Remodeling My Old Room

Back when I moved out to attend college out of state, my mother made me clean all my belongings out of my childhood room. She was desperate to remodel the room and turn it into a study for her and my father. But my parents didn’t know the first thing about construction. I convinced them to take their project to Palm Beach home remodeling professionals.

Once they had found a good contractor, they made an appointment for him to come to the house and take measurements of the space. Their vision was a multi-purpose room: an area for my mom’s sewing machine and craft projects, a computer workspace, and built-in shelves to house their collection of books. The contractor determined that to fit all of these elements comfortably, they would have to expand the room by several feet. While talking with the contractor, they also mentioned that they had dreamed of having an extra bathroom. Since the room was right next to the laundry area, the existing plumbing would allow them to add one quite easily and still stay within a reasonable budget.

Being the first time they had ever assumed such a project, my parents were both happy and surprised that the construction could be done so easily. Within a few months, their office was completed. On the advice of the contractor, they had used light-colored wood for the bookshelves and a soft yellow for the walls, and put in French doors to make the room as bright as possible. The result was a relaxing space in which my parents could enjoy their golden years practicing their favorite hobbies: reading, crafting, video-chatting with their grandchildren, and spending time together. If you, too, are considering Palm Beach home remodeling, be sure to call a professional who can hopefully complete your project as smoothly as my parents’ contractor did!

Adding an Attic Bedroom

When my son was a baby, he slept in a crib in our bedroom.  This arrangement was very convenient for me and my husband to feed him and attend to his every need when he was small, but now, as he approaches his third birthday, it is time to give him his own room.  Our house came with unfinished attic space which would be perfect for a small, cozy bedroom.  My husband’s first step was researching home remodeling in Palm Beach.

At first, my husband thought he could undertake this project himself, but he soon realized that he had better hire a professional remodeling contractor.  We wanted the room to be perfect, first and foremost to ensure our son’s safety.   My husband asked around at work and checked out customer reviews.  After interviewing a few people, he finally hired a trustworthy professional.  The contractor that we found is now working within our budget to add insulation, finish the walls, install electrical outlets and air conditioning – just to name a few of his many tasks.  

Our idea is for the finished project to be a relaxing, positive environment for our son to sleep and play.  He will have lots of natural light and every nook and cranny will be filled with his toys.   Our son is really excited about his room and anxiously awaiting for it to be ready.  (So are we, of course.  We’ll finally get some privacy again!)

We are so happy with the timely, expert work our contractor is doing, and my husband isn’t stressed out trying to complete it all himself.  If you are thinking about home remodeling in Palm Beach, be aware that there are many qualified contractors out there, but there are others that aren’t so good.  Do your homework, check references, and you too can get started on your home remodeling project.

Room Addition Contractor

Remodeling takes on a new meaning in scale and scope when the range of it is so wide that you actually tackle along adding a new room to the house. It doesn’t have to be a bedroom, maybe you want to please your husband with that nice long-loved man cave or game room or maybe you want a nursery for your unborn toddler, the fact of the matter is, when you decide to add a new room in your house you get additional freedom to rearrange most of your house as long of course as you stay within your budget. 

Budgeting is very important whenever starting a new project; you definitely want to have a quantitative measure of progress and resource availability. When I decided to add a room in my house I contacted a residential contractor because I definitely wanted experienced and knowledgeable people on the project. They were extremely professional and thorough in their arrangement of things that I hardly had to alter any of their work. It is important that you do periodic oversight; some of these firms rid themselves from legal liability if they are too advanced into the project and you never object about anything, it’s only reasonable that many of them would have that policy.

For the most part, they will understand your needs and deliver on the promise of a great result. Your responsibility is to convey clearly what your expectations are so that they have a clear compass of what you want. The room I added to my house was a small bedroom for my younger sister who was going to come over to stay with me and my husband. I knew she was a pretty basic person in terms of needs and that she would certainly fit well in our facilities. It was a great experience altogether to have my sister over for as long as I did. Now her old room serves as my son’s bedroom. I might just call the contracting firm to add in a new bathroom for him, who knows?

Drag the Hubby into the Hobby

Having your husband help you remodel your home must seem like a monumental challenge. Think again! There are ways to persuade him to pitch in with renovation projects; you just have to find the right angle! What is the one thing men love? I say: snoozing, watching sports, eating junk food and drinking beer… sounds familiar? I would not want to insult your significant other by imposing a stereotype but there is a large percentage of men in our societies who enjoy just that! Color pallets, drapes and rugs are just not for them and that’s a given.

So, instead of forcing change, why not influence the process to help the outcome gravitate towards a middle ground? That’s what I do, and what I have always done when it comes to remodeling. I did my last renovation this year in the month of January, for all of you keeping track, that was one month before the Super Bowl so I found the perfect excuse to have my husband come with me to IKEA and Bed Bath and Beyond; we were there mostly shopping for furniture but the task of remodeling was done by us with the oversight of a remodeling supervisor. The experience helped us bond as a couple and separate ourselves from the routine of everyday life.

