Five Ways to Make Your Custom Home Project Cost More – and How to Avoid Them

 

Custom Home

When you’re building or remodeling your home, you’re not buying towels or dishes.  In most cases, it’s one of the most costly purchases you’ve ever made.  So when it comes to budget, you probably want to figure out the best places to save money right off the bat.

There are many parts and pieces to a renovation or a construction project, and many ways to save money.  That’s the beauty of working with a qualified Design-Build company, as their professionals usually have years of experience on pricing and can guide you in the right direction on which design items to select to stay within your budget.  We often save our clients thousands of dollars by finding them finishes and fixtures that still look good and are in keeping with their tastes, but are far less expensive than what they might find on their own, as a consumer.  

When we sit down with our clients for their initial design consultation, there are five major areas we like to discuss before we proceed.  These big-ticket items can make or break the bank when it comes to a custom home project, and the direction we take depends on finding that balance between budget and aesthetics.  You have to decide – are these items so important to your custom home that you are willing to stretch your budget a little?  Or does budget take priority?  Is there a middle ground in any of these areas?  These are all important aspects of the design and planning process.

Here are five places where you can sway your budget considerably on a custom home project:

Continue reading

Brass is Back – But Not in Overkill

Brass interior design

Not since the height of the 70’s have we seen brass so strongly embraced in interior design. Along with its other warm metallic counterparts (copper and bronze), brass is enjoying a huge revival. Beaten, folded or polished – designers are celebrating its luxurious, yet industrial appeal, making everything from chandeliers, pendant lights, tables, dressers, chairs, bath and kitchen fixtures and decorative accessories out of this ancient metal.

Continue reading

Go West: Some Classic Style Home Designs to Keep You Cool

There are so many home designs out there, both traditional and contemporary, it can be overwhelming to choose exactly what style you’d like your building contractor to create for you. Fortunately, what you have on your side is the freedom to choose from any number of classics.

Go West: Three of the Most Popular Home Designs

building contractorChoosing from among some of the most popular and practical home styles for warm weather locales can be as easy as…1, 2, 3!

  1. Mission Style (or Spanish Mission) – These homes feature stucco walls, exposed rafters, and rounded tile, gabled roofs with parapets. Look for the use of round arched doors, windows and porches, and heavy squared piers with slanted sides. (Square or rectangular masonry or wood piers support a building, carrying the weight of it down to the ground). Square towers and a full-width one-story porch areContinue reading

FAQs When Creating an Awesome Outdoor Kitchen

home renovationsWhy is it that food seems to taste that much better when dining alfresco? Maybe it’s the fresh air that whets the appetite. Whatever the reason, one of the many advantages of the Florida lifestyle is being able to enjoy a beautifully designed, fully equipped outdoor kitchen, custom built to your every specification.

Home renovations of any kind require serious planning, and an outdoor kitchen is no exception. In essence, you’re creating a whole new room, basically adjacent or connected to your house, containing all the culinary amenities. Homeowners who want to go the outdoor kitchen route usually have plenty of questions about the process, so let’s look at a few of the FAQs.

Q:  Should the outdoor kitchen be the same style as our indoor kitchen?

A:  The choice is entirely yours. In some cases, outdoor kitchens are considered an extension of the indoor kitchen, so the materials and designs used are somewhat similar. Top-of-the-line grills, pizza ovens and even fireplaces can be built into outdoor kitchens, and some people prefer to keep these heat-generating features strictly outdoors. But having an opportunity toContinue reading

Your Florida Pool Enclosure Becomes another Room

build contractorWhen you live in Florida, a swimming pool is undoubtedly a feature you want alongside your house. If you already have an outdoor pool or are considering adding one to your Tampa Bay area property, think about increasing the overall value and appeal of your real estate even more. Hire an experienced local building contractor to create a gorgeous and dramatic pool enclosure as the final touch. Read on to learn more about the enhancement no Florida home should be without.

What is a Pool Enclosure?

