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Masterful Master Bedroom Suite Makeovers

Tue, 01 May 2012 14:55:56 -0700

With homeowners adapting to changes in the way we live today—not back when the homes were built—master bedroom suite makeovers have become a valuable renovation. Even one or two decades ago, lifestyles were different, and our homes reflected different priorities. Kitchens have evolved from just being functional into larger common areas that accommodate more activity and gathering. Family rooms that used to be relegated to the basement are now central to the home. Master bedrooms are expanding from a room to a haven within the home.

Master bedroom suites encompass a spacious bedroom area—sometimes with a sitting area or nook—along with a thoughtfully planned closet and bathroom.

As more people are bringing their aging parents into their homes, the need for more expansive living spaces has prompted homeowners to remodel in order to incorporate a master bedroom suite. Often, the suite will be occupied by the elder, providing this new resident with some much-needed privacy and space. When that person needs assisted living or passes away, the homeowners utilize the master bedroom suite for themselves.

If you’re contemplating a master bedroom suite makeover in your home, start by thinking how you’re going to use this space. Do you want a sitting area or work area? Can you forego some bedroom space to allow for a larger bathroom or closet? Do you want more of a spa experience in your bathroom than traditional functions? Do you want increase the amount of natural light? Define the goals you want to achieve so that your remodeler can effectively design the solutions.

By listening to our clients, and developing a clear understanding for their habits and lifestyle, we can develop custom solutions that optimize spaces for a particular family's needs. Just as each of us are unique, no two projects are the same.

We worked with a couple who had different morning schedules. He was a very early riser, but she wasn’t. A simple solution was to put his closet in a separate room so that he didn’t disturb her when he was getting dressed in the morning.

Another couple knew they didn’t want to have cramped quarters in the bathroom—like watching each other brush their teeth—so we designed a double-sided vanity and installed it in the center of the bathroom, rather than up against a wall.

Another couple presented a challenging problem. He snored (loudly). She was a light sleeper. We designed a suite with two separate bedrooms, with lots of sound insulation, joined by a shared bath. A small sunporch was accessible off the master bath, where they could share a contemplative moment and a cup of coffee.

Because the master bedroom suite is about comfort, a lot of emphasis is placed on the bathrooms. We’ve moved from treating bathrooms like a basic necessity to creating a spa environment for relaxing and pampering. Whirlpool tubs and steam showers, more creative lighting, and stylistic sink, wall and floor treatments add the extra accent on luxury that homeowners are seeking.

But style doesn’t preclude safety. If a senior citizen is going to be occupying the suite, we can integrate safety features into the bathroom, like grab bars and roll-in showers that can accommodate stools, or have flip down seats.

Finally, closets are getting bigger, better, and so much more fun! With a vast array of options for closet organization—shelves, drawers, baskets, and multiple rods—we can build a walk-in closet with optimum functionality. For example, in a bedroom suite that featured vaulted ceilings, we used every inch of height in the closet, maximizing storage spaces with multi-level rods and room on top to store items that just needed to be tucked away, like suitcases.

Your bedroom doesn’t just have to be a place to sleep or get dressed. Treat yourself to a luxury hotel experience without leaving home, and create a place that is “home suite home.”

When Bad Additions Happen to Good Homes

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:40:00 -0700

Additions can add real value to a home, both in terms of the extra space afforded to the occupants and the increased resale value. Except when the addition goes terribly wrong!

Here are some of the top problems with additions, and six tips for ensuring that a bad addition doesn't happen to your home.

The Patchwork Quilt. This is the home that has undergone a series of additions patched on to the home without thought to aesthetics, function, or even smart construction.

The Patchwork Quilt often represents short-sightedness by a homeowner who responds to short-term needs by adding a little more room to a home rather than taking the time to forecast long-range needs, such as a growing family, incoming aging parents, launching a business that requires a home office, and other life changes that could necessitate more space.

A Clark Construction client purchased a Patchwork Quilt that had strangely modified a historic home. We had to undo the bad additions before remodeling the home to the higher standard it deserved.

The Toupee. When a homeowner partners with a contractor who doesn’t understand design, an addition can come up short in the looks department. They don’t create an addition that flows seamlessly in the style of the existing home. It’s like a really bad toupee that is so obvious to everyone but the wearer; the roof on the addition doesn’t match the rest of the roof (color, material, pitch). Or the overall look of the new space is out of proportion to the original architecture or done in a style that is completely out of synch (e.g., contemporary on a Colonial).

The Shortcut. This addition is often not recognizable immediately. It’s a case where the contractor has cut corners in materials and craftsmanship, creating a shoddy result.
For example, the foundation wasn’t done with quality materials and will eventually crack, settle, or shift. Or the roof materials or the craftsmanship could be inferior, leaving the homeowner with an equally poor (and wet) outcome.

Quite often, correcting mistakes to additions are more costly than simply tearing them down and starting over.

The Disappearing Contractor. This case happens far too frequently. A contractor under-estimates the cost of the project in a desperate bid (literally) to secure the job.
If the homeowner won’t come up with more money to fund the project, the contractor walks away from the project and the addition sits there, incomplete, while the homeowner feels cheated (and rightfully so) by an unethical contractor.

To avoid having a bad addition happen to your good home, here are six tips to help you carefully screen the companies you’re considering for the remodeling project:

Research and interview reputable design/build companies. Review their portfolios and note their skill at designing a range of projects, attention to detail, and level of experience. Have they done hundreds of projects or just a few? Experience matters!

Ask about their design tools. Do they have 3D capabilities so you can get a clear picture for how your addition will look?

Check references from their past clients for whom they have constructed additions. You need a firm that understands the intricacies of this type of design and construction.

Visit the homes they’ve remodeled, as well as projects that are under construction. In this way, you can see how they work. Does the crew work efficiently? Are they professional, knowledgeable, and respectful of the property? Is the jobsite neat? Note the materials and determine if they are using the quality you expect.

Discuss your expectations in terms of budget and timing. Work out a budget range that you are comfortable with, right from the start, before the design process begins. Ask for clear guidelines as to what will affect the price. Make sure that the contractor makes it a practice to take his tradespeople to the site so that no extras are overlooked that could have been avoided by doing proper investigative work up front.

Choose a company with a reputation for completing their work on time. Ask about the systems they have in place that ensure timely progress.

Your home is probably the largest investment you will ever make. Protect it by using only a strong and reputable company when building an addition so you don’t compromise the quality, comfort, and value or your home.

Could Your Great Room be Greater?

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 08:36:00 -0700

Sometimes, a home’s great room might not be living up to its name. Yes, it’s large in scale, but is it providing the comfort and function you want? Maybe it’s time rethink your great room, and focus on how to make it even greater.

A great room is usually a multi-functional space, combining a family room and living room, with maybe even some dining and study options. It’s often connected to the kitchen, to make access to food quick and easy.

