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Maximizing a whole home is a big job. To determine your best renovation strategy, you need to consider how long you are planning to live there. Is it possible that you will sell next year? Or is this the home you will grow old in? The answers to these questions are some of the big determinants that will affect all factors of your renovations.

Looking to Renovate your Whole Home to Sell?

Keep in mind that rarely does a renovation return 100% of the money invested—unless the homeowners do the work themselves or higher a cheap contractor whose work will not last. Our advice is that if you want to re-sell, focus on cosmetics like carpet, paint, lawn, and cleanliness! If you want to include new kitchens and baths you may be throwing money down the drain. Don’t limit your marketability by choosing new bold colors, personal tastes, and unique styling—keep it neutral.

Looking to Stay?

If your plan is to live in this home for many years, say five to ten, then a good investment is well worth it because you will be getting your investment’s value back through use and enjoyment. Don’t worry as much about over improving your neighborhood. Worry about renovating in a way that will be comfortable for you for the years to come. Perhaps your kids are growing up, your in-laws are moving in, or you or your spouse has medical issues. These are all things to take into consideration. If your plan is to stay, then here are some valuable tips.

Don’t Forget the Exterior

If you’re making the inside beautiful, don’t forget the outside! Many neglect to include exterior updates like roofing, siding, paint and windows. These make a huge difference in increasing the curb appeal of your home.

Planning Is Key

When construction will be taking over a major portion of your home, planning is an absolute must. It’s important to plan all of the phases of the construction, including electrical, roofing, heating, scheduling, staging, and living arrangements. Once you’ve planned everything out—stick to it—changing your mind mid construction is costly and time consuming.

To Move Out or Stay and Bear It

This difficult decision hinges on a couple of factors; money vs. comfort. If all of the rooms in the house are being remodeled, moving out may be your best option. If moving out is not an option, then the construction team can possibly stage the project to make sure they stay out of your way as much as possible, though the construction process may take longer. Be prepared to be uncomfortable.

Choose Your Contractor Wisely

We can’t emphasize enough how important it is to choose a contractor with experience in whole house remodeling. You don’t want an inexperienced contractor that’s going to learn on the job or one that does not know how to finish in a timely way. The contractor you choose will literally be living with you for quite some time, so be sure that they have a track record for cleanliness and respect for those living in the house. Details like dust protection, contractor porta-pots and drop cloths to protect areas are signs of professional care.

Work From a Schedule

Ensure that your contractor provides a schedule and looks at it weekly.  A little slip here and there can add up to weeks and months in a whole house remodel.

Aging In Place If you’re planning for this to be your home for the rest of your lives, then plan for an aging in place whole house renovation. We work with designers that specialize in aging in place. Some of the main alterations focus on cabinet and light switch heights, curbless shower stalls or walk-in tubs, ramps, elevators, and crafting layouts where wheelchairs can turn around. For those who may require more close care, building a suite for a health aid may be a good idea.

A comfortable whole house renovation is possible when you plan accordingly and hire the right professionals to design and build. Interested in learning more? Contact us!

What A Difference!

Before the Porch

Whether you’re planning on changing the façade of your home to sell or stay, the look of the façade can make a major difference. If you’re planning on selling your home, remember that curb appeal sells. Changing the façade can be the best return on investment—especially if it’s relatively inexpensive. If you’re staying, nothing says home like an inviting look from the first drive up! Whatever you decide to do, here are tips on top ways to beautify your façade.

Inexpensive changes to the façade

The most inexpensive façade change you could make is a fresh coat of paint. Make sure you’re not painting over rotten wood or cracked stucco—it’s imperative that you make all of the necessary repairs first! Other inexpensive changes include adding a walkway, modest landscaping changes, or new shutters.

Don’t forget the roof

A roof can visually make up a large portion of what you see from the street. It’s no wonder how much the façade of a home is diminished by old, discolored, and curling shingles. An ugly roof can really drag down your home’s curb appeal. A new roof is not only a functional winner, but a visual one as well.

One of the most cost effective and visually pleasing roofs is asphalt dimensional shingles. The more expensive, but beautiful roofs include terracotta tile, real or faux slate, metal roofs, and wood.

Cedar Wood Shingle Roof

Faux Slate Roof

Changing it up

Though more expensive than a coat of paint, sometimes new or different siding, stucco, or stone is what your home needs.

New Stone Facade On Garage

Removed Aluminum Siding and Painted

Adding on

Sometimes more drastic changes are called for, like an inviting portico, covered porch, or decorative shutters.

