News & Updates

When it comes to designing a kitchen you love, the ability to have complete creative control is the key to a successful outcome. Though there are many factors to consider when building your dream kitchen, today we will focus on the countertops, specifically why concrete countertops are the best creative choice compared to the rest.

DIY Option.

The first reason is that if you like to do things yourself, concrete is the answer. Though it can take a learning curve, it does not require professional installation to complete. This allows you to become your own expert. But, do not forget that asking an expert for help is not a bad thing! It is best to do the job right and well rather than incorrectly sub-par.

Malleable.

The second reason is that concrete starts as a liquid and is set into a solid. This allows more manipulation with the product and gives you more freedom to do what you wish to your countertops. Even if you hire someone to do the job for you, overseeing their operation is simple.

Color.

The third and most exciting reason for designers is the fact that colors and options are practically endless with concrete countertops. Coloring options include, staining, painting, stamping and many more depending on the exact look that you want.

Stained concrete countertops and painted concrete countertops (just as with stained concrete floors and painted concrete floors) allow you the ability to really have a hold on how your counters fit into the equation of your customised kitchen. With the choice of color and tint, no matter what your goal, your countertops do not have to be a stressful decision.

Acid stained concrete countertops is done after the counter is set in place. This applies dimension by giving your counter the look marble, stone, wood and even leather if you are so bold.

Painted countertops are exactly what they sound like: Painted. The process is simple but may take a while to dry. Besides that, this is one way to really grasp the creative process of making your countertops unique to your kitchen.

If you want to have a stone look, another option to achieve this is with stamped concrete countertops. Concrete countertops are poured on site. The frame is built with the cabinetry, then the concrete is poured over. While the concrete sets, the stamping is applied in whatever pattern or style you choose. Some of these include but are not limited to slate, brick, stone, and river rock. This allows you to get the look you desire without the extra hassle.

Durability and Cost Effective.

Lastly (but definitely not two of the final reasons) to opt for a concrete countertops are the durability and cost of concrete. Durability is seen in all other forms that it is used that we encounter every day. As the base of many building operations, it is a good option for a long lasting kitchen counter because of its strength, reliability and malleability.

Concrete counters are resistant to cracking and chipping and the key lies in the sealant, so do not skimp on this option. Sadly, if your concrete does chip, because it begins in a liquid state, is it easy to repair. Along with this, concrete is very cheap compared to other types of materials, such as stone and marble.

If it is created on site, the cost is simply applied to whatever you may do, be that DIY or hiring someone else to do it for you. A rough guess of onsite cost is anywhere from $65 to $135 per square foot. If it is created off site, the shipping costs are minimal.

Compared to stone, it can be hundreds of dollars cheaper, especially if you live nowhere near the dispensary facilities of the company you buy from, meaning that shipping can be more expensive. Stone shipping starts at around $100 per square foot, and this does not include shipping as mentioned above.

Stone and marble are not as easily repaired as concrete as well, this meaning another aspect of cost if something does happen to your counters. Concrete countertops provided the most bang for your buck as well as the most creative options for your kitchen.

So, why choose anything else?

One of the easiest ways to freshen up your home’s style, both indoors and out, is with new doors. Doors are much more than passageways from the outside to in, or from one room to another. Your front door is the first impression guests have when they visit your home, reflecting your unique personality and style. Interior doors add character and interest as well.

Front Doors That Say Welcome!

Doors are not usually what most homeowners first think about when remodeling their Main Line home. But at Cottage Industries, we think they should be high on the list.

Though many homes along the Main Line are considered traditional homes, that doesn’t mean the front entry needs to be generic or boring. Many of our clients inherited their front door when they purchased their home. When they stop to think about it, they realize it’s not actually representative of their personal style.

Today’s Front Door Trends

Your options for front doors are practically endless. There are single or double fronts, traditional ones with simple, straight lines, doors with sidelight windows, transoms, and more. Many homeowners are choosing their new front door with certain trends in mind:

• More natural light in the home. Adding a front door with full or partial glass brings more light into a dark foyer. If privacy is a concern, consider a translucent, etched, or custom art glass for a real statement. At night, when the foyer is lit, the glow through the front door can be very warm and welcoming.