As your home’s “Jack-of-all-trades”, the great room can become an undefined repository of everything that doesn’t already have its own place. You have a conversation and television viewing area, a nook for reading, and maybe a play space for the kids. But does it just feel like you’ve filled the space without stepping back and thinking objectively how this big area functions—or should?

Many clients come to us with a similar complaint, “My house just isn’t working for me.” Before we can deliver the right solution, we try to zoom in on the source of the problem and it’s usually because we’re living by the 21^st century culture in a 20^th century (or earlier) home.

We use our home spaces differently now than when they were built decades ago. Cooking, dining, entertainment, and play look very different now. The rumpus room of the 50s has become a high-tech entertainment space. And the small kitchens that were built into older homes have been expanded to allow for more appliances, gadgetry, and more involved culinary exploits. Homeowners are looking for more open floor plans so the interior layout of an older home might really not be a good fit. But it could be!

We usually start a remodel by looking at the space to see how it flows. It’s important to be clear about the uses you want for this room. Do you need distinct areas, like a place to read or study? Will you be entertaining often? Does your family congregate in the great room for game night, tv viewing, hobbies, or casual dining? What are some of the common complaints about the room (e.g., it’s too dark, too open, too cluttered, too far from the fridge)?

Next, don’t feel confined to the current layout of your great room. Walls can be built or knocked down to create the space you need. If your kitchen is closed off from the great room, open it up. A pass-through or island can connect these two important spaces, so that whoever is cooking up something in the kitchen can feel like part of the activity happening in the great room.

Half walls with columns can provide division without closing off a part of the room, and they add a beautiful accent. Turn a plain doorway into an archway or add corbels for an interesting accent. You can also reduce clutter by adding storage spaces to the room, like built-in bookcases and cabinets. Incorporate wall niches or other dimensional wall alterations to bring more shape to the room, instead of entirely flat walls.

Many great rooms feature a fireplace, but it might not be the attractive focal point it could be. Maybe your great room makeover should start with redoing the hearth or fireplace surround.

Tile, fieldstone, slate, or marble can revive a tired fireplace. With so many choices today, you can find a material and color that will work with your chosen décor. Or we can furnish a beautiful mantelpiece with decorative trim to accent your fireplace.

Also think about switching to gas logs, instead of a fireplace insert, so you can keep the traditional look of a fireplace without the mess or cleaning up logs and ashes.

Of course, changing the flooring, wall colors and treatments, and lighting can go a long way toward improving your great room. Retire your track lights and opt for sconces, pendants, and other more interesting fixtures. Add dimmers to every switch to control the mood lighting. Trade your carpeting for hardwood and area rugs that give you more decorating flexibility. Change the door and window trim. Paint one wall in a different color (or wallpaper) for accent.

The beauty of a great room is that it is large enough to house the many interests of the residents. The challenge for this remodeling project is to blend those together like an artful quilt so that your great room finally lives up to its name.

Making the Most of a Small Space

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 04:28:52 -0800

Remodeling small spaces in a home can create big challenges. You have to consider every single element that goes in the room, in order to maximize every opportunity to make the room functional, appealing, comfortable, and in synch with the rest of your home.

Designing a small room can be more complex than a larger one because we have to limit our thinking to what will fit and what will work in this space. From the furniture and accents to the colors of the wall, ceiling, and floors, everything matters.

Built-ins are a great place to start. Cabinets, bookcases, and even a desk can use wall space to create function without using a lot of the little footprint you have.

If you have a window, build in a cushioned window seat that doubles as a storage chest. This is a great place to stash toys, craft supplies, blankets, pillows, magazines, and all the other things that can spread out and take up valuable space.

Make better use of the odd area under the stairs by building in a closet or cabinets to fit the unique space and add more storage—and who doesn’t need more storage?

A loft remodel can convert this unused small space to a studio, craft room, guest room, or reading nook. The pitched ceiling presents a space challenge but also adds character to the space. Create complementary angles with corner cabinets on an opposite wall, while building shelves on the slope. If you’re installing a television, mount it to the wall and build cabinets around it to conserve floor space that an entertainment center would occupy.

Color and light

You’ve probably heard people tell you that you must use light colors on the wall of a small room. It’s not the size of the room that should dictate your color choices, but the amount of light in there. A small room that gets a lot of natural light can handle a deeper hue on the walls.

If you don’t have that ambient light, create it with lighting. Use sconces, overhead fixtures, and wall lamps to maximize light without taking up space with floor and table lamps.

If you want a darker color, you can also install a chair rail. Then paint the darker color below the chair rail and use a contrasting or lighter shade on top. Or put the darker color above and add a light-colored beadboard below the chair rail for opposite placement of the contrast.

Another way to add dimension to a small room is to paint the ceiling the same color as the walls. By removing the dividing line at the top of the wall, you give the illusion of more height in the room.

The small bedroom

It’s easy to overstuff a small bedroom, but with a little more planning, you can reduce the clutter and make the room feel bigger. A trundle bed with storage underneath will give you a hideaway stash for important items without using additional floor space. If you don’t want to replace your current bed, have roll-out drawers built. You can also mount a shelf on the wall next to the bed rather than use a nightstand or install a headboard with shelving.

Incorporate a desk with the clever use of cabinetry and shelving to create a built-in work area. If you want to add bookcases, opt for floor-to-ceiling and finish them with molding so that the top of the bookcase doesn’t shorten the height of the room.

In addition, shelves over windows and doors also add storage and display area to a small footprint. Using built-ins like these might eliminate the need for a dresser, which frees up floor area.

Mudroom makeover

Maybe it’s the name “mudroom”, but this small space can be a huge oversight in a home. Considering it’s the first place the residents see when they walk in the door, the mudroom is often quite deserving of a makeover.

Organize the nook with cubbies for shoes, coats, and canine paraphernalia (leash, dog toys, doggy towels for those wet days), plus a stash for keys so you won’t be searching later.

You can use chalkboard paint to add a message area for this high traffic spot.

Cork flooring is a great alternative to tile for a mudroom. It’s durable yet cushioned, and hides the muddy footprints.

When you’re ready to remodel, you don’t have to think small just because your space is. There are always opportunities to maximize a small area. You just need to be open to some big ideas!

Dungeon to Dream Space

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 03:39:02 -0800

Does your basement feel like an afterthought? Is it just an overflow space where you stash your holiday decorations and those things you just can’t part with…yet? Maybe it’s time to take your downstairs room from dreary dungeon to dream space, creating some fun and functionality down under.

It all starts with a vision. A basement makeover is an ideal time to fill in the space gap in your home. Maybe you need extra living space—for a growing family, aging parents, or a teen who wants to feel more independent. Perhaps you want to add more recreational space, like a game, media, or playroom, and don’t want to sacrifice the main floor living areas.