Now, to keep him interested I made sure to include a few perks for him like a Seahawks lamp and NFL beer cozies. It may not sound like much but he did tag along and was a great sport about it. He was in such a good mood that I got him to help me choose curtains for our bathroom, tiles for our patio and we also bought a grill so he could ‘’tailgate’’ which apparently is when sports fans gather outside stadiums (grill and beer cooler in hand). Wonderful! Isn’t married life just awesome? 

Time for a Home Renovation!

In 1962, just a year after President Kennedy took office, his wife Jackeline Kennedy (known worldwide for her exquisite taste and impeccable style) gave a tour of the newly renovated White  House. Think about it, the most famous home in the Western Hemisphere had looked like an outdated baroque palace for over two decades.

Unlike Jackie, you don’t have to wait until your spouse is elected President to make your home as close to impeccable as your budget permits. Renovations are a great way to increase the visual impact of your home. One of the best aspects about starting a renovation is: there is no minimum or gap to determine when or where to stop (of course they should be done gradually and in a financially healthy way), food for the thought, a renovation could start by adding a fishbowl in your living room to getting carpeting or hardwood floor. The range of options is limitless!

Renovations also convey many traits of your personality, for example: a dorm room with a Playboy poster and a beer keg would probably not look right on your grown-up foyer, which is why you need to adopt design concepts that best reflect your taste and personality and showcase your maturity and evolution through renovations.

There is a show in the United States that features Ty Pennington called ‘’Extreme Makeover, Home edition’’; the latter part of the name conveys that makeovers should not end with one’s personal appearance. Keep in mind that the improvements to the home don’t necessarily have to be extreme to be considered necessary and viable. His ratings soared and a lot of people got the ‘’renovation itch’’ and visited their local Bed Bath and Beyond or IKEA to adopt some of their ideas. That is perfectly fine! Your home most definitely could or should be improved somewhere.

Think of your garage tools, are you tired of seeing them scattered around and greasing up your floor and driveway?  Well why not install a shelf? Have all those tools organized and stored according to how you want. If you are a lady, perhaps you will be glad to know that the best time to renovate is when a baby is on the way and the structural changes to the house cannot be limited to the nursery by any means, there now is a baby in the house and all sharp edges and low level shelves must be renovated. Take that chance, make the change.

You will love the new sight. If you don’t believe me, just take a glance at the image below!

Reasons to Remodel Your Home

There are many reasons why people decide to remodel their homes. The common reasons range from: "a relative is visiting" or "this furniture is no longer in season" and of course, the constant in many homes: "this place feels cluttered". Regardless of the reason why homeowners would want get involved in home remodeling, it is always important to do them right, either to consult a professional or have one make the changes for you (this can save you many inconveniences and frankly quite a great deal of money).

It is important to bare in mind the trends and concepts that best suit both your taste and needs, what improvement best meshes esthetic appeal and functionality, once you manage perfect synergy between the two at low cost, well it’s almost like hitting jackpot!

Home remodeling is usually done about twice a year. The changes could be as small as refurbishing furniture or building a walk-in closet for the elegant lady or the dapper gent. These kinds of changes dramatically improve the external as well as internal appearance of a home. There is an important backbone to renovations (well two actually) they not only subconsciously help bonding with your spouse or family but also create added value in the event of a potential sale (this is a major point since most remodeling takes a few thousand dollars to perform but could translate into tens of thousands in a seller’s market.

In the meantime, do try to make those upgrades for you, your spouse and children. You inhabit that space, that is your "sacred temple" of rest, relaxation and the main venue for entertaining family and friends. Say for example, your home came (or was purchased) with a large dining room… the table alone may feel too formal or be too delicate to endure the wear and tear of everyday use so, why not think about building a wooden or marble island inside the kitchen? Just think of how many breakfasts and intense midnight conversations could take place there. In the end, it is all about improvement, and it is not only about the home’s improvement but how you would feel every time you walk through your temple’s door and see that nice table you had made to throw your car keys on or the psychological impact of throwing your suit jacket on the coat hanger which you know full well can feel so liberating.

 Do it for your home, do it for you.

Home Renovation

Every single person in the world who owns a house knows how difficult it was to be able to come up with enough money for the down payment. But equally difficult is to gather enough money to renovate your house when it needs a little remodeling. The logical thing to do in this case would be to wait a few years, save money, and make certain home improvements when you acquire a good budget. But most people are so desperate to renovate their homes and make them look good that they incur in big mistakes.

One of the most common mistakes when it comes to home renovation is the urge to remodel when you don’t have enough money to do it right. Thus, many people go for the cheapest materials available which of course is a big mistake because they won’t last. An important aspect in home renovation is green renovation. Nowadays, many people are interested in building green homes, not only to save the planet, but also to save some money. The problem is that many people can’t afford to go green because the investment is larger, and while it pays off in the long run, they aren’t willing to wait until they have more money.

My advice is that you don’t settle for the cheapest materials or the cheapest contractors when you are going to start a home renovation project. While it might take you longer to buy fancier materials for your home, it is all worth it. If you decide to put off your home renovation project until you have more money, you can even turn your home green and start saving money in the future! Something as small as getting double pane windows can significantly reduce your energy bills! So make a smart decision, plan well, and start your home renovation project until you have enough money to do it right!