New Portico, Shutters, and Dormers

New Porch, Pent Roof, Garage Doors

Lighting up

Nothing looks more elegant in the evening than well-designed landscape lighting. Lighting a big oak tree, highlighting the flagstone walkway. Just some subtle wash of light on the front of the house can turn a standard home into something spectacular!

Hardscaping

Dress up the front with a nice brick paver walkway, stone garden walls, or new driveway to replace the crumbling pavement will really make things look more polished.

New Walk and Driveway

New Stone Steps, Railing, and Roof

As you can see there are many ways to enhance your home’s value through curb appeal. If you’re interested in seeing more façade transformations, take a look at some of our other projects! If you’re interested in seeing what elegant façade changes can do for your home and your community, contact us.

Are you planning to add to your kitchen and looking for examples of kitchen addition plans online? Before you go any further, back up a bit and decide if you need to reconsider your addition strategy. Here’s some must read information that will ensure that you make the best decision in this new investment.

First decide, do I really need a kitchen addition?

You don’t necessarily need to add square footage to create a more open kitchen floor plan. Sometimes all you need to do is move a wall, eliminate a closet, or change the kitchen flow to get the room you need for an expanded kitchen.  Sometimes the introduction of natural light by adding window and skylights will make the space seem larger without an addition. Even changing colors from dark to light and adding good lighting will make your space feel larger. Decide if these options are doable in your situation—it may save you lots of time and money.

Do you need an architect or a designer?

So you decide that you need an addition and your first thought is that you need to contract an architect. You may need an architect if you’re planning on adding a large addition, or a complicated one, like if it has lots of structural changes or difficult roof interactions. If your addition is small and simple, a good and experienced designer may be just fine.

There are different types of designers with different expertise. The benefit of a good kitchen designer is that, unlike architects who really only design the kitchen basics, kitchen designers do best with the details. Kitchen designers are familiar with the flow of a great workspace, all of the latest gadgets, and storage add-ons for the cabinetry. An interior designer might not be as familiar with the cabinet parts and accessories, but can help you with the colors, fixtures, furnishings, tile, and even the furniture. If you can find someone who’s great at both, you’re ahead of the game!

Whether you need an architect, a kitchen designer, an interior designer, or an engineer, we strongly recommend that you connect with them. Reputation is important, but if you can’t see eye to eye, there might be misunderstandings that will cause frustrations down the road. If this seems like too much effort to figure out who is best suited to design your space, consider design-build. Good design-builders have a network of architects, designers, and engineers to choose from and they can help you choose the best fit!

Going Small?

Sometimes a small “bump-out” addition can make all of the difference. If you push a wall out a couple of feet, you could have all the space you need to turn your galley kitchen into an eat-in kitchen. A small addition can also be a great way to add an entry with cubbies for shoes, book bags, and coats, or just create a better workflow. The best part is that while you’re making a major impact to a small space, you’ll also be saving money over building a large addition.

Or Go Big!

If you’re thinking about adding a completely new room to house your dream kitchen, then be sure your design team has architectural experience. The benefit of going big is that even though it costs more overall, it is more cost-effective per square foot. Adding a big addition can save significantly per square foot over a small addition.

While You’re At It…

If you have it in the budget, take advantage of the economies of scale that will be available if you choose to do more square feet. For example, adding a second floor master suite above the new kitchen is less expensive per square foot because you are already building a foundation and a roof, so you don’t need to repeat those costs when adding the second floor.

We hope this information helped you have a better picture of your kitchen addition plan. If you have other questions or need more details, contact us! We’re happy to help.

Kitchen remodeling is not something to be taken lightly. There are many pieces to the puzzle that need to come together in a harmonious fashion. With proper planning and foresight, your kitchen remodel can be a fun experience and the results might be the envy of your friends and neighbors. Without it, possibly the end of your marriage! Ok, maybe that’s too dramatic, but here are a few tips that are sure to keep your relationship in good standing.

1. Plan Your Kitchen Remodeling Well in Advance

We’ve noticed that customers can take from one to six months to plan for their kitchen remodel.  Of course, this depends on how busy they are and how involved they are in the process. But the results of the work will be something you live with for years. Don’t short-change yourself in the planning process.

Decide early if you want to handle designing everything yourself or if you want to hire a professional that can do it for you. Our advice is the latter. Designing a kitchen involves more than knowing where the cooking triangle should be. It requires knowledge about cabinets, appliances, fixtures, tile, colors, textures, as well as cooking functionality.

Will you be Baking? Grilling? Entertaining? Will you want an open floor plan? Will walls need to be moved? Are there structural considerations? These questions and many more need to be answered during the planning stage.

