Home Remodeling Blog
November 2008
The Archives
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11.18.08Want More Space in Your Home? Look Below
Basement Remodeling (0)Melanie Ave STLtoday.com Mary Stroble didn't really like venturing into her home's old basement. Walking down a stairway at the rear of the Sunset Hills home, between the main floor's kitchen and family room, she would run right into a wall when she got to the lower level. If she turned right, she would find a door. If she turned left, she found a second door. It was like the stairway to nowhere. The two doors led to dark spaces. The generic off-white walls offered zero personality and warmth. "Before,'' said her husband, Matt, "it was your typical down and dirty basement.'' Today the three-bedroom, ...
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11.17.08Modern Kitchens and Bathrooms: Tips on Accenting with Light
Bathroom Remodeling, Kitchen Remodeling (0)Turning your bathroom or kitchen into a modern masterpiece requires attention to several very important areas of design - and lighting is a big one. The right lighting can add sparkle to an otherwise ordinary kitchen or bathroom design and help draw focus and attention to modern faucets, fixtures, kitchen or bathroom accessories and other areas you'd like to showcase. When establishing your kitchen or bathroom design, there are many new options available that mimic the same interesting, clean lines of your new fixtures. Some things to keep in mind are: -- Cool colors and modern decor can be made more dramatic ...
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11.14.08Combat Winter’s Gray With Colorful Interiors
Painting, Stone and Tile (0)When the weather turns colder and you spend time indoors, you can still keep upbeat by introducing vibrant colors to your home's interior. Many scientific studies have established links between colors and moods. Blue is generally regarded as peaceful and calming. Red is associated with energy and action. Green symbolizes nature and can create a refreshing, rejuvenating feeling. "More and more homeowners are opting to use bold colors as they renovate or redecorate," says Jim Rocchetta, vice president of marketing for nationwide home-improvement contracting network Handyman Connection. "Whether they have their own ideas or get advice from a certified handyman, homeowners have ...
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11.10.08‘Green Building’ Gives Reusable Materials New Life
Green Remodeling (0)Staci Matlock The New Mexican Solid oak flooring, carved pine doors, handmade ceramic lighting fixtures, flagstone and plumbing pipe. What one builder or home renovator doesn't need becomes another's treasures at places like Habitat Restore and Rio's Salvage in Santa Fe. And seasoned wood recovered from old barns and cabins is prized for new home construction. Recycling useable old materials or excess building materials is an important aspect of "green" building. New "green building" standards are increasingly giving higher marks to builders who reuse existing materials or reduce waste at construction sites. Santa Fe's new proposed green building code and the Leadership ...
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11.07.08Fine Living: Pros and Cons of Custom vs. Pre-Fab Cabinets
kitchen cabinets (0)P.J. Bremier Marin Independent Journal Custom or prefabricated kitchen cabinets? That's the question that's stumping a Mill Valley home-owner who's planning and budgeting for an upcoming kitchen remodel. His architect is steering him toward custom cabinets on the premise that prefab cabinets compromise the quality and craftsmanship and, possibly, the overall value of the house itself. The kitchen in his turn-of-the-century Mill Valley home has a fairly standard configuration for the cabinets, and the bid for the cabinets, with glass doors on the upper cabinets, comes in at about $32,000 including the finishing. In a recent Fine Living column, he read about Robert Nebolon, ...
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11.05.08Basement Remodel: Pay Attention to Details to Avoid Problems Once the Project Is Completed
Basement Remodeling (0)Alan Zibel Associated Press When it comes to remodeling your basement, the era of 1970s-style wood paneling and thick shag carpeting is over. These days, basement designers want to make your cellar look as polished as the rest of the house. The only limits are your budget and the amount of space downstairs. Trendy transformations include home theaters, workout rooms, walk-in closets, bars, pool rooms, wine cellars and guest suites. But before you spend tens of thousands of dollars on fixing up your basement, think twice about what you're actually likely to use, says David Schrock, a Chicago-area basement remodeling expert who sells a ...
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11.04.08Home Libraries: Paneling, Bookshelves Can Turn Den Into Refuge
Uncategorized (0)A home library is to the brain what a kitchen is to the body. It’s a place for nourishing the mind, for feasting on the comfort food of the written word. For an avid reader, it is perhaps the ultimate escape. It has also become an attractive feature to home buyers. In a 2007-2008 survey by the National Association of Home Builders, 13 percent of potential or recent buyers described a library or den as essential in a new home, and another 50 percent called it desirable. A comfort zoneHome builder Fred Zumpano thinks he knows why. In tough times, "I think there’s ...
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11.03.08Green Improvements Can Add to a Home’s Appeal
Green Remodeling (0)Lew Sichelman United Features Syndicate Reporting from Washington — There is no question that green has captured the imagination, if not the pocketbooks, of new-home buyers. But that raises a question: What can sellers of existing homes do to compete with builders for the hearts and minds of potential green-leaning customers? As it turns out, the answer is: plenty. It's just a matter of how much money you want to spend. You can turn your place into at least a pale shade of green for, say, no more than $500. Or you can go all-out by spending thousands. Obviously, you won't be able to ...
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