When designing showers, standard builders are predictable: tile goes here, glass goes there...as long as it looks clean and updated, it’s “done.” But when I walk into a home, I can tell within seconds whether the shower was designed (like for real), or just installed (you know...what folks ... Continue Reading
13 Lighting Mistakes to Identify Room by Room
Are you at home? Great. Walk into another room. Then flip on the lights…and look. But look at the light itself. What I mean is...how the light falls on the walls, and how it reflects off the floor, and what it illuminates. Or what it doesn’t illuminate. If you look at the actual light close ... Continue Reading
How to Turn a Board of Ideas Into Your Next Remodeling Plan
There isn’t one moment when you suddenly decide to remodel a room. Instead, it’s a feeling that creeps in. It starts when you begin to notice how you move through the space...or how there isn’t enough shelving, and it’s ALWAYS cluttered. Maybe there’s that cabinet you can never quite get open, or ... Continue Reading
Pro Kitchen Mapping: A Simple Exercise to Reveal Kitchen Layout Problems
Most people don’t realize how much their kitchen asks them to adapt. For example: None of that feels dramatic, but those moments add up! And, over time, they shape how you live. They steal time, add frustration, and they even modify how you eat!! What if sticking to that new diet were just a ... Continue Reading
13 Bathroom Design Mistakes You’ll Never See in a Rendering
Most bathroom layout mistakes don’t show up in your design drawings. And even those that do are visible exclusively to the eyes that know to look for them. The most surprising (and therefore most disappointing, frustrating, or even infuriating) issues reveal themselves after your remodel is done, ... Continue Reading
What drives remodel costs up?
You have a remodel idea, then every contractor says it will cost more than you thought. Every. Single. One. Why does remodeling your home cost so much? What SPECIFIC choices drive the cost up the most? If you knew that...you could drive it back down. Right? Well, yes. Maybe. By the ... Continue Reading
What Should You Remodel First? A Smarter Way to Decide
You might already know that you want to renovate multiple spaces, but still not know where to start. It’s a fair question: where SHOULD you begin if you aren’t going to do everything at once? A more honest version of the question sounds like this: what are you comfortable updating in your ... Continue Reading
Mistakes That Make Bathrooms Feel Cold and Uninviting
Over the years, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve picked up the phone and heard the same two words when homeowners talk about their bathrooms: “My bathroom feels cold. It’s just…so uninviting.” What’s that really mean, though? What are y’all trying to say when you pause, search for the ... Continue Reading