You might also be thinking about rewarding yourself with a specialty place, like a craft room, dance studio, man cave, or home gym. We have created authentic home theaters, complete with genuine theater seats and popcorn machines. Other homeowners have wanted to indulge their passion for wine and we have converted basement space into temperature-regulated rooms for wine storage and granite serving areas for sampling of wine and cheeses with friends.

Use Your Distance Vision

Basements usually run the full footprint of the house and, even if you only want to finish a portion of it, you have ample space to create one or more rooms to suit your needs.

When planning your basement makeover, make the most of it by thinking beyond your immediate needs. Remodeling is an investment; optimize every dollar by planning for the long-term. Think through how you will use your basement five or ten years from now. Remember that many of the features you might want down the road will cost less to include initially rather than adding them later.

As an example, you might not see the need for a bathroom at the moment, while the basement is a playroom for your kids, but what about in a few years, when you may be using the space for guests or teens?

We worked with one homeowner who had a young son but was projecting to the teen years. They decided to finish the basement ahead of time and prepare a livable space that could be used for a family room but later converted into a teen’s bedroom. They recognized the need for sound-proofing the room—to muffle anything from game playing to loud music—so we added insulation during the remodel, a cost-efficient feature at that time that they would certainly appreciate later. We also added an extra door to close out the sounds from the basement that might waft to the main floor.

Plan Your Basement Remodel from Floor to Ceiling

Consider the lighting. If you have a walkout basement, you probably have some natural light. We recommend expanding that ambient lighting with more windows. If your basement is subterranean, you can bring in light with the right selection of fixtures.

You don’t have to limit your choices to recessed lighting. You may want to consider both mood and task lighting. Wall sconces can add style as well as soft lighting that can be adjusted up or down with dimmers. For a craft area or home gym, you might want to incorporate more functional lighting choices. Over a bar, pendant lights offer style and substance. Just because it’s a basement, don’t close your mind to a well-lit space.

Flooring

You have more flooring choices than ever for your basement, not just the conventional, durable carpet. In fact, with basements, many people are veering away from carpeting altogether, whether from allergies or dampness. Cork flooring is a comfortable, attractive alternative that’s quite durable. The wide variety of hardwood flooring affords homeowners great flexibility for interior design with color and area rugs.

Storage

Next, think about storage spaces. Basements offer unusual challenges, like lally columns and the underside of a staircase that provides a great place to add a built-in storage area. Use the lally columns to frame up a half wall with bookcases or cabinets. Convert that awkward staircase gap into a creative storage cubby.

Finishing Details

Finally, add the finishing details that you would apply to the upstairs living spaces. Crown molding, chair rails, and sheet-rocked ceilings will transform your basement from an afterthought to an enduring addition to your home and its value.

Wood Flooring 101

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:41:57 -0800

When thinking about wood flooring for your home, you can choose between solid hardwood, engineered wood, and a laminate floor. Once you have selected a flooring type, you can choose the wood species and color that goes with your décor.

Here’s a short primer on the three flooring options.

Solid Hardwood

Solid hardwood is just as the name implies; solid wood all the way through. It is sawn from wood logs and has no “added ingredients”. You can choose from either unfinished or prefinished flooring.

Most of the floors that we do are solid hardwood. We prefer to use unfinished flooring, allowing our clients maximum flexibility in choosing the perfect color stain and then finishing with 3 coats of oil-based polyurethane for protection and years of durability. Pre-finished floors allow you to walk on them immediately but have limited stain choices and are only available in limited sheens.

Hardwood floors must be nailed to a wooden sub-floor. Unlike other wood flooring options, solid hardwood cannot be installed straight on concrete or on top of your existing flooring.

The primary advantage to hardwood flooring is that it can be re-sanded and finished numerous times over several decades. The biggest disadvantage is that it's not a good product for moist areas such as basements and bathrooms. The majority of hardwood flooring used in the US is grown and processed here, helping keep jobs for Americans, which seems like a plus.

We tend to use solid hardwood flooring in homes that already have it, where we are adding on an adjacent area, or where walls have been removed, and it makes sense to patch in and refinish some or all of the floors so that they look like they have "always been like that". It's the real thing, and tends to be our first choice.

Engineered Wood Flooring

Engineered wood flooring is comprised of a top layer, from 1/16” to 1/8” thick, of wood adhered to a plywood substrate. Because plywood is made up of multiple layers that are cross-layered (running perpendicular to each other), it has dimensional stability, making it less subject to cupping and curling. This makes it more tolerant of occasional moisture than solid hardwood flooring. Both engineered hardwood and prefinished flooring have a factory-baked finish, which may be harder than a custom 3 coat poly finish.

Engineered wood floors offer a variety of installation options. The thinner varieties can be nailed down. The thicker kinds can be installed as floating floors which means no nailing and the option to lay directly over your current floor as long as it is level and stable.

The biggest disadvantage to engineered wood flooring is that thin top layer. While it can be sanded and refinished you will only be able to do so once or twice, depending on the skill of the refinisher.

This flooring is versatile. We use it regularly, with our preference being to use it in locations that won't get a lot of heavy shoe traffic, such as basements and bedrooms. As a bonus, engineered flooring saves our forests, since it only takes 25% of the number of prime trees as solid wood flooring.

Laminate Flooring

A lower priced alternative to real wood; although it looks like wood, laminate flooring is not real wood. It is comprised of a thin top layer of resin infused paper (a photograph of wood) on top of a wood chip composite. Based on the quality of the paper used to replicate wood it can look amazingly realistic. The selection is almost limitless, offering everything from fine mahogany to antique wide plank looks. In the past few years, the "look" of these laminate floors has greatly improved.

Foremost among the advantages is laminate flooring's resistance to scratching and its ability to be used in rooms where it is likely to get water on it, like bathrooms. Like engineered wood flooring, it saves time during construction – and avoids the disruption and expense of a three or four day finishing process. The primary disadvantage is that it cannot be refinished at all, is hard to repair, and some find the surface to be slippery to walk on in stocking feet.

We opted to use laminate flooring for two recent projects, where new finished space was being added to a home; an inlaw suite and a basement playroom. It gave the customer good value for their money, and they were happy with the final end product.

Wrap Up

Each of the floors has an application to which it is well matched.

For the most part, solid hardwood is what our clients elect. It looks "the best", is the traditional New England floor, and has the longest life since it can be refinished repeatedly. Laminate flooring saves time and is a good value. Engineered and prefinished solid hardwood flooring tend to be used for their "convenience factor", although their cost often exceeds that of a solid wood floor with 3 coats of polyurethane.

Quartz Countertops

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:08:38 -0800

Today, the trend is towards quartz-based counters, many which use recycled ingredients in their mix. Boasting the best qualities of laminate and stone, quartz began appearing in U.S. homes just a few years after gaining popularity in Europe. This engineered material is actually created through a manufacturing process that mixes approximately 95 percent ground natural quartz with five percent polymer resins. The end result is an almost indestructible material that most manufacturers are willing to back with a warranty…something you will not find with natural stone.

