Home Remodeling Blog
February 2008
The Archives
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02.27.08Green Works for Remodeling, Too
Green Remodeling (0)by Susan Thurston St. Petersburg Times After earning a reputation as the office recycling queen, Nicole Kibert decided it was time to make an even stronger statement. She would build a home using as many environmentally friendly practices as her budget would allow. Kibert, 31, started construction on her "green" house last March after several months of planning. In November, she and her dog moved in. A lawyer, Kibert isn't shy about proselyting the merits of her two-story house . in Tampa. In fact, that's the whole idea. Get people thinking about ways to make their homes more gentle on the Earth. Kibert didn't keep ...
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02.26.08Home Trend: Flooring That’s Renewable
Flooring (0)by Janna Farley Argus Leader When Ann Burns was making decisions about her recent home remodeling project, she based many of her choices on the environment. "We started by replacing our inefficient furnace and air conditioner with a more efficient heat pump," she says. "And we replaced all the light bulbs in the house with the new energy-efficient bulbs." A casual visitor to Burns' home on the east side of Sioux Falls probably won't realize that. They will, however, notice the new bamboo flooring. "I really liked the look of the hand-scraped bamboo," she says. "I liked the uneven texture and the variation in color." But ...
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02.25.08Testing Shows Insulated Siding Reduces Energy Use and Saves Money
Siding (0)PRWeb Americans will spend an average of 10% more on heating their homes this winter, according to an October 2007 report from the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association (NEADA). Third-party research demostrates that Insulated siding with Fullback Technology™ (http://www.chooseinsulatedsiding.com/) helps consumers reduce heating costs by up to 20% with the highest insulation rating (wall system R-value*) of any exterior cladding product on the market -- 3.96. With an average system R-value* of 3.96, more than triple that of the next most energy-efficient (http://www.chooseinsulatedsiding.com/greenLiving.aspx) exterior cladding, insulated siding significantly reduces heat and cooling loss (http://www.chooseinsulatedsiding.com/energyEfficient.aspx), while improving home value and curb appeal ...
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02.22.08A Garage Home Office in Four Easy Steps
Garage Remodeling (0)Eighty-two percent of homes have a two- or more-car garage, yet only 15 percent of people park their cars in them, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Could there be a better use for yours? One trend that is becoming popular is the garage home office. Many employers now offer work-from-home days, which is appealing to most people until they realize that they are unable to concentrate or have privacy during the workday. Raising the roof and adding a room for workspace above your existing garage can be a good solution to balancing time at home with earning ...
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02.20.08Refeathering the Empty Nest
Bedroom Remodeling (0)by Ralph Gardner Jr. New York Times WHEN Maeve McGilloway, homesick last September after three weeks at college, decided to visit her family in Sea Cliff, N.Y., her mother, Jane, told her she had some surprises. Maeve’s older sister was pregnant. Her younger sister had made all-state in field hockey. And Mrs. McGilloway said she had “changed the house a little,” according to her daughter. “She kind of guided me upstairs like a little child,” said Maeve, now a 19-year-old sophomore at Middlebury College in Vermont. “I just looked at my bedroom and froze.” The room where she’d spent the first 18 years of ...
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02.20.08New Decks: What to Expect
Decks and Porches (0)So you are having a deck builder out to build a new deck. This can be both an exciting and frightening time because on one hand you will have a new deck, more outdoor living space, more entertaining space, while on the other hand the layout of your yard and house will also change. It scares many of us to see a dramatic change in our daily lives, but rest assured your new deck will not only be a great addition this year, but it will also continue to give for many years to come. There are some things you might ...
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02.19.08Some Senior-Friendly Home Makeover Ideas
Uncategorized (0)Lake County (Illinois) News-Sun Dear Savvy Senior: My husband and I (both in our 60s) are interested in remodeling some areas of our home to make it more senior-friendly, but we're not sure what to do or who to call for help. Any suggestions? -- Home Bound Bobbie Dear Bobbie: How to make a home safer and easier to live in as you age has become a common question today, as most older Americans want to live out their lives in their own home. Here are some resources that can help. Getting started There are literally dozens of different things you can do to ...
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02.19.08A Trend for All Seasons: Sunrooms Are Hot Year-Round
Sunrooms/Solariums (0)Erin Crawford Des Moines Register Bill and Barbara Unger decided to add a sunroom shortly after moving into their Johnston, Iowa, home. They paged through a few books and found the sort of room they wanted: lots of windows and a vaulted ceiling. The finished sunroom is all windows on three sides, with a decorative Palladian window at the back. The room is attached to the house, connecting at the dining room. From the exterior, the siding and windows are the same. The airy feel gets extra lift from the high-rise ceiling, which is covered in pine planks. Extra light streams in from skylights. "We ...
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02.15.08Designers Highlight Hot Kitchen Trends at IBS
Kitchen Remodeling (0)Teresa O'Dea Hein Multi-Housing News Orlando, Fla.--With kitchens more open to other living spaces, there is a trend to darker, richer wood tones for cabinetry, reported Connie Edwards, CKD, CBD, and director of design for Timberlake Cabinetry, during a seminar here at Orlando's Orange County Convention Center in Orlando as part of the multi-faceted 64th annual International Builders Show (IBS), sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders. "Maple is still far and away the most popular wood species for kitchen cabinets, while oak continues to decline and cherry gives oak a run for its money," Edwards told the nearly 200 attendees at ...
