighting has come a long way in recent years as well—stylish outdoor lamps provide lighting for meals or reading to increase the usability of your balcony. Once you’ve got your furniture in place, add accessories such as placemats, artwork, or other decorative items that speak to your unique sense of style to create further personality and comfort in this area of your home.

Incorporate Natural Elements
Alta Harvest Station features numerous community greenspaces where you can experience the benefits of Broomfield’s natural appeal. Extending this idea to your own balcony is another way to enjoy outdoor living to its fullest in your luxury apartment. If you enjoy gardening, creating a small container garden on your balcony adds a touch of nature to your home and can also provide herbs, spices, vegetables, and fruit for your table. If you prefer greenery as a decorative element or simply don’t have the time to care for plants, consider using realistic faux plants on your balcony instead of live ones. Large, leafy ferns or palms can hide outlets or work well to soften corners, while potted flowers add a splash of color as the centerpiece on an outdoor table. Hanging or wall-mounted planters take advantage of underutilized vertical space if you want to add greenery but prefer to maximize floor space to keep your balcony feeling open and inviting.


Every inch of your Alta Harvest Station apartment is designed with comfort and convenience in mind. Our Broomfield apartment community features spacious floor plans, community greenspace, and luxury finishes and detailing that show off your excellent taste and style. We invite you to learn more about our Broomfield luxury apartments on the web or stop by our community to take an in-person tour and discover the benefits of living with us today!

Friday, April 4, 2014

Design Tips to Maximize Apartment Space

Any home, regardless of its size, will feel small, cramped, and uninviting when space is not utilized properly. Clutter, awkward furniture arrangements, and clashing colors or styles can detract from the look of your luxury apartment. You can make your Vida Hollywood apartment space feel even larger with these smart design tips, which will help you to maximize storage space and create an open, welcoming atmosphere in your home.

Add Shelves in the Kitchen
Kitchens are often a catch-all space where clutter quickly accumulates. While you may keep dishware and cooking appliances tucked neatly behind cabinet doors, your counters, table, and other horizontal surfaces may feature piles of paper, disorganized odds and ends, and an overabundance of decorative items. Consider adding horizontal space in your kitchen to reduce clutter by placing a bookshelf or decorative end table in this space. Open storage options such as these help your apartment’s kitchen to retain its open and spacious feel while providing a place to keep papers, decorative items, and more off of your functional surfaces. A freestanding double-sided bookshelf can provide a stylish natural divider to separate cooking, dining, and living areas while also acting as a storage solution.

Take Advantage of Built-Ins
Each Vida Hollywood luxury apartment includes a built-in desk to maximize your home workspace. Take advantage of this area to keep your work all in one place, rather than allowing it to spread across your entire apartment. Utilize desktop organizers and letter trays to keep pens, pencils, scissors, tape, sticky notes, and papers organized so you can find them quickly and easily. The space above your built-in desk is a great place to mount a dry erase or bulletin board so you can keep important notes and information in your line of sight without taking up horizontal space. A comfortable but low-profile office chair will complete the look of your built-in desk space.

Create Bathroom Storage
Clutter in the bathroom is a common problem—too many items stored on your counters or bathtub ledges create disharmony and detract from the look of the room. Rather than spread items across every available horizontal surface, group them together in baskets and canisters or place them on serving trays. These solutions will keep important items organized and consolidated so your bathroom becomes cleaner and more functional. Mason jars are another great storage solution for soaps or other small toiletry items. Hanging or suctioned shower and tub caddies are available in a variety of styles and finishes, allowing you to add an upscale storage solution to your bathing area as well. Inside your cabinets, removable shelving and drawer units help to keep items organized. You can also add a small tension rod to hang hairdryers and spray bottles to retain the flat space on the bottom of your vanity for other items.


At Vida Hollywood, you’ll enjoy a variety of amenities including stainless steel appliances, built-in desks, air conditioning, and mirrored closet doors. Check out our Los Angeles apartment community online by clicking through our website to take a look at our gallery, floor plans, and local neighborhood hotspots. Once you’re ready to call Vida Hollywood home, you can contact us on the web to check our current pricing and availability. 