• Match the home’s exterior. While adding your personality, it’s important the front door does not clash or work against the exterior style of the home. A modern, minimalist look can look wonderful on a mid-century modern home, but can look out of place on a Victorian, or a Colonial Revival.
• A splash of color might be all your door needs to make a statement. If your entry is dark, think about a lighter color on the front door to make it stand out and draw you in.
• Energy efficiency is important too. The good news is that energy efficient doors come in a wide variety of styles, one of which will perfectly complement your home’s architectural style. Be sure to look for doors with high energy efficiency ratings and choose one that works for the Philadelphia area summer and winter weather extremes.

Boost Your Home’s Value

According to Remodeling Magazine’s latest Cost vs. Value Report, replacing your entry door with a new steel door will yield a 98% return on investment. While it’s terrific that a new front door can add to your home’s resale value, the most important reason to install a new front door is because it improves the look of your home.

Interior Doors That Reflect Your Style

Interior doors play an important role in any remodel. While they may be minor elements in the grand scheme of things, they add interesting architectural detail and style to your home. The right interior doors for your home not only have to look good, they also need to stand up to daily use, help minimize sound transfer, and complement your Main Line home’s overall architectural style and interior design. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of doors to choose from. Here are just some of your options.

• Flush doors come with a hollow or solid core and are either primed for painting or pre-finished in a wood veneer. They’re typically the least expensive.

• Single-panel doors are often found in homes built in the 1920s and 1930s and they add a lot of character to a home.

• Two-panel doors come in a variety of designs. Ones with segmented arched top panels look great in French style homes, and homeowners who live in country style homes often choose doors with a plank detail.

• Three-panel doors run the gamut from solid stained oak for traditional homes to ones with circular details that are common in Victorian architecture.

• Four, five and six-panel doors come in hollow cores and in solid wood and can be finished in whatever style best suits your personal taste and home’s style.

Other interesting choices that work well as focal points include glass doors where light is needed, stained-glass for Victorian-style homes, mirrored doors for baths or bedrooms, and interior French doors for studies, dining rooms, and hallways. Many homeowners choose pocket doors, which can save up to 10 square feet of floor space, perfect for older homes with smaller rooms.

Don’t let the many choices overwhelm you. At Cottage Industries, our designers will help you select a new front door that not only speaks to who you are, but one that also retains the architectural integrity of your home. Contact us today to get the conversation rolling.

So this is the year you want your Philadelphia home to be where your family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving. But there’s one problem – your kitchen or dining room is lacking the space you need to hold everyone.

Now, you think, may be a great time to do that renovation. The end of November’s still months away and you should have plenty of time, right? Well, not exactly. A successful remodel requires plenty of planning, and part of your plan needs to include the possibility of delays that could occur.

Is Summertime Best for a Philadelphia Renovation?

What happens when you ask 10 remodeling pros about the best time of the year to remodel? You get 10 different answers. Many people like to schedule their remodels for the summer months. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that May is National Home Improvement Month!

It’s true that the warmer weather is great for working outdoors, but there’s more to a renovation than the outdoor temperature. So while Spring and Summer are the most popular home improvement seasons, the best time for your remodel is actually when it best suits your schedule and budget.

In other words, no season is perfect for everyone. Certainly if your remodel will require tearing off a portion of your roof to add more space, you’ll want to avoid the rain or snow but these things can be handled in any season with careful planning. First your builder must know how long it will take to open the area, make changes, and then close up the exposed areas.

The construction team should choose a window of clear weather that will span that length of time. There should be plenty of skilled people on hand to complete the task with time to spare.

Most importantly, plan for the worst! In the Philadelphia area weather can change quickly so there should be tarps ready to put up in case the weather window closes unexpectedly and Mother Nature takes over. Tarps should be tight and well fastened! If they are blowing and flapping in the wind, you better have some buckets handy because you might need them.