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02.15.08Out with the 80s, In with the New: Pink and Ornate Transformed into Sleek and Modern
Uncategorized (0)Janet Eastman Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES - When Ron and Deborah Rader first saw the pink stucco house with the glass-block walls, they were hit by a 1980s flashback. Rounded walls, whitewashed oak cabinets, blue neon illuminating the pueblo-style fireplace - might as well pop a Cyndi Lauper cassette in the Walkman and go for a jog. The four-story Playa del Rey house was a relic of the Reagan era, a place where design exuberance went unchecked. The entry's black-and-gold granite stairs had a glass railing wrapped in wood. Oversized corridors led to rooms painted in "Miami Vice" colors. All that was ...
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02.13.08Make Your Home Stand Out for Under $10,000
Uncategorized (1)Ellen James Martin The Ledger.com Your home has been up for sale for longer than you'd like. You and your agent are sure the price is right for the market. You've done all the basic fix-ups -- like purging clutter, pruning bushes and repairing leaky faucets. Prospects come through week after week. Yet still your place doesn't sell. You're stumped on what to do next. One plausible idea is to pull $10,000 or less out of your savings account to make your place a stand-out in the eyes of would-be purchasers -- what real estate agents call a "cream puff." This is a ...
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02.13.08Top 10 Hints for High-End and Budget Kitchen Remodeling
Kitchen Counters, Kitchen Countertops, Kitchen Remodeling (1)Planning to remodel your kitchen? Bruce Partridge, renovations manager at Stephen Thomas Homes in Richmond, recommends Ed Crews' strategy of assembling a folder with photos of décor that you like. The folder will help you discuss your desires and expectations with remodelers, decorators and salespeople. Here are Partridge's top 10 kitchen remodeling tips: -Plan on spending 5 percent to 10 percent of the value of your home on your kitchen makeover. Kitchens are huge selling points. -Ask family, friends or coworkers for recommendations before hiring a contractor or consult The National Association of Home Builders Remodelers Council online (http://www.nahb.org/). Check qualifications to ensure ...
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02.12.08Plan a Room Your Child Won’t Outgrow
Bedroom Remodeling (0)Elaine Martin Petrowski This Old House Kids' rooms have to fulfill some unique requirements. Besides being a place to sleep, they must provide space to play, study and store a mountain of clothes, toys and all other kinds of kid stuff. All this in what often is the smallest room in the house. Kids' rooms also get a lot of rough treatment. And if you choose the wrong furnishings, the kids could outgrow their rooms long before you are ready for the next remodel. In addition to gathering a variety of inspired products that make creating the ultimate kid's room child's play, we spoke ...
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02.11.08Making Home the Hangout
Basement Remodeling (0)Karen Tanner Allen Washington Post When her daughter started high school, Susan Jaquet took a hard look at the basement of her American University Park house. "I always wanted to have a house where our kids and their friends would hang out," she said. Her daughter had deemed the family room too public for entertaining, so Jaquet converted part of the basement into a small living area, with big comfortable sofas, a big-screen TV and a refrigerator stocked with Gatorade and soft drinks. Despite the effort, her daughter, now 21, didn't spend much time in the new basement. But her teenage son and his friends ...
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02.08.08Laminate Flooring Could Solve Problems
Flooring (0)Kathy van Mullekom The Ledger.com High-traffic and play areas in your home are best maintained when the flooring is a slick-style surface that's quick to mop. If vinyl is not your style, you may want to consider laminates that give you the look of wood without the wear over time. What is laminate? It's a photograph of wood embedded in composite panels, according to the North American Laminate Flooring Association. Laminate comes in no-nail, snap-together and floating-floor options. The surfaces are generally stain- and dent-resistant. No waxing or refinishing is needed, which is a bonus in kitchen and bath areas. When you consider ...
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02.08.08A Shot of Color
Kitchen Remodeling, Painting (0)Kitchen Sync Blog (http://kitchensync.typepad.com/my_weblog/) So I was thinking here, in the midst of typical West Coast rain and fog, how depressing gray is. At least for me; I prefer sunshine, thanks. There are others who find rain and fog quite lovely, which made me think about how color affects us, which in turn led to the thoughts of painting and what to blog today. (Scary how the mind works.) One of the easiest and least expensive ways to bring life to a room is paint color. (Hiring a professional painter is also less expensive than, well, my moss Italian leather couch. *cough*) Seriously ...
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02.07.08How to Purchase the Best Marble Tiles for Your Home
Stone and Tile (0)In constructing homes, offices and other structures, there are several different types of natural stone that are utilized in creating wonderful pieces of indoor and outdoor applications. Marble is one natural stone that historically has been noted for its durability and elegance. The applications for marble varies, and could be used for flooring, countertops, wall covering, fireplaces and exterior facades. While it is a common notion for people to characterize any polished stone finish as "marble", there is a strong possibility that they are looking at a different type of stone, because marble is not suitable for certain applications. How Marble ...
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02.06.08Create the Perfect Flooring Plan
Flooring (1)Tracy Pulley The Tennessean When Jamie Beckwith started planning the decor for her home in Franklin, Tenn., she knew it needed to complement the house's old-world characteristics. When it came to flooring, she chose materials that showed their handmade origins. From the wide planks of hand-hewn distressed walnut in the living room to the tumbled travertine in the foyer, Beckwith's floors reflect not only her home's personality but also an ever-growing trend in homebuilding toward high-end natural materials that are low maintenance with minimal environmental impact. "Everybody is going to a handcrafted look, getting away from flat flooring," says Dan Antes, owner of Nashville, ...
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