2. Use Exceptional Professionals

You might hear this and think “that sounds expensive” but would you choose a surgeon based on price or based on qualifications? I thought so. The higher the caliber of professionals planning and executing your kitchen remodel will make the experience a more pleasant one and may save money by giving you a better kitchen with fewer problems.

Designer

A good designer will save you time and aggravation by preventing mistakes in the construction stage. There are many facets to the design that could require more than one talented person. For instance, a kitchen designer may do a wonderful job with cabinet layout and appliance selection, but will they help you choose tile, countertops, paint colors, and window treatments? You might need an interior designer for that.

If you plan on moving walls, structural elements, or adding square footage you might need an architect or an engineer. Be sure to understand the limitations and talents of each person on your design team.

Contractor

Obviously, an experienced contractor is a must-have. Not only should your contractor know how to do quality work, but they should have a track record of performing on time and budget. Are they going to be respectful of your family and  their living spaces? Will they follow through to 100% completion? Get references and call every one of them. Don’t settle for a 2 minute conversation or a 3 sentence email, get into it!

Design Build

We are a bit biased here, but we feel design/build is the way to go. Not only can we bring the varied design expertise needed on your job, but you will have the added input of experienced trades people involved in the design as well. It’s not as if your kitchen is being designed by a committee.

Far from that, we get input from all players who will express concerns and ideas related to their field. For example, where to move the ductwork so it does not affect the heating and cooling balance in the rest of the house. Another example is a carpenter’s input as to whether you need extra effort on fixing the ceiling so you get a perfect line where it meets the cabinet crown molding.

These little details, when planned properly make the difference between a kitchen remodel that’s just ok versus one that’s spectacular.

3. Get a Written Work Schedule

This seems obvious, but few contractors use written schedules and fewer share them with the customer. A work schedule with payments tied to it is an absolute must. The schedule makes sure everyone is on track and addresses problems before they become unmanageable.

Check it weekly with your contractor to be sure you are on the same page. A little slip here and there can add weeks to a project and before you know it, your eating Thanksgiving dinner at KFC. The payments should be tied to the schedule to keep everyone accountable every step of the way.

4. Order Cabinet and Fixtures Early

Once they have been chosen, be sure you or your contractor orders them early. Cabinets and fixtures can take from four to eight weeks to arrive and longer if you’re having custom cabinetry made or purchasing uncommon fixtures. Some contractors like to have everything on-site before starting the work. This is a trade off and might be worth the added time it takes to your new kitchen; discuss this with your contractor.

5. Find Examples You Love

Saving pictures of kitchens that you love will make creating your ideal kitchen design much easier, both for you and your designer. You can find great ideas on Houzz.com or a variety of other web sites. While you’re at it, check out our work on our Houzz profile.

6. Do you need a temporary kitchen?

Setting one up can make your life easier. Unless you want to get take out every day, you’ll find that a temporary kitchen might well be worth the time and money. A temporary kitchen can be as simple as gathering all of your necessary appliances in one place to make simple meals with non-perishable items. Because you might not have access to your kitchen sink, plan to do the dishes in another sink or a bathtub—or stick to disposables. Find more ideas for temporary kitchens here!

7. Have a Pre-construction Meeting

In our 25 years, we have realized that this is one of the most vital steps to beginning a remodel. And it makes sense when you consider that most customer complaints with construction companies are not about the product, but the construction process—like  communication issues, disrespectful behavior, or making a mess of the customer’s home.

The contractor should already have the pre-construction plan ready. Things like the dumpster and porta-pot location, home access procedures, allergies, schedules, payments, and many other topics are very important to make sure both you and the construction team see eye to eye and that you avoid unpleasant surprises down the road. The customer experience has to be a main focus, and a professional and experienced contractor will make sure you are comfortable during the process.

8. Be Kind to Your Workmen

A little kindness can go a long way. Providing donuts and a pot of coffee in the morning, a soda or a cold glass of water on a hot day makes a worker want to work harder and provide better results. Be kind and, the construction team will want to go the extra mile for you and your family, guaranteed.

9. Stay on Track—Write a Punch List

A punch list is a list of things that are either finished, but for whatever reason, need to be fixed or simply got overlooked at the end of a project. When punch lists are not organized, a couple of minor tasks can turn into a nightmare. Walk through the remodel at the end of the project with your contractor and he/she should create and manage the list of all the items that need attention.

These can include things like burned out light bulbs, crooked door handles, paint on a window pane, etc…. Your contractor should walk through the project with you, take notes, and then give you a written punch list and a written schedule for the completion of those tasks.

A kitchen remodel can quickly turn into a nightmare. Avoid a disaster and work with exceptional professionals that can anticipate problems and save you time and aggravation! Contact Us.