Tag: remodeling

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The Great Opening Up

I love when people feature my designs on their websites! This wonderful open, bright space was originally a series of smaller dark rooms. The clients wanted a light, classic, functional great room in which to live and entertain. This was accomplished by:

  • Eliminating a small butler’s pantry and opening the kitchen up to the formal dining room so that it would feel like a part of the living space
  • Removing the wall with the cased opening that separated the breakfast nook from small bar area
  • Moving the kitchen to the center of the new open space and putting in a large island with plenty of seating
  • Integrating a bar area into the kitchen
  • Moving inconvenient pantry storage from another room into accessible cabinets in the kitchen
  • Introducing the clients to porcelain slab counters since they love marble but didn’t want the maintenance
  • Laying out the rooms based on function as well as aesthetics and adding convenient storage organization in the cabinets

What you don’t see here is the creation of a laundry room in the old pantry location and an beautiful enlarged owner’s closet that is fully decked out with amazing cabinets. The closet took over the previous laundry location which was noisily located right off the family room.

Before & After: A Cary Kitchen Gets a Light and Bright Makeover

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The Order of Things

A phone call with a prospective client reminded me of how many people need help determining the sequencing of their remodel project. With each client, there is an order that makes the most sense for what they want to do.

For example, does it make sense to refinish the wood floors throughout your entire house (including your kitchen) if you plan to remodel your kitchen within a year. What if you end up with a kitchen plan that moves cabinets? Now you have more floor to refinish. Do you really want people tromping around on your new floors for several months even with protection over the floors? Now if the house is empty and you really need to move in, that will factor in your decision. Maybe you refinish everything except the kitchen and create a logical transition point where you can refinish the kitchen floor later on.

Another example… at the moment your budget only covers one of the projects you want to do but you’ll be able to afford all of the projects within one year. Do you come up with a master plan now or just jump in and get work done on one area? If the one area could potentially affect what you can do with the others, you may want to come up with a master plan so your options aren’t limited when you get to the later projects.

As a full service design firm, planning proper sequencing is just one of the areas where we help clients. We want to make sure that you progress in the best manner possible for your needs. That means planning your projects to minimize your inconvenience, make the least mess, eliminate rework, and make the most of your budget.