Finding the Right Kitchen Size

You may have loved your kitchen when you moved into your home or you may have despised it from the first time you saw it. Either way, you’ve fallen out of love with your kitchen and it’s time for something new.

As you plan your new kitchen, it’s important to think about how much kitchen you need. You may want to knock down a few walls and double the current size, but is an extravagant kitchen really what your home needs? Read through these tips to select the right size for your new kitchen.

1. Price it right

A massive, $70,000 kitchen will certainly turn the neighbors green, but does it fit with your house and neighborhood? If you live in a $100,000 neighborhood, your remodel is not going to pay off in the end. If your remodel is cost-effective, but too big or too small for your home, it will likely discourage any potential buyers if you decide to sell. Choose a look that matches your home and neighborhood.

2. Don’t over-personalize

Adding personal touches, such as your favorite colors or wacky wallpaper, may be fun at first, but it can cost you when you sell. Buyers like houses they can see themselves in and your hot pink paint and zebra wallpaper can ruin this image. Choose a neutral decor you can enjoy without making it too personal.

3. Think of the future

Do you plan on moving in the next 5-15 years? The extent of your remodel should reflect your future plans. If you are going to move in the near future, avoid a complete overhaul and stick with a surface-level remodel. You don’t want to spend a lot of time and money on an extensive project only to move shortly after it’s completed.

4. Consider the rest of the home

How out-of-date is the rest of your home? It’s important to evaluate the relationship your kitchen has with the other rooms in the house. After all, you don’t want to put a brand new kitchen in an old, faded home. Instead, consider putting your efforts into refreshing the entire home.

5. Budget well

As much as you might want an expensive fridge or high-end oven, consider the effect such a purchase will have on the rest of the project. Instead of using the majority of your budget on one item, use it to update all of your kitchen with less expensive updates. Simplicity is often the best option. Balance what you need and what you want and look at the overall picture before making your purchases.

6. Be practical

As you plan your project, consider the practicality of each decision. Are your appliances in the ideal locations? Do you have enough counter space for your needs? An island is nice, but does it take up too much room? Consider every angle and enjoy a smoother project for it.

Do you have any questions about remodeling your kitchen?

Designing the Perfect Laundry Room

Although we tend to spend hours washing clothes every week, our laundry rooms often fall to the wayside when designing or remodeling. Tucked into empty corners or banished to the basement or garage, laundry rooms are usually designed for space instead of use.

There is no standard design for a laundry room, but you can get the most out of yours by asking yourself these easy questions.

1. What is your goal?

Are you planning to remodel your laundry room in its current space or are you going to move it to another part of your house? If you’re just planning to buy new appliances, repaint, and rearrange, your project will be relatively easy. If you want to restructure and change your room’s layout, there’s more to consider. Carefully evaluate the changes you want and the timing of your project. Ask for expert help to get the most out of your remodel for the lowest cost.

2. What will you use your laundry room for?

Depending on location and space, your laundry room can serve as a mudroom, storage space, dog washroom, and more. However you’re changing your laundry room, you want to make sure it will fit your needs. Save space for a hanging area, for your appliances, and for room to store clothes. More room is better than less.

3. How do you do laundry?

For some, laundry rooms are only used for washers and dryers. Dirty clothes are stored in other rooms and clean clothes are dumped on beds or sofas for folding. Others keep the entire process in the laundry room. Hampers, folding counters, drying stations, and ironing boards are kept and used in the same space. Your method will dictate the design of your laundry room. Are you in there enough to want a window? How do you want to position your appliances? Think carefully through all of your needs.

4. Do you want additional features?

Your laundry room can be as simple or fancy as you want. Do you want a sink for soaking/hand washing? Should you put a drain in the floor? Do you want a countertop for folding or do you want to splurge on an island? Adding a dog-washing station is a recent trend, but it might not fit your design or budget. Decide on your essentials and then see how much space and funding you have left for special features.

Do you have any tips for designing a laundry room? Share in the comments!

Good Design: Key To Any Bathroom Remodel

The bathroom is one of the two most popular areas of the home to be remodeled by  homeowners. It goes without saying that bathrooms, as well as kitchens, provide a high return for the investment. According to Remodeling Magazine, Cost vs. Value Report (2007), the average cost for a bathroom remodel in our area is about $14,445.00 for a mid-range project and $46,988.00 for an upscale project. The mid-range project will yield nearly an 80% return, while an upscale project will yield a 70% return on the investment. Although the returns are impressive numbers, this is not the motivation of homeowners desiring a bathroom remodel. The most popular reasons among homeowners to remodel their bathrooms are because the area is in need of maintenance, the desire to create more comfort and useable space, and the desire to use updated products and give the room a “facelift.”

So, where should you begin? A great place to start is the design. Your bathroom should be designed to meet your specific needs and desires. With our hectic and demanding lifestyles, the bathroom may have become a place for you to retreat to. This is one place in our home where we can be alone, so it is sensible to consider transforming this room into a soothing, rejuvenating, and practical place to offer some pleasure to your busy life.

We encounter beautiful bathrooms in magazines and on television; but what about the function of the bathroom? Think about the time you spend in your bathroom, and the way that you use it. Do you have adequate space? Do you utilize a bathtub or just a shower most of the time? Do you have enough cabinetry and counter space? The answers to these questions should be considered when contemplating the design. You can have both beauty and functionality all in one.

