Tips For Remodeling When Selling Your Home
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November 17, 2018

Tips For Remodeling When Selling Your Home

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When selling a home you’ve had for a while, there are often a lot of things that should be updated. It can be really exciting having your home remodeled! Even if you won’t be living there much longer, the feeling of indulgence in having part of your home updated can leave you wanting to make it what you’ve always dreamed of. Unfortunately, what you’ve always dreamed of might not be what most people dream of.

Updating an old home or remodeling to make it flashier can come with some pitfalls and it’s important to know what you’re doing. Here are some things you should keep in mind when determining your remodeling needs!

Focus on Necessities First

Before you worry about design changes, the first thing you should do is ensure that everything in the house is functioning at its best. Hire a professional plumber and electrician to give the house a once over. The approval from professionals will aid in selling the house and make it more attractive to home-buyers.

If your windows are drafty or if your air system has a funny smell, put the money toward fixing them! It’s really the little things that add up and can cost you a buyer or get you low-price offers. A nice looking interior won’t make up for inconveniences that bring down quality of life.

Keep Colors Neutral

When picking the colors for both the interior and exterior of your house, it can be tempting to settle on your favorites. Be careful with that! If your favorites are saturated or unpopular, it might be an eyesore to potential buyers. It’s best to choose neutral colors that aren’t very saturated. The different low-saturation colors will give the house some color without hurting people’s eyes. Light colors also make rooms feel bigger and will maximize the perceived space being sold.

Light blues, tans, and browns are great, neutral choices for a home. The blue gives the impression of air-flow and water while browns feel warmer and offset the coldness of the blue.

Keep The Layout Open

When remodeling, work with your contractors to find out how you can open up tight spaces. No one likes feeling cramped in by unnecessary walls. Each main room should feel open and connected in a way that makes the house come together as one space.

Many houses built in the last century have small kitchens that are closed off from the living or dining room. Consult with your contractor about whether dividing walls can be removed for a more spacious area.

If your bathroom is cramped and doesn’t use its space efficiently, work with your contractor to determine if it can be rearranged to have more floor space. Bathrooms are such an integral part of a living space that it might even be worth expanding one into less important spaces that share the wall.

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Uncommon Design Choices That Deserve More Attention
Blog
November 17, 2018

Uncommon Design Choices That Deserve More Attention

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In the design world, there are a number of things considered rules of design. You might have heard a few of them. Maybe you’ve heard how you should always keep the ceiling white to make a room feel more open. For the same reason, people usually use light colors in small rooms. For every rule, however, there’s a contradicting design choice that can be done in just the right way that it works! Let’s see some of those unusual choices and why they work.

Black Paint

Black paint is the nightmare of interior designers everywhere. Not only is it dark and seen as a menace to spaciousness, it’s also hard to cover up once applied. But guess what – black paint has its place. In places like bedrooms, black paint can make a really breathtaking focus wall.

White paint might make things feel bigger, but the drawback is that you can see shadows on it. Painting the wall across from a door black will trick your perception into thinking the room is deeper. It also provides a great contrast to furniture colors and make any colors in the room stand out something wonderful.

Not only can black paint be used for focus walls, it can be used for accents like trim as well. Painting your trim or doors black will give your house a youthful and energetic appearance. This type of accent isn’t right for everyone, but some might find it’s just the eccentric touch they’re looking for.

Stair Storage

Using under the stairs for storage has always been popular, but our methods have evolved. Once upon a time, a closet was the standard. The downside to that is that it’s just too easy to shove everything into a closet and forget about it. Let’s not even think about trying to pull it all out and organize! A closet under the stairs is a magnet for junk.

Lucky for us, the tiny house movement has popularized alternatives to putting a closet under the stairs! If you haven’t heard of tiny homes, they’re homes that are usually around 30 square meters. A lot of them are on a trailer base and are really narrow. The size of these homes has made it important for their owners to utilize every space as efficiently as possible. That’s inspired a lot of great uses for the space under their stairs.

