Renovation Ideas Blog

Bring Personality to Your Child’s Room

  

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There are so many design opportunities to choose from when you are preparing to design your child's bedroom.  You could decide to make the room subdued and soft, to help promote a sense of calmness, or you can implement bold, loud colors and patterns into the space to help unleash a bit of your child’s wild imagination.  It all comes down to choice.

Incorporating a theme into the room can add a sense of style and flair; their room can become a magical and whimsical wonderland, enabling them to retreat there when they need some alone time.  And unlike all of the other areas of your home, you don’t have to worry about your child’s room decor complimenting with all of the design choices inside of your living space.  There are no rules that need apply when it comes to these rooms and the design of the rest of your home.

One example could be that your daughter may want a haven filled with elegance, softness, and frills to help bring about her interpretation of all things girly. 

When creating a room of this nature, try using crystal chandeliers, silver sheer curtains, warm cream colors as trim, pale pastels for accessory colors, and that touch of gold to add a perfect finish to the room.  You can tie the look of the room together by using the bedding as the focal point.

In terms of color and accessories, remember to keep proportion in mind, taking into account the room size and layout.  As you try to determine how to accessorize the room, you should be sure not to flood the space with enormous pieces.  They may dwarf the the room, making it feel jammed with furniture.  Sometimes built-in units can be the answer to this conundrum, as they don’t crowd a room but still offer plenty of storage space.

One Room, Two Beds

You don’t necessarily need to have twins to have a bedroom with two beds.  If room size allows, a current trend for single children is to have two beds inside of their bedroom.  Matching bed sets are perfect for adding color and contrast into a room, and can accommodate the sleepover of a best friend easily. 

Floral patterns and plaid fabrics are perfect for little girls.  They are lively, fun and chic, and play well against each other.  You can have one bed made with one side of the comforter revealed, while the other bed can be made with the contrasting color or pattern.  This brings color and quirkiness into one simplified space.  Not only can this be aesthetically appealing, but it also helps provide the sense of uniqueness into the room. 

Again take color and accessories into account with room size and layout.  You will want to tie the look together, but also be sure to have pieces that are functional.  And don’t think that because it’s functional, you won’t be able to find pieces that fit all of your needs.  There are many stylish designs, which are also practical and can help to complete the look of a room. 

Your little one deserves a bedroom that says something about who they are and what they like, while also being versatile.  This is exactly what we can offer you.

Remodeling Ideas to Transform Your Master Bath

  

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You can help change the look of your current master bathroom through remodeling.  If you decide to remodel your bathroom, you will want to use your imagination.  Choose some of your favorite colors and then determine just how far you want to go.  Just by changing the paint or tiles in the bathroom will help create an entirely new ambience in the room.  Creativity and imagination are key to tackling any remodeling job, regardless of the size of your bathroom.n help change the look of your current master bathroom through remodeling.  If you decide to remodel your bathroom, you will want to use your imagination.  Choose some of your favorite colors and then determine just how far you want to go.  Just by changing the paint or tiles in the bathroom will help create an entirely new ambience in the room.  Creativity and imagination are key to tackling any remodeling job, regardless of the size of your bathroom.

If you decide that you want a dramatic makeover, try gutting the room and starting with an entirely new set of fixtures.  Just remember: before you begin the project, you will want to have specific goals in mind with regard to what you are replacing and what you are repairing.  

Themes for Your Bathroom

It is imperative that you choose a theme for your bathroom to help guide you through the process of choosing the fixtures, colors and window dressings for the room.   For example, if you decide you want a Victorian bathroom, you could end up replacing your fixtures with period-inspired pieces. 

Drama was part of the effect in the Victorian era, and by using different rich deep colors, each room felt important.  Many Victorian bathrooms featured traditional earth tones, in deeper hues of red, amber, emerald, and dark brown.  Some other Victorian-inspired choices may include using replicated wallpaper from the era, such as large floral prints or walls covered in Venetian plaster, a technique popular during that era. 

Claw-foot tubs were another essential feature to any Victorian bathroom.  These tubs can be refurbished or bought with modern amenities, including a detachable, handheld showerhead.  Sinks were sometimes framed in carved mahogany cabinetry, adding to the rich style, and floors were either finished in hardwood or featured imported marble tiles. 

A Splash of Color in Your Bathroom

Choosing a color can depend on the type of design you want for your bathroom.  Carefully contemplate paint, wallpaper, trim, and tiles that reflect your desired theme.  If you have a desire for a beachy theme, choosing blues, greens and browns will help bring the look together.  Accents and tiles in similarly colored glass can offer the feel of weathered sea glass and water. 

For those desiring a rustic look, earth tones may be the answer you seek.  One thing to remember, no matter what color and theme you go with: to make your walls look larger than they really are, use lighter colors.  Choose the darker colors as accents, in your rugs, shower curtain, and towels.