We’ve come a long way since the original Formica countertops were introduced to our kitchens in the 1920’s. Butcher block and stainless, even marble and zinc were all used in the preparation of meals in kitchens that were more about function and less about looks. In the 1980’s we thought we had finally found the next big thing in countertop material with the introduction of Corian solid surface materials. Remember the advertisement boasting how surface scratches and burns could simply be lightly sanded to disappear?

Over the past fifteen years the demand for natural stone surfaces has caused an increase in the volume of granite, marble, soapstone and the like that have been imported into the country, bringing the price of natural stone counters down, and making them competitive with Corian.

Quartz counters take the appeal of the natural look of stone, and some of the attributes of Corian a step further. The fact that quartz is non-porous means that quartz counters are a more sanitary alternative to natural stone. The surface of quartz counters is not conducive to bacterial growth like a more porous material would be, making them an excellent option for restaurants, hospitals and the like. The periodic resealing required for natural stone is not necessary with quartz as it resists staining or corrosion from cooking oils, liquids and most household cleaning products. However, exposure to excessive heat can compromise the quartz so you should avoid extended exposure to direct heat from pots and pans.

Like natural stone, quartz is sold in slabs. However, quartz slabs are often much larger than those available in stone; making it an excellent choice for those wishing to minimize seams in the kitchen. All the beautiful edge treatments available on granite and marble counters can be applied to quartz as well.

In addition to just being a counter material, quartz is great as a kitchen backsplash, for a virtually seamless look. It is also well suited to use in the bathroom for shower wall panels, tub decks and vanity counters.

Quartz counters come in a wide range of color options, and offer large and small chunks of color as well as complimentary solid colors. We often use the cool gray tones for clients seeking the concrete look without the maintenance.

Setting a new benchmark for quartz surfacing products, CaesarStone's innovative recycled range of quartz slabs incorporate 17-42% first quality reclaimed quartz from the fabrication process (post-production recycled) and post-consumer recycled glass and mirrors. Their Mosaici Mini-Collection - containing 42% recycled raw materials - is one of the most successful examples of this eco-friendly trend.

While we have been offering quartz material since its introduction, our designers have pushed the design limits on two recent projects.

One, a stunning contemporary master bathroom, features a freestanding bathtub encased in what looks like a solid block of stone.

In a mid-century modern home’s kitchen update we used contrasting colors quartz to create a bar height section to the island with “waterfalls” that extend to the floor.

Quartz counters lend themselves to a variety of design styles and applications. The latest offerings from CaesarStone, one of the pioneers of quartz-based products, include embossed patterns like black crocodile and white damask showing there is no end to the design possibilities when you mix the best of nature with today’s technology and creativity.

Cork Flooring

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:53:34 -0800

Are you one of those people who saves wine bottle corks thinking you will someday do something creative with them? These days, cork flooring is looked to as a great “green” building material but truth be told, it first came into use at the end of the 19th century. Frank Lloyd Wright was incorporating cork flooring in some of the public buildings he designed in the early 20th century. The reason cork has been used for so long is because the process of making it is so simple; the bark of the cork oak tree is ground up, boiled, and made into sheets.

From harvest to production to installation, cork is environmentally sustainable, non-toxic, and healthy. Cork is a truly sustainable “green" building material. Trees are grown and the bark is harvested in a centuries' old tradition that harms neither the trees or their habitat. In many cases, cork flooring also utilizes the post-industrial by-product of the bottle stopper industry. This waste material is ground up and then formed into sheets under high pressure, which requires only minimal amounts of adhesive to bind the particles together.

In your home, cork floors can create a warm, comfortable, resilient surface that is gentle underfoot and is anti-microbial. Most commonly thought of for kitchens, cork is comfortable to stand on and easy to maintain. You may also consider using it in a basement playroom where it would be a warmer cushioned alternative to tile.

The applications for cork are almost limitless. It can be used on floors, walls, even on ceilings to improve the acoustics of a space such as for a music room or home theater. Cork is available in a multitude of colors and patterns. It comes in planks or square or rectangular tiles that can be glued down or installed as a floating floor system.

The most common concerns are the use of cork with pets, heavy furniture and whether it is suited for use in kitchens and bathrooms. Don't worry! Cork is very dense and is designed to withstand even commercial traffic. Scratches from claws of cats and dogs running on the floor are less noticeable on cork than on hardwood floors. Cork is resilient and will recover from compression over time, and the use of protective pads underneath legs will prevent damage. But, like other flooring materials, you need to take care so that it is not punctured by sharp objects or damaged by dragging heavy furniture.

We recently had the opportunity to complete a kitchen project in a mid-century modern home, where cork flooring was the "piece de resistance."

Our designers chose to open up the former closed off kitchen and mud areas to the adjacent living/dining room. The challenge was to find a creative way to differentiate the living space from the open kitchen.

Using cork flooring in the new kitchen did just the trick and brought together the tones of the existing oak wood floors and cedar clad walls and ceiling as well as the new beech cabinetry with cherry and stainless accents.

The style of cork chosen makes the whole floor look like a single sheet instead of the individual 12”x12” tiles that were used in the project.

For maintenance, regular sweeping and damp mopping of dirt and grit is recommended. Once a year you will want to refurbish your cork floor according to the manufacturer's maintenance guidelines.

Click to read more about RealCorkFloors.

The New Necessity - a Generator

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:09:46 -0700

Interest in generators is escalating! As we recover from the second major storm in eight weeks with even more widespread extended outages than we had with Hurricane Irene, people are getting serious about making some arrangements to "up" their abilities to generate power during a CL&P outage.

There's a wide range of options available, from "whole house" generators that power everything in your home to portable generators that energize a couple items in a pinch. The next few weeks may be a good time to plan ahead, consider your options, and get something in place so you too can enjoy the luxury of heat, flushing toilets and a cup of coffee when the next storm hits, as it inevitably will.

Here's the skinny on what's out there.

There are three options available; “whole house”, “home standby” and “portable” generators.

Whole house generators do just that; power your entire home. They come on automatically when the power goes out, and are tied into a propane tank or a natural gas line. This has two advantages. First of all, the generator will energize itself even if you are at work or on vacation when the power goes out. This means that there will be no lapse of power to your home. Secondly, when the power is out, it is often impossible to get gasoline, since the roads may be impassable, or gas stations may be unable to pump gas once you get there. Plus frequent manual filling of a generator with gasoline grows wearisome in a long lasting power outage.

As a bonus, many whole house generators also have an "autoexercise option" where it will start up once a week to run for a few minutes. That way it’s ready for you when you need it, without requiring participation on your part to maintain it along the way. Whole house generators offer an increased performance and reliability level over other generator choices. Plus, they are relatively quiet and neighborhood friendly.