Keep in mind, too, that you are probably not the only Philadelphia or Main Line area homeowner having the same thoughts. It may be a good idea to have your renovation project scheduled for a month or two before everyone else. Not only will your remodel be completed in plenty of time, but you might even save a few bucks by booking people when they’re not as busy.

Philadelphia Renovation for the Holiday Season

At Cottage Industries, our remodeling process includes everything from creative design with detailed construction pricing, to refined scheduling, to fine craftsmanship with a total commitment to customer satisfaction always safeguarded by our 5-year warranty. Even with all of that, delays can still occur and you should have room to spare in your schedule if you really want to hit your deadline.

Our advice to clients who want to complete their renovation in time or the holidays is this: don’t cut it too close. There can be unforeseen circumstances or work you want to add making the project take longer. For example, if you estimate your project will take three months and you want it completed the weekend before Thanksgiving, don’t schedule the start date in mid-August. In that case, your safer choice is to schedule it the beginning of July. Otherwise, we always suggest having a backup plan for the big feast. Of course that means starting construction in July, not starting the design and material selection then!

Here are a few of the things that cause a project to stretch out longer than planned; people getting sick, weather problems, materials that don’t arrive on time or arrive damaged. You need to factor in the possibility of adding more work to the project. Some customers decide that while we are there, we can add extra work to the list but if you have a hard deadline, you might want to avoid this. We also work closely with other people’s schedules which can sometimes change such as plumbers and electricians, as well as township or city inspectors.  

Delays are not Inevitable

At Cottage Industries, we like to be up-front with our clients about the possibility delays, and we build flexibility into the schedule to account for some of them. We give projected start and end dates, and we do our best to meet them. In fact, the majority of the Main Line and Philadelphia renovations we do are completed on time. To facilitate completing a project as planned, we encourage our clients to keep the lines of communication open and direct, working with us to:

• Make material selections in a timely fashion.
• Have the house accessible when needed.
• Minimize adding more work to the project.

Ultimately, the best remodels are more about good planning and communication, and less about the weather and other surprises. One adage you can always count on – no matter what the season – is that the best time for a holiday season renovation is after it’s been well thought out!

To learn more about how Cottage Industries helps your renovation project come together in a harmonious fashion, download our guide to optimum value design today.

Long gone are the days when Pinterest was used primarily as a virtual bulletin board for wedding plans or DIY tips. Today, the popular site is helping homeowners in ways people never imagined when it first came on the scene in 2010. Pinterest lets homeowners on the Main Line organize and catalog their design ideas for all sorts of home renovation projects.

Along with Houzz – the phenomenal website and online community that’s devoted to architecture, interior design, and decorating – it’s now possible for homeowners to easily search for and save innovative and exciting ideas for all their home remodeling projects.

In the past, homeowners used pages ripped from remodeling magazines to convey their vision.  Pinterest and Houzz give you tens, if not hundreds of thousands of ways to get your vision across.

Creative Ways to Use Pinterest

There are currently 50 million active Pinterest users, and home remodelers have begun to tap into this valuable resource for both inspiration and new clients. Designers use Pinterest with their clients as an easy way to share ideas and put together design schemes. It lets clients see that the vision the designer has for a particular space is well-designed and, most importantly, will work.

As a homeowner, Pinterest gives you access to products that you either wouldn’t find on your own, or wouldn’t have the time to discover. And it allows you to more quickly find furniture, fixtures, and furnishings that are unique. Here are some other ways you can use the site to facilitate your remodel:

• Design a vision board that showcases how you envision your home’s final look. Be sure to include fabrics, textures, color palettes, and any other interesting architectural details you are partial to. Use it try some unusual pairings such as brass and marble in a bathroom remodel, or painted and stained wood pieces used together in a dining room.
• Organize boards into themes such as materials, lighting, flooring, and furnishings. If your goal is to maintain the integrity of your home’s original architecture on the Main Line, keep that in mind as you pick and sort. But don’t be shy about throwing in ideas you love but are uncertain if they’d work with your home’s particular style. A good designer will steer you in the right direction.
• Use product pin links to make purchases directly from the site. Pinterest is now a great sourcing tool for everything from faucets to sofas.
• Create a “future inspiration” board for projects you want to do “one day.” Not only will it save you time in the future, you’ll be able to coordinate items and colors with the space you’re remodeling now.