One such use is each stair having a small drawer in it. That’s one of the less convenient options, so for those of us with a bigger house, we wouldn’t want the hassle. However, turning the space under the stairs into a shelving unit or set of drawers is a fantastic use of space! It gives us a lot of storage space that, when divided up, makes it easier to organize. The size of your drawers and shelves is completely determined by what’s most convenient to you. And if you don’t feel like looking at shelving all the time, you can even have the shelves covered and turned into small cupboards.

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General Contracting
August 30, 2018

What’s a Typical Day Like for a General Contracting Company?

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You already know why you want to hire a general contractor. But what’s it like from the general contractor’s point of view? Here’s an insider view on what a work day is like for them:

 

Double-check permits are secured

This would’ve been taken care of long before work begins at the job site, but it’s better to be on the safe side and double-check anyway. After all, no work can be done without the proper permits in hand.

 

Discuss any last-minute changes with homeowner

Ideally, the renovation plans are final by this point. However, changes can happen and this is where the general contractor can discuss with the homeowner on how the new changes will impact the rest of the renovation project.

 

Inspect job site for safety hazards

If the project can proceed on schedule that day, the general contractor will do a safety check around the job site. This ranges from keeping all work paths clear of obstacles to designating a first aid station or person.

 

Post project schedule for everyone to refer to

It’s a quick but crucial task that keeps everyone on the same page about what needs to be done in the long run. The posted project schedule would be kept up-to-date with any new changes.

 

Confirm materials are sufficient and stored safely

Just like the permits, this would’ve been done before the start of the renovation work. It’s important to not only make sure there’s enough material ordered for the whole project, but also that they are stored in a safe location.

 

Set up renovation waste disposal system

It’s amazing how much waste is generated during renovation! A proper disposal system helps maintain an organized job site and clean-up afterwards.

 

Review work plans for the day with sub-trades

Although everyone can see the posted project schedule, checking in with them individually puts the work that needs to be done that day into sharp focus.

 

Oversee renovation work and find solutions to issues that come up

With the day’s work ahead of them, the general contractor and sub-trades will collaborate to stay on task throughout the day.

 

Ensure job site is tidy at the end of the day

After a hard day’s work, it’s time to clean up the job site. This is all to make sure debris are cleared off while tools and materials are locked up or removed off-site.

 

Summarize renovation progress to homeowner and notify of any changes to project scope

Before calling it a day, the general contractor may also have a quick chat with the homeowner about how the project is going and whether any issues that came up will alter the project scope.

 

Now you know – that’s how general contractors do what they do!

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Full Service Remodeling General Contracting
August 24, 2018

Don’t Fall Into These 6 House Remodeling Traps!

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While the opportunity to remodel your home is definitely exciting, it pays to look before you jump. That’s because there are some expensive traps you don’t want to get caught in:

 

Stretching your budget to the limit

The future is unpredictable and the only way you can factor in what can go wrong is by setting aside a cushion to help you weather the storm. So when you come up with your budget, it’s vital that you leave room for a contingency fund.

 

Skipping detailed quotes from contractors

When it comes to big-ticket items like remodeling your home, there’s no such thing as too much information. You need as much information as you can get to make informed decisions that will net you the renovation results you want. So don’t be afraid to ask contractors to break down their quotes line by line.

 

Paving over existing architectural details

Remodeling a house doesn’t mean demolishing everything old to make way for the new. Take a step back to look at the existing architectural details of your home and point out the ones you find attractive. This approach helps you preserve some of the original charm of the house and its architectural style as you complement them with your personal touch.

 

Overlooking your day-to-day lifestyle

Whether it’s the appliances or construction materials you choose, make sure every decision is made with your day-to-day lifestyle in mind. Will this choice fit with how you like to live each day? If it does affect your daily habits, will it be a positive change?

 

Sticking with the same layout

Dare to be creative! Renovation is so much more than just updating everything – you can completely transform the layout if you want! If something about the old layout bugged you all the time, just design the problems away. Many of the most impressive interior design layouts are often conceptualized through this problem-solving method.

 

Prioritizing style over function

Appearance isn’t everything and that’s especially crucial to remember during remodeling projects. Placing a greater emphasis on function means you’ll get a design that’s actually practical. When you’ve gotten the practicalities in order, you can then move on to making them beautiful.