So, in conclusion, they are “easy”, do everything, and make your life very pleasant in a power outage including running the dishwasher, and letting you use a blow dryer. They need to be wired up by a licensed electrician so that they are wired safetly into your electrical panel. On the down side, they are large, require propane tanks, and a substantial up front investment.

The second category of generators are the "home standby" models. They are typically mid-sized and intended to provide power only to the most critical of circuits, ie. well and sump pumps, refrigerators, medical equipment, and a few lights. They are also tied into your home’s wiring, via a transfer switch installed by an electrician. Typically, they do not come on automatically, but it’s a matter of just starting the generator and flicking a switch. That's simple and straightforward and works great if you are around town. Not so convienient if you are skiing the Alps, or sunnning on a beach in the Bahamas. Hopefully, you have a relative or kind neighbor who will pitch in. These standby generators are a great middle of the road option. Because they are wired into the electrical panel via a transfer switch, the risk of electricity backfeeding into the grid is eliminated. (Utility workers repairing downed lines are at risk for injury due to electrical backfeeds from generators that are fed back into the homes wiring (such as those that are wired in through the 220 dryer outlet, a big no-no.)

The third, and most affordable option, is a portable generator. These are almost always gasoline powered and are started manually. They are typically not wired into your home at all. You will need to have plenty of heavy duty extension cords on hand to connect the devices you wish to power directly to the generator. They do not power much, but it’s far better than nothing. They are available in a variety of power levels. To determine the correct size for your needs, simply total up the entire wattage required by the various devices you would want to power at one time during an outage. Lamps require little power, but you would be surprised what a small coffee maker or microwave requires.

Regardless of which you choose, once you have a generator the most important thing to do is to run it regularly, and maintain it so that it is running safely and efficiently when you need it. If you have an auto exercising machine, you are ahead of the game, but they will need periodic maintenance as well. We hear so many stories of people who say they had a generator but it wasn’t working when they actually went to use it. At the minimum, be sure that you test it before upcoming storms.

Generators are awesome when the power is out, and in our area of the country, it is coming to be one of the necessities that we can’t live without.

The Challenge to Buy Made in America

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:29:27 -0700

By buying more "Made In America" products on our projects, we can make a difference in creating opportunities for jobs for other Americans. If you watch the ABC Evening News you may be following a recent series of stories dedicated to creating jobs by purchasing products Made In America.

Their most recent story follows the construction of a home being built in Bozeman, Montana by Anders Lewendal, an economist turned builder, who has challenged himself to use only products made in the United States in the construction of this house. In all, there are more than 120 products from 33 states being used to construct the house.

While he does acknowledge the exclusive use of American products can be more expensive, the house is currently running only 1 to 2 percent more than one made from foreign manufactured materials.

Lewendal claims that if every builder committed increasing their purchase of American materials by just 5% it would create 220,000 jobs in this country, a figure ABC News confirmed with an outside analyst.

After watching this, we decided to take the list of manufacturers they provided on their website to our local suppliers to see what American made products were available to use in our remodeling projects.

We were pleasantly surprised that we had already been purchasing the majority of our materials from manufacturers here in the United States. We have been recommending and using Andersen Windows, Plain & Fancy Cabinetry, Kohler & Moen plumbing products, Benjamin Moore paint and a host of other American made products for as many years as we have been in business. Even toilets from Japanese based Toto are being manufactured by Americans in their new Morrow, Georgia based plant.

So what more can we do? We will be looking closely at the products that we use for our projects to see if there are American made alternatives that make sense for the design and your budget.

We plan on extending the challenge to buy “Made in America” to each of our trade partners. We’d like them to be aware that what they buy makes a difference, and look closely at Made in America alternatives. This will help us increase the overall percentage of American made alternatives that we use on our projects while maintaining the same level of quality you have come to expect from Clark Construction.

We invite you to join us in the challenge, not just for remodeling and construction, but as part of your daily life. Take a moment to read the label on your next purchase. If we join together, our decisions to buy “Made in America” will help create jobs for many unemployed Americans.

Link to : ABC News Made in America

Layers of Light - Undercabinet Task Lighting

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:19:35 -0700

As designers, we always speak about the various “layers of light” that a space should have. A kitchen is no different from other spaces in this regard. General, ambient and task lighting are musts for a room that gets as much use as our kitchens.

If you have never had undercabinet task lighting, once you add it to your new kitchen you will wonder how you ever lived without it. It will dramatically change the look of your kitchen.

No matter how many ceiling fixtures you have in your kitchen you end up standing in your own shadow when working at the counters because the wall cabinets create a dark shadow area.

Undercabinet lighting eliminates these shadows, and directs light directly onto your counters, creating abundant light to help you see what you are working on in the kitchen.

Additionally, granite and composite stone materials look their best when they are highlighted by direct beams of light. This makes the crystals within the counter sparkle like a diamond in sunlight.

After they see this demonstrated in our showroom, most clients opt to include undercabinet lighting in their projects.

There are three types of lights available and each offers different features and attributes.

Fluorescent under cabinet lights are the least costly, most energy efficient, produce very little heat and are fairly easy to install. On the negative side, they cannot be dimmed and, typically, produce a cool light that some feel is a bit industrial.
Xenon or halogen lights, with their attractive warm light, are also energy efficient, but do produce significant heat. This is a consideration because they are installed on the underside of cabinets that can contain food that could be affected by the constant heat. You may also find it diminishes the shelf life of food kept on the counters directly below the light. Xenon fixtures can be dimmed and are moderately priced.
LEDs are the most energy efficient of the three choices. They are cool to the touch, and give off a brilliant white light. Manufacturers have recently come out with dimmable versions to compete with the xenon fixtures. While the bulbs are expected to last about 50,000 hours (or almost 6 years ) the cost difference for the fixtures is about 5 times more than Xenon and fluorescent alternatives.

Once you have selected whether you want to use choose fluorescent, Xenon/halogen or LEDs, there are some choices about how many to use, and how to have them installed.

There are very low profile surface mountable fixtures available ranging from just under 15/16” to 1 ¼” in height that easily fit in the recessed bottom of framed cabinetry, and these are a common selection. Mounting the lights towards the front of the cabinet maximizes the lighting on the work surface.

There are three popular mounting options:

Mounted in the recess of the bottom of the cabinet, with light rail. As designers, we like to add a bit of trim (light rail) along the bottom of your wall which adds to the custom look of your kitchen and helps cover the light. Typically you get one for each wall cabinet, and they come in widths like 15”, 18”, 21, 24” 30, 33”, 36” .
Mounted in the recess of the bottom of a framed cabinet with a deeper recess. (no light rail needed) In situations where a cleaner line is preferred, and you are ordering custom cabinetry, the depth of the recess beneath the cabinet can be increased to accommodate your lights perfectly. Again, you would get one for each wall cabinet.
Mounted on the flat bottom of frameless cabinets. Frameless cabinets are typically made with a smooth bottom which necessitates the need for light rail so that the surface mount lights don’t show. The nice thing about continuous bottoms is the option to purchase and install longer length fixtures that overlap adjoining cabinets. In this case, you might get lights that cover two or more cabinets. For example, if you have two 24” cabinets, you might get a 48” length. For even lighting you want at least one every 30".