A pool enclosure is a structure that surrounds the pool area, essentially giving it its own roof and walls. It is constructed largely of a basic frame supporting transparent materials that take advantage of natural light and views of any surrounding trees, gardens and other attractive foliage and features. It essentially makes the pool area feel like a beautiful room unto itself, while creating an effective and dramatic transition from the interior of your home to the surrounding patio and garden area.

Why Should a Building Contractor Create a Pool Enclosure?

A properly done pool enclosure is definitely not a DIY project. Specifications must be exacting and carefully carried out to suit your particular pool area on a custom basis. Whether you choose a classic orContinue reading

Plan Ahead for Successful Office Renovations

Good advance planning of all aspects of your office renovations will lessen the chances of unnecessary delays, work disruptions, and other potential pitfalls. If you want the process to go as smoothly as possible, here are a number of steps you can follow to ensure that your office renovations project will be problem-free.

Determine Your Goals for Office Renovations

Building Contractor

Having project goals in place is important before starting any office renovations. Here are some things you should ask yourself in order to determine your goals:

  • What is the reason for the renovations? Is it to install a new technology, update infrastructure systems, upgrade finishes, change how the space will be used, or a desire to improve office appearance?
  • What is your budget for the project? Are there sufficient funds?
  • Are there any issues that may affect the project schedule? For instance, will the building be occupied while the renovations are in progress?
  • Have you contacted a reliable remodeling contractor with experience in office renovations?

Office Renovations Work Best with an Effective Team

An important element for achieving truly successful office renovations is Continue reading

Home Improvement Projects for the Weekend

Yes, you love your home. You’ve been in love with it for the past 10 years—but maybe it’s time to do a little makeover and some home improvement projects? Some painting, gardening or carpentry that can be accomplished over the weekend. Just a couple of simple projects can enhance your home and make it more comfortable for your family.

Home Improvement: Start Small, Think Big

Most renovations and remodeling projects are generally best left to a skilled home contractor. But if you’re thinking of taking that next big step, sometimes just moving things around a bit in the meantime can let you look at your space through fresh eyes.

Help yourself picture what’s possible on a bigger scale—say, getting rid of that rickety, rotting deck over the carport and adding on a more family-friendly computer room in its place. Or just a place for the kids to play the latest video games and hang out with their friends.

Start small, and let some fresh ideas take hold. Sometimes a few DIY projects can help you spend quality time with the family while deciding together what larger improvements would be best.

Home Improvement Projects on a Small Scale

If you’re worried about what to do in your home improvement project, watch some TV shows about interior design and general home improvement—there are entire channels devoted to this now, and sometimes it’s hard not to get hooked! Browse through the many magazines featuring improvement projects, sure to show ideas about what and how to add beauty and functionality to your home.

Here are some typical smaller scale things you can do to perk up your home:Continue reading

Why are Concrete Countertops a Cut Above the Rest?

When it comes to designing a kitchen, some people leave it up to what the contractors suggest. We have many ideas about how we want our kitchen to look and feel. But we often side with the usual things that we see in other people’s kitchens: the cupboards, the center aisle, the sink and appliances, and especially—the style and material of the countertops.

Have you ever wanted a kitchen that stands out from the rest? Would you like your kitchen to have a wow effect on your visitors? Let’s step away from the usual and make it happen!

For an ultra luxurious and unique look, consider concrete countertops instead of from typical choices like granite and marble. So far, concrete countertops have been favored by a minority—they’re a terrific but less familiar choice. More people are discovering, however, that concrete countertops provide the same strength, durability and elegance that marbles and granite’s do, and at a lower cost. Another huge advantageContinue reading

How to Take the Pain out of Home Remodeling

Home Remodeling
Are you considering a home remodel? Do you have a home improvement project you have been tossing around in your head for years but have never gone through with it?  Are you afraid to get the ball rolling?

A lot of people understandably put off of doing renovations by fear of high costs and contractor hassles.

But it’s not all bad!  Trust me!  There are some very excellent contractors out there and when you find them you can actually achieve what you set out to do without too much hassle.

 

Degrees of Home Remodelling

One thing it is important to realize isContinue reading