Finishing your basement is a less-expensive and less-invasive alternative to a home addition, and it does not eat up yard space. With good architectural design, even shelf basements with low ceilings and small windows, or basements that have already been
Holiday season tests your home the most and sparks remodeling discussions
The holiday season is often the busiest time of year for gatherings, so it is also the time when your home’s capacity and functionality are tested the most. This is when you learn (or remember) you really could use that
Renovation Solutions: The problem of asbestos in home remodels
We recently had a reader ask us to highlight the problem of asbestos in private residences, so this is our topic of the week. Asbestos abatement workers contain the area and must where respirators to protect themselves from the harmful
Renovation Solutions: Adding insulation will combat high heating bills
The weather is getting colder and the energy bill is getting higher. If your heating bill is through the roof, then that may be exactly where your heat is escaping — through your roof and walls. There were three different
New countertops are quick, painless upgrade
Here’s a quick and easy way to upgrade your home: Install new countertops. Installing new countertops does not require moving walls, making structural changes or imposing drastic disruptions to your life. The actual disruption can be limited to just one
Built-in seating gets you more out of your kitchen
Last week, we started our kitchen remodeling series in honor of Thanksgiving — the holiday with the most time spent in the kitchen. Beyond Thanksgiving and other holiday gatherings, modern families are actually spending more time in general in the
Renovation Solutions: Carving out a better kitchen
It is hard to believe it is already November. Now that the election is over, everyone can all start thinking about the next big event in November: Thanksgiving. With its focus of a wonderful, home-cooked meal, there is no doubt
Creative storage space ideas
More storage space is one of the top needs on our clients’ lists. What we help clients realize is that storage doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of a closet. There are many ways to creatively add storage
Renovation Solutions: An architect’s tale of the Frankenhouses
In honor of this ghoulish holiday, we want to resurrect a favorite scary tale: “The Story of the Frankenhouses.” Spooky decorations may add some Halloween flare to this recently remodeled porch, but nothing is scarier than An Architect’s Tale of
Defining space with ceiling design
One of the main goals of architecture is to clearly and beautifully define and differentiate space in a home. While adding a wall is one way to do that, it is not the only way. Today’s families want houses that
Renovation Solutions: Wall thickness can be used as design tool
Last week we discussed interior views — the views we see from room to room inside our homes. One important aspect of these views is the wall in the rooms themselves. Wall thickness actually impacts the look and feel of
How to create better interior views
Removing a section of wall and adding a window in the wall behind it made this space feel much more open and inviting. (David Price, Renovation Design Group) Architecture is often associated with how the home is viewed from
Tips for designing a welcoming home
It is difficult to put into words what it feels like to come home. “Home” looks and feels different for everyone. However, there are similarities in the elements of architecture that create that welcoming feeling of “Ahh, we’re home.” Before:
Designing the perfect ‘away room’
Because our homes are filled with electronics, televisions, computers, appliances and people, our homes are filled with noise. When a majority of the public space in a home is open, it is helpful to maintain a small space that can
Remodeling should focus on comfort, not size
So many times, clients come to us asking for more space. However, most of the time it is not more space that they actually need. It is better space. Do you use every room of your house every day? How
Busy families choose mudrooms for entrances
Busy families with school-age children have most likely spent the last few weeks buying school clothes and supplies to prepare for the new school year. As we say goodbye to summer, it is time for us to gear up for
Renovation Solutions: Three home design elements to better your home
In our last column, we started the discussion on design elements that affect our lives and our relationships in our homes. We talked about three key design elements: light, interior views and shelter around activity. This five-foot opening between a
Using design elements in your home can renew life : By Annie Schwemmer and Ann Robinson For the Deseret News
Architects have numerous design tools at their disposal to evoke positive emotions. Good architects know when to use each one and can expertly apply combinations of them to change the lives of their clients. There are three general areas
Renovation Solutions: How to survive a renovation
Many of those who remodel choose to stay in their home while it is being renovated. In terms of saving money, this isn’t a bad idea. It is definitely more cost-effective than renting a place for the few months your
Tips on making remodeling less stressful
As difficult as remodeling is under the best of circumstances, imagine trying to complete a project on a house in a different city or state. For instance, a Utah family was transferred to Arizona. The family flew to the new
Renovation Solutions: Remodeling lessons learned from office renovation
We recently renovated a space and moved our office. This has been a good experience in the same way that a surgeon should occasionally have an operation. We are in the business of uprooting people’s lives, temporarily, and telling them
The key to successful remodeling, even if you do it yourself; Simple secret to a successful home remodel
We would like to preface this column by saying that we are not automatically opposed to do-it-yourself remodels. We have seen some beautiful homes remodeled by homeowners as the contractor and/or laborer. Granted, the homeowner who successfully does it himself
How architecture can change lives
Happy clients are the measure of our success. We enjoy having our work published and earning design awards, but we get our most direct rewards from our happy clients. Nothing is more rewarding than to hear how our work has
Bringing light inside the home with skylights
Studies show that when people live and work in a well-lit environment, they are happier, healthier and more productive. Natural lighting can also be another way to save on electricity, since it provides free light and warmth. This design technique
Renovation Solutions: Truth about updating kitchen without a full-scale remodel
A full kitchen replacement consists of demolishing and removing everything in the room, including the sheetrock, so that the walls are open and the plumbing piping and the electrical wiring are exposed. When the work crews cut into the
Doing a kitchen remodel in phases takes planning
Last week, we began a discussion of how to tackle a major kitchen overhaul in several stages to try to defray some of the cost of such a major undertaking. As we noted, according to Remodeling magazine’s 2011 Cost vs.
