TCB Tips Blog

You’ve probably heard it called a breakfast room, a sun room, or a drawing room. Today, it’s called a morning room. It’s a place to sit and eat, read, relax and enjoy a quiet time during the day. Morning room additions are a great way to expand a kitchen or family room. They are usually placed where the natural light in the morning hours can spill into the room through large windows. Whether they are floor-to-ceiling, bay or picture windows, they create an ambiance of bringing the outdoors inside. The morning room is one of the best ways to enjoy nature and the change of seasons. If you live in northern Virginia, relaxing in your morning room will afford you a view of the delicate spring buds on the trees, the rich, greenery in the summer, the fiery foliage in the autumn and the pristine white snow in the winter.

Since the morning room is positioned on the house for the best light all day long, the room will feel pleasant and natural. Maintain that essence by trying natural materials such as slate, stone or wood flooring. Keep walls light colored, both to make the room brighter and to give the illusion of a larger room. The lighter the walls and floor, the more the light will be reflected, keeping the room bright, even on a dreary day.

Your custom remodeler can identify the location that will offer the best natural light, and advise you on a good size – the room should be big enough to handle average size furniture, especially if it’s an addition to your kitchen or family room. It can also be an extension of your master suite. What better way to wake up and say, “Good Morning!”

Instead of a small, catch-all desk in the kitchen or family room, or a cabinet full of papers next to your bed, consider a room addition of a home office.  Even if your family’s jobs take them to a remote office or on the road most days, there will always be some type of work to be done at home – from tax filing to school forms, baseball rosters to thank you notes.  

A home office room addition creates a great place for the computer and all of today’s electronic gadgetry, including charging stations.  Make sure your home remodeling contractor knows what type of electrical outlets and cable outlets you’ll need throughout the room.  Built-in filing cabinets and book shelves are great custom features, and they also add a “wow” factor.  Good natural lighting is a must, and it can be achieved with a window seat or floor-to-ceiling windows.  The home office can become a cozy, pleasant area with the addition of a fireplace and comfortable seating area.
 
You might even consider conducting business there!

Last week we talked about practical remodeling options. As you find more and more ways to organize your home, you can probably come up with just as many ideas for useful rooms. The fitness room, tool room, craft room or mud room are all great choices. They serve specific purposes and help to ease the space issue for all those things that never seem to find a home. Rooms like a study lounge or computer room give the young people in your house their own cool space. A sports landing zone in the mud room also assigns a space for sports equipment and lets the kids enjoy their own area.

Just by adding a room to your home, you can bring a sense of organization and completeness. A simple room addition is practical and adds value. It serves as a bonus room, and it’s easy to modify if your interest changes in a few years, or someone buys your home and is a sports buff instead of a craft buff. After a few months of this new room, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

You already know that remodeling is winning out over moving to a new location in today’s economy.  It’s a sensible way to get what you want in your home, and recoup the costs when the real estate market rebounds.  The fact is, trends in remodeling are focusing on practicality before luxury.   If you’re thinking of remodeling, be realistic about what can be done now, and pay attention to the basics.  Be reasonable and take a long-term view of what you’ll need in the future.  

Determine what you don’t like about your home.  For example, do you need to upgrade your current bathroom or add a new one?  Is your kitchen great or barely functional?  How about your family room and living space – do you like to entertain and want to interact with people while preparing food?  Think about where you plan to be a few years from now, and how your home will wear until then.  

You can select a practical option, like a kitchen remodel, then add luxurious touches.  Once you’ve decided to remodel or build an addition, seek valid professional advice.  Custom builders and remodelers see it all, and they can tell you what’s hot in the market.  They can also advise on what’s realistic for your budget.  Then you can make a rational decision based on good facts.   It’s not a matter of whether or not to be practical, it’s a matter of whether or not the home remodel is going to benefit your lifestyle – now and in the future.   

A recent article from US News and World Report names the top three “recession remodeling trends.”  Despite the recession, people are still doing custom remodeling.  In fact, the article reports that the National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index (RMI) hit a five-year high in the fourth quarter of 2011.  But the custom remodeling projects are taking on a different twist.  People are opting to stay put and make their homes more livable, both for themselves and for extended family.

Top trends include suites for long-term care at home, outdoor retreats, and smarter kitchens.  The need for in-law suites or room additions is prevalent – many are thinking about “aging in place” designs.  These custom additions can be second-floor additions, but more often they are bump outs from the original home in order to avoid stairs for the new occupants.  If stairs are not an issue, they can even be apartments over the garage.  The point is practicality and convenience, both for the aging person and the care giver.  

In addition, decks, sun rooms and Florida rooms have seen a strong demand in the custom remodeling business.  People are trying to get back to nature and spend more time outdoors.  

Finally, the “wow” kitchen is probably the most popular custom remodeling job – both for the homeowner and the custom builder.  We spend so much time in the kitchen, and socially, we gravitate to the kitchen.  The US News and World Report article contends that people are customizing their kitchens more, with more emphasis on pantries and utility rooms.  They are also opting for larger eating areas and family room areas.  A kitchen addition becomes an extension of the living area – open, airy, and friendly.   

If you decide to remodel, your custom remodeler can give you tips and ideas on how to meet your lifestyle needs and get the most for your money.

