5 Things to Consider for Your Home Remodelling Project

Home remodelling projects often seem very exciting yet intimidating at the same time. Indeed, without careful planning, you might end up busting your budget or worse, getting bad quality designs and workmanship. However, this does not always have to be the case. With good preparations and considerations, you can achieve significant improvements without breaking the bank. Here are 5 things to consider before you start renovating your home: 

Façade

The façade of your house will set the first impression of your home for anyone who pulls up to your property. Therefore, it is crucial that you do not forget to maintain its appearance and even improve it as it can greatly increase the value of your home. It is important that you keep the façade clean and without too many different styles as this could make your house seem cluttered. Improving your house's façade can be as easy as just adding a fresh coat of paint. Small changes or additions like letter boxes and street numerals can also go a long way without being expensive. The key is to keep it neat, tidy, and stick to one theme.

Kitchens and Bathrooms

by Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath

In the real estate industry, the kitchen and bathroom are often the deciding factors for someone making an offer. Hence, you should always consider a new kitchen and bathroom for your next house upgrade.

The rule of thumb for the budget on your kitchen is to keep it at 2% or less of the total value of your property. If you spend more, you will be at risk of over-capitalising on your sales margin. There are many things that you can do to your kitchen, for example, installing new cabinets and replacing fixtures like handles and lights. You should also replace all your appliances in a bundle simultaneously because not only is this more cost-effective, matching appliances could also enhance the appearance of the kitchen.

Similarly, you should not spend more than 2% of your total property value on your bathroom. If you have a small bathroom, there are many ways to heighten the spaciousness of the room. You can install your shower over the bathtub, increasing more space yet maintaining functionality. Another trick is to use light colored, large-sized tiles and lay them horizontally. This way, not only does it look more expensive, but also creates the illusion of spaciousness even in small bathrooms.

Ceiling

by Brian Watford Interiors

The ceiling is often an overlooked element in home remodelling projects even though it is a great area to elevate the interior appearance of your rooms without giving up space for functionality. There are a variety of creative ceiling designs and materials to choose from. You can add character and style to your living by installing a coffered ceiling paired with recessed lightings. Modelhome makeover shared great images on home renovation designs if you want to get ideas.  

A well-designed coffered ceiling can create a wow factor and be an aesthetic feature in your room. If you want to amplify the sense of spaciousness and brightness, you may want to consider installing skylights. Skylights can transform even an old looking room into a modern and sophisticated looking one.

Flooring

by Margot Hartford Photography

Flooring is also one of the biggest surfaces of your property and if your flooring does not look good, it might put off potential buyers if they assume that they will have to undergo an expensive project to replace the flooring. On the other hand, if your flooring fits the theme of your home and looks new, it can improve the appearance of your home significantly. Tiled floorings are great as they are durable and can bring in aesthetic value to the room. They also come in many colors and patterns. Dark colored tiles create a cozy and stylish ambiance while light colored ones can make your room seem larger.

With good planning and smart designs, home improvements can be fun and not daunting at all. You can choose inexpensive alterations that yield great improvements or splurge a bit to make your home even more impressive to both guests and potential buyers.

Bathrooms in the modern day custom home

Modern Day Construction for custom homes Part 16

In today’s modern world of construction things are changing year to year faster than they did decade to decade in any other previous time period. In this multi part series I will traverse through an entire house starting with the foundation and working my way up to the roof and then to the finishing’s. I will explain what has changed in the last twenty years in custom home building.

One thing that you should be able to take away from this is how important it is to not just to hire the right general contractor to build your custom home but how important it is to hire one that is up on today’s building methods.

Bathrooms

Twenty years ago the bathroom rooms were fairly simple with a couple of lights, a tub/shower combination and a small vanity.

Today bathrooms are made so that they will never feel like the old bathrooms. Every option is used so that they bathroom does not feel like a damp dark place. Here are some of the major things that have changed;

• Mirrors. Mirrors have grown bigger and fancier. Custom cut glass with edging and sometimes having the mirror trimmed out to look like a picture usually using the same still of wood and trim detail as the room has.

• Lighting. Lighting has gotten extremely fancy with the rule being the more lights the better. You can never have to bright of a bathroom. Chandeliers are routinely placed in bathrooms to help bring some style to a room that is has historically been function over faster.

• Pot lights. Pot lights are found commonly found in bathrooms now, in the shower and in the general use area of the bathroom, pot lights are simple lighting choices that never really go out of style and are able to give you a fair bit of light for a little amount of money.

• Fans. Bathroom fans have become more powerful and quieter. Gone are the days when you have to use the hair dryer on the mirror before you use it on yourself. Properly placed bathroom fans should keep the mirror free of fogging up with moisture from the shower. Fans also have light and even heat bulbs in them. Heat bulbs help keep you warm and help you dry when you are finished in the shower.

• Showers. Showers have grown in size and changed shape. Custom glass showers are the norm now, some are being built with corners in them so that they do not require a door. There are luxury pre-made models as well that are very function and are able to fit in tight spaces. Most showers in main bathrooms also have seats built into them, this helps older people who are unsteady on their feet and also women who want a place to sit to shave their legs.

• Glass. Glass is being used everywhere in bathrooms today. From the ever growing mirrors, to entire glass shower enclosures, all the way down to glass counter tops on the vanity. Glass is strong and functional; it also comes in any colour that you desire.

• Vanities. Vanities have gotten bigger and more elaborate. Vanities now routinely have granite counter tops and are built to maximize storage space so that everything can be put away. A properly built vanity almost makes linen closets obsolete for towels and toilet paper. Vanities are being built with almost like stations for being depending on what they are trying to accomplish. There are multiple sink’s, or large long sinks that more than two people can share and there are areas where women can sit down and apply their makeup with proper lighting and mirrors to make it easier.

• Sinks. Sinks have grown in size and shape. There are now sinks that are so large that they are designed with two sets of taps for his and her usage. Sinks can be mounted on top of the counter top, underneath the counter top or a combination of the two depending on the look the person wants.

• Shower fixtures. Shower heads have gotten larger and larger, to the point where it is like standing underneath a waterfall. Hand showers and multi headed body jets are now expected. Shower fixtures give you almost a carwash type cleaning.

• Tubs. Tubs have been given more jets and even “bubblers”. There are also tubs now that you can get that have lighting in the tub and play music through the water. Some tubs now will even air dry themselves when you have finished in the tub and drained the water out. This helps stops the tub from getting rust stains and water rings.

• In floor heating. Heated floors have become the norm for any bathroom that has a lot of tile on the floor. It helps to limit the use of floor mats that cover up the beautiful tile work. This helps make the bathroom its own climate regardless if the heat is on in the rest of the house or the air conditioning.

• Toilets. Toilets have become water savers in the last decade. You actually can’t buy a non low flow toilet anymore. Toilets come with slow closing lids to limit the slamming of lids by children or other people not paying attention. They can also be purchased with heated seats and higher end toilets come with an anti-bacterial coating to help reduce the smell. They also have before longer and wider so that even the biggest person can be comfortable while reading their favorite book.

Looking for part 17 coming soon....

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.