Switching or Dimming

The benefit of a full kitchen remodel is the ease with which the lighting in the space can be custom designed exactly your specifications.

Typically the individual undercabinet lights are hard wired and linking together, operating off of one switch in a location that makes sense for your space.

If you are just doing a facelift and don’t have access to run new wiring behind existing backsplash tile or down through your wall cabinets then a plug-in model may be your best option.

But if you are doing a full kitchen remodel, you can get separate switches and dimmers for decorative pendants and chandeliers, recessed ceiling fixtures, undercabinet lights and even interior cabinet lights.

Alternately, all these fixtures can be controlled by a programmable lighting system such as a Lutron Grafik Eye. These control all the lights and their intensities from one location. You can set up "scenes" so that with one press of a button, various lights are turned on and dimmed to a specific level. Having the Grafik Eye also eliminates the need for a big bank of switches (and the resulting confusion about which switch operates which lights.)

Regardless of how you switch them, you will be amazed by the difference undercabinet lighting makes in the feel and fucntionality of your kitchen.

Fall Open House

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 07:32:36 -0700

This Friday and Saturday, between 9am and 5pm, we invite you to take a break from your fall activites and spend some time here at Clark Construction and Maldon Kitchens as we, and our local merchants, celebrate with a Fall Open House and the Branchville Octoberfest.

Classic cars from Memory Lane will be in the Ancona’s parking lot on Saturday between 12 and 4.

In between wine tasting at Ancona’s Liquor Store and the official opening of the new bocce court just outside our door, we invite you to stop in, see our showroom, and speak to our design staff about your next project.

Register to take advantage of the special discounts that Plain & Fancy is offering on cabinetry orders placed before November 10, 2011. If you are unable to make the Open House, feel free to call or email us to set up an appointment for an in home consultation to discuss your project which will ensure you receive the sale discount for your cabinetry order.

Thermofoil Cabinetry

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:19:49 -0700

An expanded selection of door styles and colors, as well as improvements in the technology make Thermofoil doors an attractive and cost effective option for kitchens today. With potential savings of up to 25-35% compared with painted or glazed cabinetry, and more door styles and finishes available, including painted and glazed looks, you may want to consider them as you plan your next project.

Thermofoil doors and drawer heads are made up of a solid piece of MDF routed out for the door design with what is essentially a heat shrunk vinyl over it to create the colored face.

It’s great for a wet environment like a bathroom, since MDF (medium density fiberboard) is air tight, and will not expand and contract from moisture and temperature changes like a traditional wood door. Thermofoil doors are easy to clean and virtually impossible to chip or scratch.

At one time, Thermofoil had a bad reputation. Over the years, technology has improved the product to address issues with de-lamination and discoloration. Those problems are long gone. There is a big difference between the product that was made over 10 years ago and what the industry offers to the consumer today.

We used a “painted and glazed” look from a stock cabinet company for a young couple on a tight budget in Ridgefield.

Thermofoil was the perfect solution to providing a painted and glazed look that would hold up to a household with 3 children under the age of five.

The signficant cost savings over comparable painted and glazed wood cabinetry made the decision even easier.

The client’s mother, who lives in the house as well, objected when she heard her daughter was going to use Thermofoil. To this day she thinks they are wood with a painted glaze– they’re that good looking.

Like all things, there are better and lesser quality versions to choose from in the marketplace, but we have been very happy with the Thermofoil products used over the past ten years. Working with manufacturers with a proven track record has been most beneficial as we have not had any service calls from clients having issues with delamination or discoloration.

So if you are working with a tight budget but keep gravitating towards painted cabinetry, consider the option available that will save you money and continue to look good year after year as you enjoy your new kitchen or bath.

Remodeling Creates an Opportunity for Charity

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:12:06 -0700

We're excited to give away a lot of near-perfect and new materials to help others realize goals for their homes. We're doing this through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity and their ReStore.*

Over the years, we’ve collected all sorts of odds and ends from our showroom and our remodeling adventures. Additionally, our vendor partners have occasionally sent some great quality product samples or displays that either haven’t made it onto our showroom floor or are have only been briefly displayed. As these items hadn't been the right fit for any of our client projects so far, they had been put into storage.

It seemed a waste for these materials to be languishing in storage. As home improvement junkies and design fanatics ourselves, we know how exciting it can be to add pieces such as these to our homes, particularly if you originally believed them to be beyond your reach.

We contacted Habitat for Humanity and spoke with them about donating these building products to benefit our local communities and about partnering together on future projects, to recycle lightly used materials that are demoed from our clients's projects.

The first step in our partnership was the Habitat for Humanity ReStore truck pulling up to our showroom and design studio to pick up a large donation. We gladly loaded up the truck with windows, doors, plumbing fixtures, cabinetry and a lot of other miscellaneous hardware and parts.

Our entire company and even our client base has been excited by this partnership with Habitat for Humanity ReStore. In fact, we have several clients who intend to donate their gently used kitchen cabinetry and appliances to make way for new kitchen remodels.

Be sure to stay posted for details as we help our clients give back to our local community, and help make someone else’s home a dream come true.

*HFH ReStores are resale outlets that accept donated goods which are sold to the general public at a fraction of the retail price.

The proceeds help local Habitat affiliates fund the construction of Habitat homes within their communities.

Website Launch

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 06:28:06 -0700

We are pleased to launch the new www.clarkconstruction.net website.

It’s exciting, beautiful, and chock full of useful and interesting stuff!

We’ve expanded our Portfolio section significantly. There’s a lot more to look at. We have slideshows with images from a wide range of projects with BIG BIG photos that really allow you to see the details that are built in to these jobs.

As well as Portfolio photo tours of completed Kitchens, Additions and Baths, we have added Interiors, Details and Virtual Renderings categories. In this last section you can see projects as they were presented to the clients using the latest 3D software. Follow a series of whole houses, additions and kitchens in 3D to get a flavor of the world through our clients’ eyes.

If you prefer to see actual projects come to life, our Production Stories take you along on actual jobsites with our production team as your guide.

The case studies in Featured Remodels highlight some of our award winners and favorites. And, as frosting on the cake, we have Before and After images side by side to really show off the transformations.

If you are at the beginning of your remodeling journey, you will be interested in our Useful Articles on everything from “How to Choose a Design-Build Company” to maintaining the bottom line by "Avoiding Change Orders." You'll want to read our expanded FAQs and about How We Can Help You.

Our Blog has something for everyone!

