The motivation for a home improvement project can come from a variety of sources. It often occurs at two ends of the home-owning spectrum: We are spurred on to action either when we decide we are staying forever or when
Renovation Solutions: Couple turns 1880s era Avenues home into a beauty
The empty property in the Avenues was dripping with potential and history. Adam Collings and his wife first saw the distressed 1880s home in 2011. The outside of the house resembled the Addam’s Family house before it was remodeled. Trina
Renovation Solutions: Beyond DIY: Tips from ‘This Old House’ to save on a home remodel
Custom details take a surprising amount of coordination between lots of trades, so designing them in advance is the best way to ensure they out just the way you want them. Trina Knudsen, Renovation Design Group In this
Renovation Solutions: Tips for choosing an exterior paint color for your house
Choosing an exterior paint color is an intimidating exercise. Looking at those minuscule swatches and picturing what any one color will look like spread over your entire house is tough. It really feels like a make-or-break decision as far as
Renovation Solutions: Hot housing market impacts decision to buy or remodel
There are always areas of a home that have room for improvement. Upgrading one of these areas will improve your use and enjoyment of your home and if done well can also positively impact the value. Trina Knudsen, Renovation
Weekend projects that can boost home value
Sprucing up the front door can do wonders for curb appeal. Annie Schwemmer, Renovation Design Group Ultimately, a home’s true value is determined by the price someone is willing to pay for it. When deciding whether to remodel
Renovation Solutions: The difference between design, decorating
Our company motto is “Making the world a better place, one home at a time.” We enjoy having a positive impact on our community and in our clients’ lives. We get an occasional “hot mess” to fix up, but more
Renovation Solutions: What a remodeling contractor says about architects
(before) This beautiful deck and pergola remodel was the result of a great collaborative effort between the architect, general contractor, and steel fabricator. (Kevin Bunnell, Renovation Design Group) Most people who don’t use an architect for a home remodeling project
Things to consider before removing a structural wall
Editor’s note: Portions of this column were previously published on deseretnews.com and on their website at renovationdesigngroup.com. One of the most common requests we hear these days is to design an open floor plan to create a great room that
Creating a plan leads to saving money on remodeling
At the homeowners request, this toilet room in the master bedroom, shown after renovation was designed to accommodate a future walk in tub. The required plumbing was installed behind the walls and floors to make future installation easy, while in
Renovation Solutions: Home remodeling with pets in mind
When we ask potential clients about the makeup of their family, it is always useful if they include their pets on the list. While goldfish and a parakeet don’t require much special design attention, dogs and cats do. Houzz.com recently
How to stick to your remodeling budget
One of the most common fears of remodeling is a project snowballing out of control. It is true that when remodeling there will always be unforeseen items that will impact the budget. Most situations can be anticipated by working with
Renovation Solutions: Common oversights when remodeling
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series about avoiding common remodeling mistakes. The first is “Avoiding common home remodeling mistakes” and the second is “5 tips to avoiding costly remodeling mistakes.” Both are on deseretnews.com in the Family
Renovation Solutions: A pellet ice machine might start a big remodel project
We’ve recently worked with a family who knew that someday they would like to remodel their home; they just weren’t sure when. When the wife wanted to install a pellet ice machine in the kitchen, it sparked the major remodel
Heating up the house: Tips for energy efficient homes in winter
It is that time of year again: time to start heating the house. Many of us hold out as long as possible, but the old “put on a sweater” or “grab a blanket” routine will only last a few more
Renovation Solutions: Architects’ three tips for a great design
Editor’s note: Portions of this column have previously run on the writers’ website at renovationdesigngroup.com and in a previous Renovation Design column at deseretnews.com. These French doors and windows, visible from the home’s entry, provide lots of natural light to
Renovation Solutions: How to protect your hillside home against landslides
At the beginning of this month, a landslide in North Salt Lake destroyed one home and caused 27 others to be evacuated. People are rightly concerned about protecting their homes from disasters such as this. When things like this happen,
Renovation Solutions: Tips for a wooden deck addition
A wood deck addition is the second project with the highest return on investment in Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value report for 2013-14. The wooden deck is a common remodeling project, especially at this time of year. As the weather
Renovation Solutions: Tips to selecting a new front door
As part of our recent market analysis, we mentioned Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value report for 2013-2014. The top five national remodeling projects with the highest return on investment for this year are a new front door, a wood deck
Renovation Solutions: The power of color choice
Color is a powerful element in both interior and exterior design. A room with nondescript walls can be transformed by a simple coat of paint. You can create different feelings and moods in a room just by what colors you
Exterior remodels continued: Gutters
Ah, autumn. ’Tis the season for pumpkin shakes, cozy sweaters, the first fire of the season, and — oh, yeah — raking leaves and cleaning out your gutters. No one likes climbing on the roof to clean out the leaves
Renovation Solutions: Roofing material choice impacts a remodel
Everyone has seen a bad remodel. You’ve seen the house where the new addition looks like a big shed bumped up against the house, or the second story that looks as if it could have fallen from space and just
Remodeling for seismic upgrades
Last time we introduced you to Bob and Char Nelson’s remodeled 1927 Tudor-style home in the Harvard-Yale area of Salt Lake City. The remodel stayed within the floor plan of the historic home and was initially focused on energy efficiency
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
Updating your old furnace will pay you back in savings
If your furnace looks like this, it may be time to consider an upgrade. Annie V. Schwemmer Heating and cooling account for about 56 percent of the energy used in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense
Renovation Solutions: Remodeling? Here are some survival tips
“Renovating is an intense personal experience shared with large numbers of total strangers — not much different than surviving a plane crash.” — An anonymous homeowner. Contractors Jason Runolfson, left, and Jeremy Jackson of Jackson & LeRoy Remodeling spend
Renovation Solutions: Bungalow turned loft: Homeowner wouldn’t change a thing
For this week’s column, we wanted to revisit one of our most unique remodeling projects: the bungalow/loft. While we know that such a contemporary style may not be everyone’s cup of tea, this project shows how bold and creative you
Renovation Solutions: Avoid the remodeling project snowball
One of the most common fears of remodeling is a project snowballing out of control. Although this home underwent a major remodel, this particular room only received new paint, hardwood floors, baseboards, can lights and a fireplace insert. Thanks to
Swamp cooler is an inexpensive way to beat the heat
By Ann Robinson and Annie Schwemmer Last week we discussed the basics of cooling system upgrades in regard to central air conditioning. However, in this dry, desert climate, central air isn’t the last word on effective cooling systems. Another natural
Time for cooling-system upgrade? Here are the basics
By Ann Robinson and Annie Schwemmer Well, summer finally came, and more hot days are in the forecast. While most Utahns have some sort of cooling system in their homes, some yearn for a system upgrade. Here is a basic