Size

Before you order any new enclosures, cabinets, bathtubs or toilets, you will want to take a measurement of your space.  Get the measurements of the items you want to purchase to make sure they are going to fit in the space you have available.  Even for just a new coat of paint or adding wallpaper to the walls, making sure you have calculated the accurate square footage of the room carefully is imperative.

Lighting

If you are able to afford it, adding a skylight in your bathroom will help add light and style.  Not only will it help transform the feel of your bathroom, but also your electric bills may be reduced as a result.  By simply changing the lighting fixtures in your master bathroom, you can help accentuate the theme.  

Transforming the Look of Your Kitchen

  

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For those who are bored with the look of their kitchen, it may be time for a makeover.  As time progresses, many realize their old kitchens cannot accommodate their changing lifestyles and growing families.  Even though it may seem like a challenge to remodel your kitchen, you have to think about the functionality of it all upon project completion. 

Develop a plan of action.  One of the critical components to a remodel is to develop a plan.  You need to detailed and workable plan, so that way you can let the contractor know what you would like done.  Not only will you be able to pinpoint specific areas you want addressed, but it will also keep you on track of any changes being completed once the project is underway.

Look for ideas concerning the remodel.  It can be hard to come up with ideas of how you want your kitchen arranged and decorated.  Hunt for remodeling ideas that will keep you current on all the trends in the remodeling world today.  You will be able to find ideas in a number of locations online and in magazines.

Search through various kitchen items and accessories before you make the final purchase decision.  Finding out what’s available on the market is important.  It will also help you determine what the final cost will be, so you can see if it fits into your budget or not.  Comparing prices and items from one store to the next is critical.  You never know what store is going to have a better price on the items you want.

If you are unsure of what exactly you are searching for, take the time to visit some home stores.  You will find displays to help give you an idea what a particular kitchen looks like.  Once you have an idea what you want, it is simple enough to start incorporating your ideas into your home.  Understanding the functionality and benefits of a specific layout is important for ensuring you maximize your space.  Visiting home stores allows you to see some of the trendy designs in kitchens today.

Since your kitchen is one of the most important areas of your home, you want to make sure you get exactly what you desire.  Remodel your kitchen to make it your haven for cooking up fabulous meals.  The whole purpose of a remodel is not only to make the area gorgeous, but also to make it more functional.  For any questions about remodeling your kitchen, we are happy to address them and get you on the path to a new kitchen in no time.

Attic Insulation

  

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If you are looking for ways to reduce your energy bills, you are going to want to make sure that your attic is properly insulated.  The attic is normally one of the easiest locations to insulate, especially if you feel comfortable tackling the product.  There is one caveat: you need to know what type of insulation already exists inside of your home in order to make sure that you are not disturbing anything that could be dangerous.  If you need to remove older insulation, you may need assistance from someone who is capable of handling it properly, to prevent any health-related problems or other issues that may arise.

Insulation Techniques for Your Attic

Typically, you should install insulation that is loose fitting within your attic.  Even though the cost of insulation will vary, you will generally save a lot of money using the loose-fitting insulation over its counterparts.  When you install everything correctly, you should get a lot more coverage for a lot less money.

Before you begin the installation process, you should make sure that you have a few things in place.

• Check that there aren’t any leaks; that the attic is completely sealed.  Insulation is not going to prevent the air from coming in, so this needs to be addressed beforehand.

  • If there are any holes that need to be filled, you should use caulking to provide as much of a barrier as possible.  You can also use expanding foam to help fill in any of the larger gaps that are in the attic.

• Make sure that your insulation will not be blocking any of your vents, thus prohibiting ventilation.

• Make sure there are no stains or markings on the ceiling.  This could indicate a lack of ventilation and more damage down the road for you.

Peace of Mind Comes in Raising Your Home

  

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For many homeowners, you probably never think a storm is going to hit your home with such a magnitude that it will leave you without all of the necessities you have grown accustomed to.  In the wake of Sandy, many homeowners ended up with flooding that caused them to lose a number of their possessions.  Items that cannot be replaced are now gone because of the water that filled their homes.  When it comes to preventing as much damage as possible, raising your home may be just the answer you are looking for. 

As its name would suggests, a raised foundation is a foundation where the main floor of a home or business is raised above the plane of the surrounding earth.   Along with a concrete slab foundation, the raised foundation accounts for most of the foundation options used for homes in the industrialized world.  And indeed, raised foundations do offer some benefits.

While there are many things can be used to raise the foundation above the ground, concrete blocks or poured concrete forms are often the most used methods.  Usually around the outside area of the home, the edges of the support are either made of concrete, brick, or some other solid material.  After the underpinnings are put into place, the next step is to bridge them with another material, usually wood.

It is the opinion of many who say that the aesthetics of a raised home are far superior to that of slab homes.  In a neighborhood of simple slab homes, a home with a raised foundation may stands out because it may be a little taller than the homes around it.  Still, when it comes down to aesthetics, this is more of a personal preference than an absolute.

There are some true advantages to homes with a raised foundation. For example, there is less of a need for grading and leveling if a home has such a foundation.  Also, in a flood-prone area, there is some additional protection against flooding.