It's headed off by Ask the Remodeler, with Home Remodeling Advice and Tips from a Professional. We’ll be sharing the Product of the Month, What’s Cookin’ in the Kitchen, (Highlighting current trends as they relate to everything in the kitchen) and Remodeling 101 which offers the reader a comprehensive overview of various topics ranging from Hardwood Flooring to Generators. Think of it as our own “For Dummies” series peppered with project ideas to whet your appetite - from Wine Rooms to Outdoor Kitchens to Exercise Rooms.

So jump in and see what we have to share with you.

And we’d love to hear from you. Just give us a call, or email us at websitefeedback@clarkconstruction.net.

Let us know if you like what you see, or if there’s something that’s not there that you would like to see.

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Gary Clark, President

Denim Insulation

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:41:27 -0700

Ever wondered what to do with your favorite denim jeans when you finally decide they are too worn to wear and are ready to toss them in the trash? Well, maybe they can end up keeping someone warm in a different way.

A blue colored insulation is made of 90% post consumer recycled natural fibers (denim and cotton).

Where most fiberglass insulations contain formaldehyde, denim insulation is non-itch, and contains no carcinogenic warnings, VOCs or chemical irritants.

It provides exceptional thermal performance and acoustically provides 30% better sound absorption than traditional fiberglass insulation. In addition, it is one of the only insulating products that contain an active mold/mildew inhibitor, and it meets the highest testing standards for fire and smoke ratings, fungi resistance and corrosiveness. Learn more about Bonded Logic insulation.

Recycling campaigns are taking place in universities around the country to collect denim for recycling purposes. In 2010, Gap’s “Recycle Your Blues” campaign collected more than 360,000 pairs of denim jeans, which was used to create fiber insulation for nearly 700 homes. The insulation was donated to Habitat for Humanity affiliates in communities that had been affected by natural disasters, such as the rebuilding effort after Hurricance Katrina.

We recently completed a project, turning an oversized single bedroom into two children’s rooms, where we utilized the denim insulation as a sound barrier in the new interior dividing walls. While at the present time, denim insulation has a cost differential of up to 3x the cost of traditional fiberglass, making it cost prohibitive for a whole project, it is being used more widely each year in Habitat for Humanity Homes.

So, even if the cost difference keeps you from utilizing this product in your next remodeling project, know that you can still “go green” by recycling those worn out jeans. Check out CottonfromBluetoGreen.org to find out how you can give your denim new life.

Here's another recycling campaign - Fabric of our Lives with a video showing the denim insulation being installed.

Green Design

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 03:27:27 -0700

Green building may be all the talk these days, but at Clark Construction, we do green a little differently. The idea of environmental sensitivity has been part of our mission since our beginnings in 1987. We focus solely on remodeling and additions because we think that good use and reuse of existing homes saves resources.

Our design philosophy continues to be that efficient use of existing spaces comes before adding on new space, no matter how green the products in the new space are.

Good design is nearly always green design.

Clark Construction’s approach to designing and building relies on systems that work—improving a home’s floor plan for efficiency and comfort, using “Not So Big House” concepts, saving energy, reducing construction waste, improving air quality, using sustainable materials, and improving the overall quality of our client’s life in their existing home.

The trend towards "all-things-green” continually brings exciting new products and new techniques across our desks. Our talented designers make it a point to stay current so we can inform you and lead you through the options.

We stay abreast of the latest developments in materials and specify those that will provide the best economy of beauty, durability, and environmental responsibility.
We are concerned about energy efficiency and will look at your entire building as a system to ensure that, with the newly remodeled project, your home will continue to maintain its integrity and function at maximum efficiency.
When gaining efficiency is the goal of the project, we include energy-efficient windows and doors, and may consider new ways of insulating your home, and/or suggest appropriate HVAC equipment. These changes will result in a healthy and comfortable interior environment in addition to the significant energy savings you will realize.
We reuse as many construction materials as possible – either reusing them on your project (such as reusing a window in another location on your home), plus we’ve formed a relationship with Habitat for Humanity so that many items from a job site can be reused by others who will appreciate them – from kitchen cabinets and counters to pedestal sinks and faucets.

For us, “going green” must enhance every project. This is where our experience comes in.

We’re aware of the pitfalls and the potentials, the small adjustments that have big effects and the grand gestures that might not make a lot of difference. We stay in the forefront of changes in the green building field. Most importantly, we know how to judge what’s going to bring long term value to your home.

Ask the Remodeler - Add on or Move?

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:39:27 -0700

Q. My wife and I are thinking about either adding on a two story addition for about $300K, or moving to a larger home. Which makes the most financial sense? Our home is currently worth $1.5 million. We would be adding a master bedroom suite, with a great room below. R.S.

A. Dear R.S.,

Although choosing to move or remodel is more than just a financial decision, the answer is clear -adding onto the existing house beats out moving from a dollars and cents perspective. If you like your neighborhood, and you don’t already have the biggest or most expensive house on the block, you're better off financially if you remodel the house to suit your needs and stay put.

Here’s why. Although homeowners who remodel rarely recoup their entire investment, they can usually expect to get a good chunk of it back, especially if they make improvements that bring their houses up to the standards of other homes in the area.

Remodeling Magazine estimates that homeowners can, in many cases, expect to recoup between 60% and 80% of the money they spend on home-improvement projects.

In this case, adding an additional bedroom will probably bring you into a new category when you go to sell your home.

Do a quick internet search of homes for sale in your area and you can see the asking price differences between 4 and 5 bedroom homes. Plus, adding something that makes your home stand out against the competition like that new master bathroom or great room could sell your home faster.

Now on to the financial analysis. If we take the current value of your home at $1.5 million and add to that the $300k multiplied by an 80% return or $240k you would have a home worth approx.. $1.74 million dollars at the end of the first year. Compare this to the alternative of selling your home for $1.5 million and taking the proceeds less estimated selling & moving expenses of $166K to net out $1.628 million for a difference of $111.5k in favor of remodeling.

That’s a pretty strong argument to stay and remodel to make your current home exactly what you want than move to another home that may offer the space but still need customizing to suit your style. The temporary interruption of hammers and saws may be a small hassle to bear when it makes financial sense to add on, and means keeping a home you already enjoy.

You may think the $166k in selling and moving expenses sounds high but if you add up the cost of realtors' fees, transfer fees, mortgage origination fees and moving company expenses along with basic redecorating to install new window treatments, freshen paint etc. you will see our breakdown below is very realistic. You should also consider the value of your time; you'll have to invest huge amounts of time and worry finding a new home and packing and unpacking boxes.

Some of our clients have told us that finding a reasonably priced house with all the amenities you have in your current house, plus all the new space you want in a neighborhood you love can be a dicey proposition.