Houzz This for Inspiration

Most design build and remodeling firms have a presence on Houzz, and Cottage Industries is no exception. The ideabooks created there are a great way for us to work with clients as they take their remodel from design to reality. With over eight million photo streams available to build it, a Houzz ideabook is the perfect place to store ideas for home remodeling dreams.

You can save home design photos, product shots, PDFs, personal notes, and a list of details of your remodeling projects, and you can share the ideabook with your designer, contractor, and interior designer. For example, if your current project is a kitchen remodel, you can put together files and pictures on layouts, countertops, and cabinets that appeal to you. When it’s time to start the remodel, you can email your ideabook collection to whomever you wish in order to start narrowing down your choices. You can also turn your ideabook into a joint project workbook by allowing other people to add photos and make comments of their own.

It’s a Visual Industry

One of our biggest challenges is helping our clients translate their vision, personal taste, and style into the living space they’ve imagined. We encourage our clients to use both Houzz and Pinterest to take idea sharing to a whole new level. It allows us to better communicate and collaborate on every detail of a remodel in ways we never could before. Both sites are valuable, modern visual aids that can’t be beat.

To visit our Pinterest page
==> Click here

To visit our Houzz page

==> Click here

Many homeowners love to include the latest trends when they remodel their bathrooms. At Cottage Industries, we believe there are trends, and then there are smart trends. During our initial consultations, we bring our years of experience to help clients understand the difference.

The truth is, great bathroom design is as much about how the finished project functions, as how it looks – though it’s always nice when it looks fantastic. Great design results in a room that functions better, is easier to maintain, and meets the needs of your family’s lifestyle.

A curbless shower is a design trend we think more homeowners should fall in love with. Here are our reasons why.

Curbless Showers on the Main Line

Sometimes referred to as accessible, walk-in, or barrier-free, curbless showers add a contemporary appearance to bathrooms while providing an efficient universal design option.  

1. They’re Stylish and Sleek: Some homeowners doubt just how contemporary barrier free showers are. But euro-inspired curbless showers add a modern, subtle touch that creates a cool and contemporary spa-type look, with shower bases set to make the entire bath appear to be on a single plane.

2. Improved Accessibility: A curbless shower adheres to universal design principles, making it practical for aging-in-place homeowners. They enable an elderly or wheelchair-bound person easier access, yet have an elegant look that enhances any bath.

3. Maximize Your Space: You don’t need a big bathroom for a barrier-free shower. With a curbless option, the flooring in your bath continues right into the shower stall, with no lip or step required. Paired with a glass shower walls, you’ll notice a reduction or elimination of visual impediments, helping to make a small space seem larger than it is.

4. Cleaner Lines: Not all curbless showers are open. Some are contained behind a frameless, glass enclosure, which will give your bath a streamlined, open look, as well as an absolutely seamless sightline.

5. Less Visual Clutter: Glass door enclosures – or no enclosures at all – eliminate the need for a shower curtain, which can result in a less cluttered, closed-in look and feel. With no visual barrier, you can enjoy the outside views. And this modern touch will give your bath the ambience of a luxury spa or high-end hotel. 

6. Easy Cleaning: A totally flat floor surface means fewer nooks and crannies, which makes cleaning a curbless shower nearly effortless. No more scrubbing all those angles that are part of shower stall base; instead, one simple pass of a mop and the floor is clean.

7. Zero Tripping Hazard: Even a one-inch obstruction can be difficult for some people to navigate, so not having to step over a curb can literally be a lifesaver. And don’t buy into the myth that you can’t have a lot of water sources in an open shower. Your design team will show you how a wet room system (where you can waterproof the entire bathroom floor) lets you enjoy multiple shower heads.