An important consideration that is often overlooked by designers and homeowners is an Aging-in-Place design.  If this is your first acquaintance with the term, I’m referring to the idea of designing your bathroom, (or any room), so it can meet your needs as you age in your home.  Most of us live independently now; but, normal age-related changes will occur as we age, which will possibly lead to difficulties in interacting with one’s home. These changes may include:

• Failing vision
• Osteoporosis
• Decreased strength or balance
• Decreased mobility

These are a few of the physical changes many of us will be faced with as we age. This is reality, and it is important to design your bathroom with such challenges in mind whether it is for today or for the future. It makes good sense to design a bathroom that can easily adapt to your specific needs as they arise.
To wait until the need arises will be costly and most likely very inconvenient. For example, I built a new home for a couple several years ago that were in their mid 50’s at the time. Unaware of some physical challenges that they would be faced with, the bathroom design for their home was a design like many that you would expect to see in a traditional family home. They didn’t take aging into consideration at the time. After a few years had passed, they contacted me to remodel their master bath. The husband had both knees replaced and the wife recently had shoulder surgery. They needed a bathroom that they could function in better, and negotiate safely.
So, whether you are approaching the age of dealing with physical challenges or not, all of us can benefit from easy living and good functional design. This is not an age discriminating idea. Some of the features to consider are:

• Applying ¾ “ plywood backing on all walls surrounding the shower, bath, water closet, and adjoining walls areas. This allows for the placement of grab bars at various heights and locations.
• Incorporating a bench in the shower.
• Zero threshold (curbless) showers to allow for easy entering and exiting.
• Varied countertops and cabinets to easily match the individual height of each person.
• Taller toilets.
• Easy access to the toilet. (I often find a toilet that is crammed into a little closet with a door that is smaller than 32”)
• 36” swinging doors at the entrance, or a 32” pocket door for easier navigating.
• Slip resistant flooring.
• Lights in the shower.
• Shower controls located for easy access without having to enter into the shower first.
• Adjustable handheld showerheads for ease of use and cleaning.
• Plenty of lighting.

It has been my experience that many homeowners focus their efforts on the styles, colors, and other finishes when it comes to remodeling their bathroom, and the practicality and functionally often gets overlooked. It is paying attention to the smallest of the design details that will have a huge impact on how much you enjoy your bathroom. A good bathroom remodel starts with a good design that is going to offer you value in a variety of ways both today and tomorrow.

To get started on your bathroom remodel, contact us at (407) 625-8286 or integrityremodeling@me.com.

Welcome the Outdoors In

Backyard pools, covered porches, and outdoor kitchens are great assets to any home and can provide hours of outside entertainment. Have you ever considered enjoying the outdoors from the inside of your home — a blending of the outside and inside? Architect Sarah Susanka, author of “The Not So Big House” says, “… a home does not stand separate from its surroundings.” Custom home designs carefully incorporate the transition between the interior and exterior through effective use of glass doors and windows. Unfortunately, this design detail is not commonly found in older homes. This does NOT mean you are prohibited from bringing the outdoors in if you have an older home. Through a well-designed alteration and the incorporation of creative door products, you can transform your home, creating flexibility of use, enhanced views, and larger open-air spaces.

There are many options to consider. A folding glass wall, pocketing sliding glass doors, patio doors, or a set of French doors can help you achieve your project goals. One option can be as easy as converting existing window space into operating doors. Selecting a good contractor and designer is your first step. These professionals will help you understand the construction pros and cons, cost considerations, and will help you decide on the best fit for your home.

A popular approach is the NanaWall, an engineered folding door system that will collapse to one end and provide a flexible use of space while inviting the outdoors in. The NanaWall can be used in many applications; 90-degree converging corners, curved walls, and straight walls. It provides a clean design and easily blends the outside and inside of your home. The NanaWall is Energy Star rated, which designates superior energy performance and high efficiency. Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors offers a similar folding door system, yet gives a little more variety in interior and exterior finishes.   

Pocketing sliding glass doors are commonly used, especially in new construction. Although they can achieve benefits similar to folding doors, Integrity Remodeling & Custom Homes prefers other systems to the aluminum frames and the wide guide track which has to be stepped over. Sliding French doors and hinged Patio doors are a great alternative to other systems. They can be assembled together in many different combinations to meet every need or desire. Pella windows and doors are our personal favorites if your budget does not allow for the NanaWall.

Like NanaWall and Jeld-Wen, Pella offers many different styles and colors. However, they also have other features such as blinds or shades between the panes of glass, retractable screens, and multi-point locking systems. These doors and windows are very energy efficient and boast very low solar heat gain coefficients. We can personally attest to the excellent customer service which accompanies these fine products.

Like any alteration to your home, Integrity Remodeling & Custom Homes encourages you to select your contractor and allow them to work with their own engineer or architect. We prefer to work with our engineer closely to determine the different options for the project and to provide any input that will help save job cost. We call this value engineering. There are many different ways to accomplish the same goals. We believe the person responsible for the construction should be involved from the very beginning. More often, the customer secures the architect or engineer, completes the drawings and then begins their search for the contractor. You will have a much more successful project if you select a builder who is knowledgeable in structures and engineering and has a good relationship with the professional responsible for the drawings. When starting your search for the right licensed contractor, look for one who specializes in structural alterations and has good references (be sure to call each one). The National Association of Homebuilders (https://www.nahb.org/) is a good source to begin your search for a local contractor.  

As we embrace the warmer season and the beauty which Mother Nature provides, it’s the perfect time to renovate your home and…Welcome the Outdoors In!