There are limits to this pro-remodeling thinking, of course. If you have one of the nicest homes on the block, it may make more sense to move. It doesn't necessarily make sense to pour $300,000 worth of improvements into a $1, 500,000 house if that house is biggest and best in the neighborhood. Few people will be willing to pay the original price plus the cost of the improvements for your home.

There are two exceptions to this rule about not overbuilding for the neighborhood.

You love the neighborhood and want to stay, and are self indulging;
You are thinking of staying there for a while, and expect the other homes in the neighborhood to follow suit, and add on as well in the years to come.

It’s always a good idea to check in with your realtor before you embark on a project about potential rates of return for projects in your neighborhood, and for a market analysis of your home relative to others in your neighborhood so that you have the facts on hand when making your final decision about whether to add-on or move.

Additionally, keep in mind that just because you want to do a project doesn’t mean you will be allowed to do so. There are some lots where current health, zoning or wetlands regulations may preclude you adding on, limiting your remodeling options. Talk to your remodeler. He will know the ins and outs of these requirements.

What Are People Doing Now?

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:07:26 -0700

One of the first questions our designers are asked by clients undergoing a kitchen renovation are “What are people doing now?”

The answer to this question, like most style questions, is forecast by industry experts who’s job it is to project color trends for everything from scarves to automobiles

Kitchen cabinetry manufacturers introduce new finishes and techniques each year in the hopes of following the path led by home furnishing giants like Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn, whose success is based on staying current with the market trends.

Let Us Help You Think Outside the Box

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:27:22 -0700

Visualizing the possibilities in a home in which you’ve lived for many years can be difficult.

But with help from the Clark Construction Design Team you can transform ineffective, undesirable or unappealing areas of your home into practical and loveable living spaces, while ensuring a good return on your investment.

We’re skilled at “thinking outside the box” for your home remodel.

This may result in some interesting solutions that you may not have considered.

Here are some Case Studies.

Thinking Outside the Box #1- Getting more doesn’t always require “going out”.

A Wilton based family wanted to update their 1980’s spec home kitchen and create a space large enough to accommodate an island for family and friends to gather around.

They came to us requesting we add on at the rear of the house which would have meant the expense of constructing an addition as well as the added costs of reworking of the large deck that ran the length of the house.

In discussing their frustrations with the space it also came to light that they wished it could be open to the adjoining family room like newer homes.

By asking the right questions we learned that they had never used the formal dining room but, being concerned about resale, did not want to eliminate it completely.

With objectives defined, parameters set and a budget in place we set to work creating proposals that offered them solutions that did not necessitate an expansion of the home and worked by reallocating existing interior space.

Stealing room from the formal dining room to house the refridgerator, double ovens and a pantry enabled us to widen the kitchen enough to add the island they requested.

By opening up the dining area with sliders to the deck and tripling the windows on the back of the house, the kitchen appears to have grown exponentially without adding a single square foot.

The wall between the kitchen and family room was removed. The decorative columns and arched soffit define the new openining, and creatively hide the necessary posts and beam.

While we did draw up ta small bumpout addition as alternative, listening to their needs and carefully evaluating options within their existing space allowed a clever, but simple and cost effective solution to emerge that made more sense to all of us.

By opting to take away a little space from the diningroom and open up the kitchen to their great room area, we were able to meet their high level objectives: a larger up-to-date kitchen, room for a wide refrigerator, lots of natural light, an island, and "opening up to the kitchen to the great room". Not doing an addition allowed them to significantly upgrade their cabinetry choices and spend less than they had originally anticipated. They were delighted.

In this case, thinking “outside the box” meant thinking “inside the box”…staying within the four walls.

Thinking Outside the Box #2

Sometimes you may have lived somewhere so long that you only see it one way.

A fresh pair of eyes can bring many “I hadn’t thought of that” possibilities.

A Weston couple came to us requesting more light and an improvement to their awkward L-shaped dining room, as well as a small bedroom addition to give them more closet space in the master bedroom.

Their original thought was to place an addition behind the kitchen to square off the dining room and take space from the existing dining room to create an additional walk in closet. “

In looking at the house, both inside and out, it became clear that any addition should be placed at the rear of the house to avoid costly reworking of the existing stone patios and walls that wrapped the kitchen.

The addition would push the bedroom closer to the surrounding woods, thereby creating the feel of sleeping in a treehouse.

The net result is a an enlarged rectangular dining room that now has direct access to the aforementioned patios via a repurposed sliding glass door, a large walk in closet lit by the skylight that used to be above the bed, and a new maintenance free deck right off the bedroom for their cherished hot tub.

While the solution seemed simple to our designers, it took that fresh set of eyes to show the clients what they had never thought of in all the years in the house.

When the proposals were presented they said, “It never dawned on us.”

“What sets a talented Designer apart is their ability to listen to what the client says they want, make an assessment of the short comings of the space, and come up with some solutions that accomplish not just what the customer is concerned with, but also solves two or three other issues all within the initially derived budget. This project was an excellent real-life example of such a design solution.”Gary Clark, President.

In this case, “Thinking Outside the Box” meant thinking through an entirely different way of laying out the house and the proposed addition.

Thinking Outside the Box #3: Working Through Preconceived Notions

Helping you see the possibilities and letting go of ideas you had that may not work well.

The owner of an old hunting cabin in Wilton asked us out to her home to discuss replacing a bathroom. In our discussions it soon became clear that this was a bandaid attempt to appease her from getting the house she really wanted for her family.

In the end, she ended up doubling the size of her home, adding a second story and a kitchen addition. She re-did everything in the house but the living room and the bathroom which brought her to us in the first place.

How did that happen? The client had ruled out a grand plan for this small one story home, because she couldn’t figure out how the stairs to a second floor would work.

We talked her “out of her box” – presenting layouts that worked with various stair configurations. She was thrilled with the final project and the iterative design process by which we arrived at some sensible solutions to her family’s expanding needs.

Before meeting us, she couldn’t find someone who would work with her in a participative cooperative fashion.

She felt that everyone she had talked to was strongly opinionated and would not dignify her ideas by attempting to think through them or illustrate them.

She felt that, because they were being paid to come up with ideas, they felt that their udeas were right and hers were “wrong”. She found their dismissive approach to her ideas offensive.

We presented her with several viable architecturally pleasing solutions, any of which would be satisfactory for her home.

We also worked through “her” ideas so she could see why they didn’t work. This ultimately allowed her to let go of her ideas in favor of one of our alternatives that accomplished her original goasl in an achievable manner.

We believe that offering multiple design proposals, along with the pros and cons of each, enables our clients to make fully informed decisions that result in the best design for them. Often times, other firms only provide their “best” solution thereby denying the client the option of seeing various alternatives and having the chance to decide for themselves which is best for them. Such an approach excludes the client’s involvement in creating the home of their dreams, which seems objectionable.

In this case, "Thinking Outside the Box" meant seeing things from the client’s point of view, and working through their ideas so that she could let go of them and embrace a more architecturally appropriate solution.