Function and Form

If the words “curbless shower” have always brought to mind words like wheelchair, walker, handicapped, and old, it’s time to think again. While a barrier-free shower can be a need for some people, it’s so much more. A curbless shower can be a contemporary and stylish look for your bathroom remodel, all while providing a functional design that works for your family’s lifestyle.

At Cottage Industries, we design traditional and modern baths for Philadelphia and Main Line area homes that emphasize sleek, clean lines and include smart, modern trends – all while maintaining the integrity of your home’s architectural style. It’s true it can take a greater amount of planning to effectively pull off the installation of a curbless shower, but the right amount of careful preparation will result in a sleeker new bath you’ll enjoy for years to come.

When homeowners in Philadelphia or on the Main Line come to us about remodeling their kitchens, two of the top things they want to talk about are layout and countertops. A well-designed layout is, of course, necessary for the efficient use of your Philadelphia kitchen design, but it’s the countertops that people tend to notice first when they enter a room.

Many of our clients are families with active children and teenagers who already know they want to install kid-friendly counters for their kitchens. But while they want those counters to stand up to the wear and tear their children dish out, they’d also like a kitchen design that’s attractive and meets the needs of the adults. Solid surface and granite countertops are the often recommended choices for families with children. Even glass tops can be very durable. While laminates are less expensive, they will not necessarily stand up to the same level of wear and tear.

3 Things to Consider

Choosing the perfect countertop surface doesn’t need to be difficult. Think about these three things as you make your selection. While you may hear that you should take resale value into consideration, the ultimate goal should be creating a kitchen that works best for your family now.

• Lifestyle. How does your family live today? Do you cook most of your meals at home or is your kitchen more for entertaining? Do you want a place for the kids to do their homework? Think about the level of maintenance you want to take on – some counters require more than others.
• Budget. Though some countertop materials cost more than others in their raw form it’s often the labor that goes into the creation and installation that makes them more expensive. These includes edge details such as bullnose, or rounded corners, integrated drainboards cut into the stone. With concrete or solid surface, the options for creative design are wide open and though the material is cheap, the end result can be very expensive.
• Appearance. What overall look do you want for your kitchen? Today’s countertops come in various shades and colors. Do you want a monochromatic look to your kitchen, or do you want counters that pop? And do you want a kitchen that reflects that architectural style of the rest of the house, or are you comfortable going out on a creative limb?

Making a Surface Choice

There’s a wide range of countertop materials to choose from. We’ve summarized the most popular choices here.

• Solid Surfaces. Extremely durable and affordable, these countertops come in countless colors and may contain some natural stone, but they are artificially modified. Quartz is one of the most popular choices in this category. Materials like Corian are highly stain and scratch-resistant, as well as completely renewable and repairable.
• Ceramic Tile. While not as popular as it once was, ceramic tile is still an affordable option for many families. It’s typically applied to a plywood substrate or over existing laminates.
• Wood has become a very popular countertop choice. It’s affordable, durable and hygienic – a big factor for families with kids – and it’s perfect for chopping, slicing and dicing. It also instantly warms up your kitchen’s appearance.
• Natural Stone. The name says it all. These countertops are composed of raw, natural materials that get shaped and polished. They include granite, soapstone, slate and marble. They also tend to be your most expensive options.
• Concrete can be a very beautiful option and comes in a variety of surfaces and colors. Since cracking is often a concern, the counters are usually strengthened with rebar, wire mesh or fiberglass fibers.
• Plastic Laminate. Better known as Formica, this surface is less durable but more affordable. Composed of kraft paper and resins, general purpose laminate for countertops is typically sold in sheets and laid over a wood base.
• Glass. This option is gaining popularity and can create a striking look. It can be artistically done with patterns, colors, and even integrated lighting for a dramatic look.

Find the Perfect Fit

Can’t decide on just one surface? Don’t be afraid to mix and match. For example, marble probably isn’t exactly the best choice if you have active children – it stains and chips easily – but for people who love to bake, at least one marble surface is perfect for preparing pies and pastries.

At Cottage Industries, we’ll help you create the perfect Philadelphia kitchen design that accommodates your family’s needs. Schedule a conversation with us today to learn how.