 

Once you’ve taken the time to find a way around these traps, you’re well on your way to a successful house remodeling!

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Kitchen Renovations
July 31, 2018

How to Design Your Kitchen for Safety

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If you were asked what you’d like to see in your dream kitchen, you’d probably have a bunch of ideas ready to share. Safety, however, may not be the first thing on the list. It is important though so here are some design ideas to help you start thinking about safety right from the beginning:

 

Sturdy and reliable fuel sources

Get regular professional inspections of all connections from the gas line to the electrical wiring. This is to ensure that there are no gas leakages and that the electrical sockets are all up to code.

 

Clear and efficient workflow

Take some time to carefully design your kitchen layout so that the traffic between each element is direct and hazard-free. Neglecting the kitchen workflow design is one of the common kitchen renovation mistakes to avoid.

 

Rounded and slip-resistant finishes

This is all about eliminating slippery surfaces and sharp edges. So besides getting the ideal flooring type for the kitchen, choose rugged or textured surface finishes that make it slip-resistant. You’ll also want to make sure the countertop has rounded edges and corners to minimize harm when bumping into them.

 

Bright and even lighting

You definitely want the kitchen to be well-lit with multiple sources of lighting so that there aren’t dim spots anywhere around your stove and food preparation areas. In an environment where there are plenty of hot and sharp objects, a bright kitchen can easily prevent the risk of careless injuries resulting from poor lighting.

 

Fire and smoke safety

Again, professional inspection is regularly needed for safety devices like fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. It’s essential that you ensure the inspections are up-to-date. If you want an extra level of safety, consult with the inspectors on whether an emergency sprinkler system above your range is right for you.

As for the fire extinguisher, find an obvious and safe location to store it. Keep in mind though that you should never use the fire extinguisher on grease fires – these kinds of fires are best put out by baking soda. It’s a good idea to keep a bucket of baking soda next to your fire extinguisher (so that you don’t grab the wrong thing in case of a grease fire).

 

With the kitchen being one of the busiest rooms of the house, it makes sense that it’s designed for safety as well as functionality.

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Bathroom Renovations
July 22, 2018

Don’t Want a Boring Bathroom? 9 Ways to Add Personality to the Bathroom

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Even though you have all the right bathroom features to boost your home value, there’s more to do if you want your bathroom to pop with personality. To avoid a boring bathroom, here are 9 areas you can put some pizazz into:

 

The Floor

The ideal flooring for your bathroom consists of water-resistant stone/ceramic tiles or vinyl. After pinpointing the material you need, you can play around with shapes, patterns, and colours to give the unique personality you’re looking for.

 

The Wall

Tiled walls offer the best waterproof protection to your bathroom. They also give you a lot of character-boosting opportunities for the room in terms of tile layouts. And if you’re not a fan of the tiled look, you can always paint the bathroom walls in a colour that suits your style. Then, top it all off with some architectural details as well like wainscoting and shiplap.

 

The Fixtures

Don’t settle for the standard pop-in fixtures! Take the time to source unique claw-foot bathtubs or high-tech toilets, depending on the theme of your bathroom.

 

The Lights

A bathroom needs a combination of bright lighting around the vanity mirror for makeup convenience as well as dimmable lighting throughout for ambience. So as long as you have those requirements down, the sky is the limit on the style of light fixtures you get. You can choose from luxurious chandeliers to contemporary pendant lights.

 

The Storage

It’s always a good idea to add extra storage in the bathroom. Try doing that with style by converting vintage dressers into beautiful vanities are putting in a custom cabinet for a personal touch.

 

The Seating

Seating is often neglected in bathrooms so yours will definitely stand out if you think of that. You can simply place an eye-catching chair or stool in a corner. Or better yet, create your own built-in bench!

 

The Mirror

You’re guaranteed to spend time in front of the mirror every day so why not make it look inviting? Be sure to frame the mirror or include a border around it in your wall design.

 

The Hardware

There’s a subtle way to add personality and that’s to just swap out the hardware with ones you fancy. Consider what you can do with changing up the vanity drawer handles, the towel rods, and even the toilet paper holder.