Adding central vacuum system to the home
While we often think about the aesthetics of our dream houses, we may not spend enough time researching some of the more technical/mechanical elements that could contribute to making our daily lives easier. No matter how beautiful a home is,
Renovation Solutions: Navigating technical aspects of a remodel
Last week we discussed what is involved in removing structural walls. But there are more aspects of construction that you need to deal with in a more major remodel. Believe it or not, the technical aspects of the remodel impact
Removing a structural wall is tricky but not impossible
One of the most common requests we hear these days is to create an open floor concept to create a kitchen/great room. This request requires removing walls. How simple this process is depends on whether or not the wall is
Renovation Solutions: Repurposing a home’s underused space
Your house has a finite number of square feet, and it is incumbent upon each of us to make sure we are using that space to our greatest advantage. A spare bedroom was an underused space that has been
Finding a design style is a revealing process
A person’s design style is as unique as his or her own personality. It may not be what is advertised on the billboards or what you grew up with, but rest assured that you have a style — you just
Renovation Solutions: Expert advice on creatively maximizing your space
Multitasking: the performance of multiple tasks at one time, describes a lot of our lives. From the dubious practice of talking on our cellphones while driving to the mom trying to feed the baby while getting the other children out
Spring is the perfect time to give your ugly patio a face-lift
By Ann Robinson and Annie V. Schwemmer Published: Saturday, March 17 2012 4:00 p.m. MDT Today we are going to talk about patios. We are sure your spring project priority list is filling up fast. No doubt many of your
Tips to designing seamless outdoor spaces
Is it spring yet? Well, the technical answer is no, but psychologically some of us need to push the issue a bit. One way to endure the winter doldrums is to focus on spring gardening. We’ll bet some of you
Ways do-it-yourselfers can save even more
The cost of labor is the largest portion of a remodeling budget. If you are a do-it-yourselfer with the time, energy, resources and know-how to do the construction yourself, then you can save thousands on labor costs. In preparation for
Tips to cut remodeling costs without cutting any corners
Busting the budget is everyone’s biggest fear when it comes to home renovation, and with good reason. If funds are tight, consider hiring a contractor to build just the exterior “shell” of your addition and then you can complete the
Heated floors are making a comeback
Heated floors are becoming one of the top must-have features in modern homes — both in new home construction and in retrofits. With a growing range of designs to choose from, homeowners are discovering what people around the world have
Renovation Solutions: Specify products for remodeling project
The decision to take the plunge into home remodeling may be difficult, but it will be just the first of many decisions you will have to make. Even after the majority of all the design decisions have been made, the
Kitchen remodeling trends for 2012
Last week we discussed design trends for the whole house. This week we will focus on the 2012 trends for the kitchen. Before and after photos of a recent kitchen remodel. Major kitchen remodels have a 68.7 percent return on
Renovation Solutions: Top home-improvement trends of 2012
At this time of year the design community starts the trend talk, discussing home-remodeling trends they foresee for the coming year. Most trends are dictated by consumer priorities, lifestyles and the economy — in other words: demand. Other trends are