Spring is a time to get organized.  Custom remodeling is one way to do that.  Whether it’s adding built-in cabinets and shelving or creating a whole new room, you can make your home a haven for all the wayward “stuff” that never seems to have a place.  Get creative.  Bump out your laundry room and make a “drop zone” or mud room.  This is a simple addition that can save time and money.  Shoes, jackets, sporting equipment and more can find their places in the drop zone.  From cubbies to cabinets, the built-in organizational possibilities are endless.  The key:  stuff will be handy when the kids are on their way out the door, and it will be left in one central location on the way into the house.  Add a closet with shelves and baskets so that laundry can be sorted in one step – with each load in its own basket.  Have a bench built in, with storage underneath for shoe changing.  The mud will stay in the mud room, and you’ll wonder how you lived without the “drop zone.”  

A bathroom remodel as part of the master suite or as the main bath can be beastly, but it will add comfort to your lifestyle and resale value to your home.  According to Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value report for 2011, you can recoup a majority of the cost at resale for remodeling a bathroom in the section of the country that includes the Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria areas here in Virginia.  A total bathroom addition can get you a significant return as well.  

Bathroom remodeling must-haves:  a double sink.  Add a mirror that opens for a 360-degree view and houses a medicine chest or storage area, include some soft, natural lighting, and you have your own salon atmosphere. 

Other popular additions:  the steam shower.  These have therapeutic benefits and can also be energy saving.   All-tile showers with frameless glass have become a trend.  They lend a seamless, upscale look to the bath.  Fixtures are also part of the detail that can make or break a bathroom.  First, they need to work for you.  If you like a removable shower head, then get one.  Little luxuries like a waterfall fixture add a “wow” factor, and they do the job if you really want it done right.
   
Wallow in warmth: just about everything can be heated, from the toilet seat to the ceiling.  While the overhead heat lamp in the shower or bath has become the norm, the indulgences have spread to heated flooring and heated towel racks. If you have a smaller area, you can have a heated floor without much expense by having your custom remodeler install a heat mat.  Heated towel racks can be built-in or free-standing.  These things feel like an extravagance, but they can be done reasonably and create a comfortable, cozy bath experience.

If you’re planning to stay in your home for decades, or even if you’re anticipating a sale in the next few years, a master bedroom suite addition can be a valuable asset.  If nothing else, it’s a little bit of luxury just for you in an otherwise practical world.  Your bedroom is where you relax and unwind.  It’s your own private sanctuary.  And, it can add value to your home.  According to Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value report for 2011, adding a master suite can garner a majority of your investment in return at resale – with the added advantage of living well prior to resale – in areas like Fairfax, Manassas and Alexandria (all considered part of the Southeast USA by the magazine).

When planning your addition, look at the high-end homes in the area.  What they’re incorporating today will set the trend for the future in mid-range homes.  A basic master suite upgrade must include a bathroom – think spa – and a walk-in closet or two.  Be careful not to eliminate any basics, such as a tub or a shower.  This will devalue the home for future buyers.  More on the bathroom upgrade in our next post...

The suite itself might include tray ceilings, nooks or window seats.  Any design that lets in lots of natural light is appealing – skylights are ideal for master suites.  Floor-to-ceiling windows that give you a panoramic view of the great outdoors are very popular.  A sitting area with fireplace and big screen TV is also common and not only adds a little luxury now, it can be creatively marketed as an in-law suite later, if necessary.  Built-in cabinets and innovative storage space is a practical bonus.  Some of those cabinets might also include tie racks, shoe racks and rotating wardrobes.   

Whatever your bedroom remodeling ideas, consider them a “suite” way to indulge yourself just a little.  

Challenge: You want to add on to your home but don't have the space on your lot.

Solution: Build up!

A second floor addition is a great way to incorporate a bedroom, bathroom, in-law suite or office. While it is not without headaches and risks, it can also be a good solution. A second floor addition is usually not a zoning concern in Fairfax. If in Arlington or Alexandria, do have your custom builder check your local laws and get the right permits.

If you live in an older home and have an attic, your custom builder might be able to turn it into the room of your dreams. Building up will also save you some aggravation and money. With a second floor custom remodel, there will be no need for excavation and no new foundation. However, if the roof is coming off, you'll have to make plans to stay somewhere else during this period of construction -- usually for about a week. In the end, you'll end up with a great new addition and a taller house!

Last week we mentioned the simple addition of a deck to increase the value of your home. The weather is already getting to the point of pleasant in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax, VA. Take advantage of this both from a construction standpoint and the ability to enjoy your outdoor remodeling job by considering a deck as part of a larger Virginia kitchen addition or other family room addition.

Decks have nearly as many choices as kitchens and baths. For materials, all wood decks are traditionally sturdy and good quality. But consider the maintenance: cleaning and staining regularly is a must. Composite materials that are a blend of wood fiber and plastic resin work well for ground-floor decks and built-in deck seating. They need less maintenance than wood, but usually need closer joints and wood supports to prevent sagging. The same goes for plastics and vinyl. Finally, a modern architecture home might look great with an aluminum deck using interlocking metal boards.

Size and shape are also variables. Ask your home remodeling contractor what's best for your needs and home. Whatever your choice, be sure the deck will withstand the outdoor elements to your satisfaction -- a run-down deck will be an eyesore, not an asset.