 

The Décor

As the clincher, get creative with small things like chic dispenser bottles, bathmats, and plants or artwork that can handle bathroom humidity.

 

For a room where you start and end your day with, it deserves a little more personality!

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General Contracting Painting Services
June 30, 2018

5 Bright Ideas to Bring More Light to Your Home

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Being in a dark room can weigh down on you after a while. Thankfully, there are quite a few ways you can brighten a room. Some of these ideas are similar to those of making a small space feel bigger. That makes sense because a brighter room eliminates shadows that encroach on the perceived size of a room.

 

Let’s take a look at these five bright ideas:

 

Natural light

The first step is to make sure you’re getting as much natural light as possible in the room. Expand existing windows or add in new large ones, especially on the south-facing side. If you cover them with window treatments, make sure they’re made with translucent fabrics. Don’t forget that you can also install skylights or solar tubes to maximize incoming daylight.

Most importantly, always clear away obstacles that will hinder sunlight from passing through the windows. That includes regularly cleaning the windows as well as trimming any trees that throw shade on the windows of a room you want more light in.

 

Light colours

Make sure you keep everything light-coloured when you finish and paint the room. The room will instantly brighten up if it has white ceilings and pale flooring. If you really want darker shades of a certain colour, do your best to relegate them to small areas like accents and trims.

 

Diffused lights

Always try to diffuse the lighting around the room. Put in multiple sources of lighting, whether it’s with lamps or wall sconces. It also helps when the light bulbs don’t emit harsh, white lights. Focus on getting bulbs with soft and warm lighting that’s diffused upwards by lamp shades.

 

Reflected light

Mounting a few mirrors throughout the room will bounce the light around and magnify the room’s brightness level. Take care though when you select the frames for wall-mounted mirrors that they’re not too dark in colour. For an additional reflected light effect, get fixtures and accessories with metallic finishes.

 

Minimalistic décor

Keep only the furniture and decorations that serve a useful or specific design function for the room. Move anything else that doesn’t fit that criteria to a different room where darkness isn’t an issue.

The colours of the chosen items should also be light – you can probably start recognizing a trend here! That goes for everything from furniture frames and upholstery to the artwork and knickknacks. To display the knickknacks, put up wall-mounted open shelving. They’re minimalistic and eliminate the need for an extra cabinet.

 

So you see, a perpetually dark room doesn’t have to be a lost cause!

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Basement Renovations
June 28, 2018

You’ll Never Need to Go Out When Your Basement Is The Party Hotspot

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Walk into any bar and you’ll find three basic elements that draw people in: drinks, counter, and music. What if you can replicate that in your own home and never have to go bar-hopping again?

 

Here are the three essentials to turn your basement into the party hotspot:

 

Drinks

Every bar out there knows that if you want to get a party started, the drinks have to keep flowing. To get started on your own bar, first think about the kind of drinks you and your friends enjoy.

Are you all wine connoisseurs? You’ll need a wine cooler to keep all the bottles at the perfect temperature. Better yet, consider partitioning a dedicated wine cellar room behind or next to the bar counter.

Is beer where it’s at for everyone? Keep a mini-fridge stocked full of beer or go as far as to install some of your favourite beers on tap. If you’re into crafting your own beer, you may even want to set aside your own room for that in the basement.

Or perhaps cocktails and martinis are your drinks of choice? In that case, you’ll want to build an impressive liquor display shelving behind the bar. You should also put in an icemaker as well as a mini-fridge to chill your drink garnishes.

By starting with your drink sources first, you’ll lay down a much more practical basement bar setup that you can design around. This takes us to the aesthetics of the bar counter itself.

 

Counter

The counter is often the centrepiece of most bars as that’s where the party fuel is kept. This is why they spend a tremendous amount of effort into designing their bar counter to be attractive.

For a more traditional or refined feel, use natural materials like wood and stone with polished finishes. If you want your bar counter to have a hip vibe, use engineered materials like quartz or porcelain. Another trendy bar counter material is backlit onyx.

 

Music

Now, let’s get the music pumping! Besides hooking up a thumping surround sound system though, make sure you insulate the basement with quality acoustic panels. Your household members and neighbours will thank you for that if your parties go late into the night.

