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Archive for the ‘Home Improvement Design’ Category

If you’ve been dreaming of a home improvement or remodeling project, it’s time to make it a reality. As with any project, good planning is the key to saving you stress and money and achieving the rewards that can come from a newly designed space.

Begin fulfilling your dream by clarifying why you want to do this. The majority of remodeling projects begin as a result of the need to make changes because the house no longer meets the needs and desires of the family. For example, having a baby or growing children can result in a need to expand your space. Or perhaps you have lived in your home for more than 10 years and you are getting an itch to update and modernize. Whatever the reason, it is best to make clear what you hope to accomplish from this home improvement project.

Brainstorm about everything you would like to have included in your remodel and then categorize each item as a “necessity or must have”, “amenity or nice to have” or “definitely not”. In order to organize your thoughts and ideas, create a notebook. This will allow you to keep pictures, color samples, fabric swatches, material specifications, reference phone numbers, budget information and project records in one concise area.

Now that you have answered the why and the what, it is time to take a look at the numbers. Spending time on the budget early on in the project plan, as well as reviewing it at every step of the process, is essential to its success and your sanity. Don’t forget to take into consideration the payback you hope to achieve from this home improvement. Typically a kitchen or bathroom improvement offers the highest payback when it comes to resale. Talk to a trusted real estate agent if this is a major consideration.

Being realistic with what you can afford and when you can afford it will allow you to put together a realistic timetable for the project as a whole. The schedule should be created with the help of your “construction team”, which may include an architect, interior designer, loan officer, and general contractor, to name a few. Areas that typically can cause a ripple in your timetable are the design phase, getting permits and the actual time for construction. Make sure that you have “padded” your schedule to account for these factors.

Identifying reliable competent contractors to work on your project can be as stressful as the project itself. This can also take the most time, so be sure to account for it on your project schedule. The simple answer to getting the best person for your project – research! Begin your search by asking friends and neighbors who have completed their own home improvements who they used. The county building department and Yellow Pages are also places to look. Then do your own homework by verifying their license and insurance, check references and reputation, and view previous and current jobs. Plan interviews that will allow you to assess their personality, approach to problem solving and their understanding of your dream. They may be the best at what they do, but if they don’t “see” your vision of the completed project, then helping you make it reality is going to be difficult. Plan to evaluate up to three bids before you make your final selection.

Through careful planning, the ground work should be completed which leads you to the exciting and nail biting phase of the project – construction. Pay attention to the work as it progresses without micromanaging of your construction team. Walking this fine line can make the difference between a good remodeling experience and a nightmare. Having pre-arranged work review meetings in your project plan can help. Use these to go over any issues that have come up, re-evaluate expectations, monitor progress and maintain positive communication with your contractor.

Post construction, before the celebration party, make sure that the punch list (final “to do” list) has been completed to your satisfaction and that your home owners insurance is updated to reflect your remodel.

It can’t be said enough – good planning will make for a great home improvement project. For more information you can check out the “Construction and Remodeling” section at www.sounfhome.com.

Computers play a large roll in people’s lives. So why not in the home improvement aspect of it? There are tons of computer programs that do massive improvement projects. They lean towards organizations skills, planning and going over what you need.

Home improvement projects cannot be done spur of the moment. Rather, they must be thought out methodically and then carried out. Professionals should always be consulted when doing a home improvement design. This means extra money is shelled out.

The software is usually reasonably priced. Yet, like anything else that is in this field, the more you spend, the more ideas and things you will get on the software. Do some checking between software programs and see what is to your liking.

The software can come in the form of DVDs and CDs. Using the computer, they can show you what you want done from an architect’s view. They will offer tools that can help you to build buildings and other areas within your home. It is a basic guide to more ideas that can be done. It is also telling you about how much time is involved with it and what you can aspect over all.

It will not show you, however, the costs behind the improvement. This is when you will speak to contractors about the type of material they would involve and their labor charges. Get several estimates if possible and check out the business before settling on a contractor.

The software is far from easy to use. Either you need to be an expert yourself, hire an expert and just automatically know how to use the software since it can be quite confusing. Like anything else… once you get the hang of it, it’s like you have always done it.

The software is fitting and helpful in any huge home improvement project as long as it used correctly. It is not to play with. Architects and other home improvement specialists use it and can get it at a reasonable price. For the common folk, the software is more expensive.

The software will allow some experimentation with different methods, coming up with different solutions. Should you want to take down a wall in a bedroom, it will allow you to choose which of the different ways to do this.

To use this software, be sure to play out every scenario and the challenges that is presented and overcome them. This way you are not met with any surprises along the way when you are doing the actual work. It’s never good to leave a job half way done because your plan failed to work.

Here at the kitchen store, Abbeydale road, Sheffield we help many of our customers out with home improvements. We get a lot of property developers who buy a house as a project to improve and sell on for a profit.

The best ways to do this is to add on living space. Make the existing space more usable, improve the bathrooms and kitchen. We have many ideas just for the kitchen on our website RationalGB. We help and advice many of these developers in all aspects of property developments. One other important area that developers seem to miss a trick, is the front of the house or the first impression a potential buyer sees, and the garden.

Many many people make mistakes by not paying any attention to the garden, especially if it is a family home. As I said at the start, more living space means more money people are willing to spend. Small extensions or clever extensions do not cost a lot of money. However you do need to do your home work. Is what you are going to spend going to get you the return.

With regards to the kitchen, many developers get wide eyed at our Atmos range. Or the Glass Logic Rational Kitchen. You can see the designs here Rational Kitchens Visit our website now. They also want the granite or Corian worktops. But mostly they want to spend a fortune on the kitchen and bathrooms, money that will not get back. We try to steer them in the direction of a Neos kitchen, but not in the glass finish, maybe the urban or a high gloss. The most popular decision seems to be the Arte Kitchen from Rational.

Adding a downstairs toilet gets you lots of money back on your investment, and try to sneak an extra showroom in or maybe an en-suit. Some of the more glamorous projects we have been involved in have been when many small rooms have been knocked into one large living space or combined living. Then we can really go to town and use the stunning straight lines available from the Rational Kitchen Range. 

All of our design work is carried out on our bespoke design software. We produce fantastic designs and they are presented in a virtual 3d model of the building in which the kitchen is going to be installed. We print out full photographic images of what the kitchen is going to look like. This really helps the developer to understand just what he is going to achieve.

Our software is that advanced that in some cases, when you compare the computer generated 3d image with a photograph of the finished kitchen, the computer image looks better. I have produced hundreds of designs for clients, here are some examples Rational ATMOS and carried out hundreds of projects from my kitchen showroom, The Kitchen Store, Abbeydale Road, Sheffield and I look forward to doing hundreds more. If you require any help or information please get in touch via my website, there is a link above and a link below, I hope.. kind regards Eddie Grant.