Regardless of whether your home lies along the shoreline or in town, you will reap the benefits that come from raising your home.  Not only will you have the peace of mind you need in knowing that your belongings are safe, but you won’t have to live in fear that your home could flood at any moment. 

If your home is raised, it can help provide a level of clearance that you would not otherwise have.  Your raised home will be more safe and secure than a home built on a slab.  Even though you may not be able to prevent a storm from making landfall, you can feel a bit more assured and protected when the event does occur. 

Hiring the Right Contractor Part 1

  

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Hiring the right contractor can be easy if you follow some simple steps and have a understanding of how contracting works. I suggest reviewing the information at Remodeling Boot Camp.

We will start with how contracting works: In a nut shell a contractor is asked to provide a proposal for a scope of work. Sometimes they are given architectural drawings and sometimes the client explains what they want done. Regardless, the contractor must obtain from the owner "a scope of work" in order to put pricing together. Unfortunately this is where mistakes can be made because of different interpretations between the architect, client and the contractors. This is why you can get five prices from different contractors and end up with five different prices. Now don't get me wrong, the price fluctuation is not solely based on interpretation but its a big part of it. We will get into some of the other reasons why the prices can be different a little later.

I first want to tell you how to minimize interpretation errors. The best way to make sure you are giving the same scope of work to each contractor is to outline it on paper and give each contractor a copy. If you have architectural drawings to hand out, provide a supplementary list of clarifications. Trust me when I tell you the plans may not contain enough information to combat contractor interpretation errors. Also request that each contractor outline the scope of work that they have included in their proposal. One last very important thing is to ask the contractor to include anti-change order clause in their proposal. What I mean by this is that many contractors will purposely leave out items in their proposal which lowers their bid and contract price only to hit the client up with change orders during the project. When this happens, you lose control of your budget and in many cases you end up spending more than the highest bid you received.

Ok - now to some of the other reasons your proposals come in at different prices: contractor cost of doing business may be different then others, cheap vs. skilled labor, inferior vs. quality workmanship, poor vs. good business skills, insurance vs. no insurance, etc, etc, etc. Keep in mind that a professional company will have insurance, skilled labor, quality workmanship, an office staff to support the field operations, etc. so most pricing provided by professional companies will be in the same ballpark. If there are price variations with professional companies you can consider, expierence, communication skills, references, photos, professionalism, response time to your emails or calls, etc.

Stone Creek Builders -- www.stonecreekbldrs.com provides clients with professional building and remodeling services.

Having the right mindset when remodeling your home is the key to success

  

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Having the right mindset when remodeling your home is important to your health and the success of the project. Managing the stress associated with remodeling is crucial. Many people expierience different emotions during the remodeling process. From the fear of the purchase, the distruption of daily routine, delayed schedules, dust, permit delays etc are just a few of what can upset you. The main thing you have to remember is that the construction process is inherently very slow, unpredictable and difficult to control. When things happen it doesnt mean that your contractor is dropping the ball or that the process is broken it just means you are expierencing some of the problems associated with remodeling or building a home. As a contractor we deal with those types of problems on every project, every day so we have been conditioned to expect issues. The key is that you and your contractor work together as a team to work through the issues and have open lines of communication and understanding at all times.    

Understanding and having clear expectations is the best way to combat the remodleing blues. In the end as long as you work as a team with your remodeling contractor your project will be successful and enjoyed by you and youe family for years.  Stone Creek Builders http://www.stonecreekbldrs.com/ uses a web based software system called http://www.co-construct.com/ to help manage communication and scheduling delays. The great thing about co-construct is that both the builder and the client has access so no one is in the dark.

We would love to hear from any people who remodeled there home and beet the remodeling blues. Share your expierences with us @ http://stonecreekbldrs.web3.hubspot.com/share-your-story/

Kitchen Remodeling & Kitchen Additions

  

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When deciding to embark on a kitchen remodeling project  one of the most important things to do is select the cabinets. There are so many different manufacturers, so many different styles and so many different colors.  The best way to narrow down the search is to look through magazines and books to decide what style suits you the best. Is it contemporary, traditional, wood, painted wood, laminate or are you interested in green remodeling and green materials. For example Stone Creek Builders www.stonecreekbldrs.com is a dealer of Apple Valley Cabinets which has three lines of cabinets: Custom, Cortland and Custom Laminate. All of which appeal to a certain style and offer a variety of colors, finishes and green materials.

Once you have narrowed down your selections to a style you can focus on the color and finish of your cabinets. Typically we work on the design while our clients are doing there cabinet selection homework. Once the first design is completed we sit down and discuss layout, functionality, options and pricing. If there are any requested changes we make those changes using 20/20 Design software and then prepare a final design and proposal which includes and remodeling and installation work that will be completed along with the purchase of the cabinets. Stone Creek Builders offers our clients professional design and installation services for kitchens, bathrooms and additions.