Next, build a stage at one end of the room and a dance floor right in front of it. If you like to jam with your friends, this is where it can happen. It’s also the stage where you can DJ your own mixes or host a karaoke night. Finally, for the finishing touch, wire the main lights and party lights to dimmers so that you can adjust with ease to create the dance mood you want.

 

And that’s how you have a good time!

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Painting Services
May 31, 2018

5 Colour Palettes That Will Always Look Good In Any Room

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There are millions of dizzying colour combinations and it can be overwhelming to decide how you want your home interior to be painted. It also depends on whether you want the colours to serve a particular function like visually enlarging a space or even controlling your appetite.

 

If you don’t already have a specific colour palette in mind, here are five timeless palettes that will always look good in any room:

 

Grey with black and/or white

Let’s start with the safest colours first and those will always be the neutral colours. What’s brilliant about playing around with a base of neutral colours is that any colourful items you add will instantly pop out. The power of neutral colours lies in their versatility for any décor.

 

Blue and grey

Still sticking with a safe grey as one of the colours, blue and grey is another great palette to have in the house. There’s a touch more colour to it, but it’s subtle – especially if you use a paler blue – because blue is a one of the non-neutral colours with the closest undertones to grey. Blue and grey is a solid colour palette to anchor any room with as that combination is inspired by mountainous landscapes.

 

Blue and white

This is a brighter version of another safe colour palette. It’s reminiscent of the serenity of quiet seas and clear skies. It also brings back a sense of classic as you’re reminded of the simple beauty of the first porcelain designs in the world. The calm of blue and the purity of white is a tranquil pairing indeed.

 

Orange and blue

Now let’s get adventurous! We’ll keep the blue since it’s so often the favourite colour for most people. When you add in a splash of orange though, it creates a vibrant look that still somehow feels balanced. The balance comes from the fact that orange and blue are complementary colours across the colour wheel.

 

Orange, yellow, and cream

Another safe bet is often combining a bunch of warm colours together or vice versa for cool colours. The orange-yellow-cream palette is a fantastic example of mixing warm colours together. Harnessing the optimistic shades of the sun, this palette will brighten up any room with its cheerful tones.

 

Start with these colour palettes and change them up as your tastes evolve over the years!

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Kitchen Renovations
May 23, 2018

Spice Up the Kitchen With Island Styles Like These

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You’ll be hard-pressed to find a modern house still with a dining room these days. The kitchen has now been expanded to serve the function of both the source and destination of meals. That makes the kitchen island all the more important to accommodate this trend.

 

Making sure the island fits your kitchen layout and needs is crucial to avoid making kitchen renovation mistakes. To make your kitchen stand out, here are some island styles you may want to consider:

 

L-Shaped or U-Shaped

Whether you go with an L-shaped or U-shaped island depends on your kitchen size. What’s attractive about these islands is that they give you more versatile layout options. That way, you can divide your kitchen island into different food preparation stations if your style of cooking involves many stages.

Another benefit of these islands is that you get to really max out your kitchen storage space. And don’t think that you’re only allowed to put in shelves or cabinets on the stove side either. Take advantage of the other side for display shelves as well as for cookbooks or good dishes.

 

Curved

This is a unique island style if you frequently like to entertain guests as you cook them dinner throughout the evening. The curved countertop gives everyone ample room to sit around the island and chat with you.

A curved island also helps to soften the look of the kitchen that’s often full of straight edges and sharp corners. It heightens the visual appeal by drawing the eyes to follow along its rare graceful curves. In short, this is the kind of island to have if you want it to be the centrepiece in the kitchen.

 

Bar-Style

Speaking of guests sitting around the kitchen island, elevate part of it for guests to hang out on bar stools. They can then sit comfortably at eye-level to you while you’re standing. A bar-style island is popular because it makes a meal more casual than a sit-down affair.

 

Banquette Add-On

On the other hand, if you and your friends like to sit around a table for dinner, consider extending your island out into a banquette. The great thing about this style is that it makes your kitchen look more cohesive as the work area of the island flows naturally into the dining area, all wrapped in the same finish.

 

A well-designed island makes a huge difference at dinner parties and in everyday life.

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