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Enjoying the Hawaiian Lifestyle at Palms of Kilani

The Hawaiian lifestyle is truly unique—and it seems to be a healthy and happy one as well. Statistics show that residents of Hawaii live longer and happier lives than residents of any other U.S. state. What makes the Hawaiian lifestyle such a great one? Hawaiians focus on enjoying time with family, friends, and the natural world. Living a low-stress and active outdoor lifestyle helps to cultivate a healthy body and mind. Keep reading to discover how you can make the most of the healthy Hawaiian lifestyle when you choose to make Palms of Kilani in Wahiawa your Hawaiian home.

On-Site Outdoor Amenities
Palms of Kilani understands the important role family and community play in a healthy Hawaiian lifestyle. Our apartment community is designed to provide our residents with ample space to share their healthy outdoor lifestyle with family and friends. Just outside your apartment door, you’ll discover our sparkling pool, where we encourage you to enjoy the health benefits of regular swimming activities. You can clear your mind while soaking up the sun—and some healthy vitamin D—on our spacious pool deck. Palms of Kilani’s safe and appealing outdoor playground makes it easy for even the smallest members of your family to enjoy the benefits of daily play. We also encourage families and friends to share healthy and fresh meals outdoors in our community barbecue and picnic area.

Nearby Outdoor Attractions
Palms of Kilani is located just minutes from some of Oahu’s most enjoyable outdoor attractions. The Wahiawa Freshwater State Recreation Area is the closest outdoor state park, just a five-minute drive from our apartment community. You can enjoy picnicking, boating, hiking, and fishing all year long in this 66-acre area surrounding the Wahiawa Reservoir. The Leilehua Golf Course, also just minutes from your apartment, is one of the Army’s premier golf courses on Oahu, offering military and civilians alike an enjoyable outdoor challenge for golfers of all ages and abilities. Leilehua features breathtaking views of the Wai’anae Mountains as you play your way through 18 holes. Alternatively, you can enjoy the course’s full-service practice facility to perfect your game daily from 6am to 9pm. The nearby Poamoho Ridge Trail offers a unique and challenging hiking experience that features dramatic views and some of the island’s best birdwatching opportunities. To hike this trail, you’ll first need to obtain a permit from Department of Forestry and Wildlife at Makiki. You’ll also need a 4WD vehicle to take you up to the trailhead. However, hikers agree that these two requirements are well worth the trouble for the stunning views of Oahu’s eastern, northern, and western coasts.


Are you ready to discover the lifestyle that make Hawaiians the healthiest, happiest residents of the United States? You can experience all the benefits of a Hawaiian lifestyle just steps from your front door at Palms of Kilani in Wahiawa. Our two-, three-, and four-bedroom military housing and apartments feature spacious floor plans, ceiling fans throughout, and large closets for all your storage needs. Check us out on the web or visit us at 1060 Kilani Avenue for an in-person tour of our community. 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Making the Most of Your Large Windows

Carmel The Village features contemporary-styled apartment spaces with expansive windows that offer breathtaking views and abundant natural light in Mountain View, CA. Making the most of your apartment’s large windows means incorporating them seamlessly into your home’s décor. Window treatments and furniture arrangements that show off these amazing features will enhance the appeal of your living space while providing you with ample sunlight during the day to cut down on your electric bills.

Window Treatments
Leaving your large windows bare may be easy, but it also detracts from the look of your apartment. Undressed windows can make your living space feel cold and uninviting, regardless of a stunning view or cozy furniture arrangement. When dressing large windows, keep in mind that the larger the treatments you choose, the more expensive they will be. If you’re looking for a way to get the maximum effect at minimum cost, window scarves are an excellent choice. A window scarf is a long, thin piece of fabric that you can hang in any configuration you like across a curtain rod. The ends of the scarf should be long enough to fall down along the sides of the window to frame it. Drop cloth curtains are another popular and stylish window treatment option for large windows. These long, narrow panels sit on either side of the window to frame it; you can allow them to fall straight naturally or gather them at the sides of the window for a more classical look. 

Furniture Arrangement
In addition to dressing up your windows, certain furniture arrangements can make the most of your expansive windows and mountain views. Choose low-profile sofas, chairs, bookcases, and tables to maximize the view from your windows. Utilize tall, thin floor lamps or shorter table lamps and arrange lighting so it falls at the edges of your window, rather than in the center. Pulling furniture toward the center of the room and away from the windows maintains the large, open feeling of the room while creating a cozy living space to relax, chat, or enjoy a movie or meal. Keeping the space at the edge of the room open will also help to maintain foot traffic flow during parties and gatherings. Use a large area rug as a guide to delineate your living space in the center of the room, then work outward. Use these design tips in the bedroom as well—choose a low-profile bed as well, and consider placing it directly under the window to combine these two focal points. Alternatively, a low dresser or bench placed beneath your window maximizes the feeling of space to create a relaxing bedroom escape. If you aren’t sure how you want to arrange your furniture, use a piece of graph paper or an online room layout program before you get started to map out the possibilities. This will help you choose the layout you love before you do any work at all!


Carmel The Village’s Mountain View apartments feature top-of-the-line finishes, expansive windows, and rooftop retreats for our residents to enjoy. You’ll love living in the center of it all with dining, shopping, and a Starbucks just outside your front door. Visit our website to explore our apartment community online, view our gallery, and check out our current move-in specials! 

Creating a Clean, Contemporary Master Bedroom

Are you dreaming of a luxurious contemporary master bedroom in your Carmel The Village apartment?  The clean, neat lines of contemporary style can be used to create a peaceful and relaxing bedroom retreat where you can recharge every night. Contemporary is an extremely versatile decorative style, allowing you to incorporate much of your personality and preferences into the décor of your room.

Add Contrast with Furniture
Metal and wood are two of the most popular furniture materials used in contemporary-style bedrooms. Metallic furniture or hardware speak to the clean lines used in contemporary décor, while wood brings elements of nature and warmth into the space. You can mix and match these two materials to your heart’s desire to create the right amount of contrast for your tastes. Consider choosing an all-wooden bed frame and placing it beside a metallic nightstand or coffee table. Alternatively, wood furniture with metallic accents marry these two themes and can be used throughout the room. Regardless of the type of furniture you choose, remember to select a bureau, bench, or armoire that offers plenty of storage. A contemporary room should not look cluttered, so it’s important to have enough space for all your clothing and other items to keep your bedroom neat and organized.

Soften with Fabrics
The key to utilizing contemporary décor in the bedroom is to soften the clean, flowing lines of your furniture with fabrics. A bedroom is a great place to utilize contemporary design because this space naturally incorporates fabrics into the pillowcases, bedclothes, and curtains. Choose a bedspread that is a single color, then add texture with patterned pillowcases or a throw at the foot of your bed. Even if you don’t want large curtains or shades on your windows, use a valence or drop panels to soften the edges of the window and frame your apartment’s mountain views. If you would like more stylized curtains, don’t hesitate to add them—these features are a great place to bring a softer elegance into your contemporary room. Additionally, consider the benefits of an area rug beside your bed, which will provide a cushioned and comfortable place for your feet each morning while adding additional color and texture to the room.

Add Personal Touches
A contemporary bedroom doesn’t need to be cold or impersonal. Add personal touches to your bedroom such as photos, artwork, statuettes, or souvenirs to create a more inviting, warm space. Plants can also add personality and soften the look of the room as well. While you should aim to keep most of your surfaces clear and clutter to a minimum, a small bookshelf or curio cabinet is the perfect spot to display just a few personal items or collectibles. Alternatively, a decorative serving tray is an excellent place to display one or two small items without tempting you to go overboard.


You can enjoy slick, contemporary urban living in the heart of beautiful Mountain View, California, at Carmel The Village Apartments. Our modern-styled apartment community features stunning views, upscale finishes, and eco-friendly construction. Check us out on the web to view our photo gallery and floor plans, or contact us online to discuss renting a studio, one-, or two-bedroom luxury apartment today!