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The Pros and Cons of Open Concept Design

The Pros and Cons of Open Concept Design

Posted by on Dec 6, 2018 in Home Remodeling |

Because the large majority of homes in our area were built when the quantity of rooms was considered a premium when putting a home on the market, many of them ended up with a lot of small, closed off rooms. Lots of clients come to G.M. Roth assuming they should convert their home to an open concept design as part of their home remodeling project. As experienced design-build company remodeling professionals, we don’t think open concept is for every family or every house, we see many benefits for some situations, but also drawbacks in others. Here are some of the reasons you might want to consider home remodeling to an open concept design, and others why it might not be the right solution for your family.   Why Open Concept Works Perhaps the biggest reason to consider remodeling to an open concept living space is the sightlines. If you’re a family with small children, they can play in one area while you cook or clean in another. Whomever is cooking dinner won’t feel cut off from conversation, so open concept may connect you better as a family. The same is true when entertaining. The cook isn’t separated from the guests and can enjoy company from the moment they arrive. Another benefit open concept brings is that spaces seem larger. If your kitchen is small and feels cramped, removing a wall may allow you to expand your kitchen into your living space. Sometimes removing a wall allows more natural light into some rooms, tricking the brain into thinking the space is larger than it really is. The formal living room may not be an often-utilized space in your home. If you have a room that isn’t being used, opening up your floor plan may be a positive change. Current trends don’t support having a room set aside, almost like a showroom just to say you have it.  The majority of people today want to use all the space in the home to support their increasing family size. It’s Not Right for Everyone Open concept has its drawbacks. For example, if you do entertain a lot, your messy kitchen will always be on display. You may also find that while entertaining, the open environment is much louder than when you had several smaller rooms. As you look at the cost for home remodeling to open concept, your estimate may contain many elements you may not expect. For example, support beams may be necessary if you’re removing a load-bearing wall. Your design-build company will evaluate the basement and foundation to determine if you need structural reinforcement below the living space. These can add significantly to the cost of a remodel.  Worse still, if not researched during the design process, this could cause a major unexpected expense during construction, or even mean that the design has to be modified because a wall or...

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5 Ways to Improve Your Outdoor Living Space

5 Ways to Improve Your Outdoor Living Space

Posted by on Nov 6, 2018 in Home Remodeling |

Although it’s fall, and winter seems like it is rapidly approaching, now is a great time start planning your improved outdoor living space with your remodeling company. Whether it’s a major home remodeling project or you just want to spruce up your entertaining space, improving your porch, patio or deck is a wise home renovation. These types of projects take time to plan, design, and build, and getting started with the right design build company now can help you get that perfect outdoor space for you and your lifestyle in place for next summer.  Add an Outdoor Kitchen An outdoor kitchen can be as simple as a grill and work area, or can offer all of the elegance and functionality of a typical kitchen. Depending on how much you entertain and if you enjoy outdoor cooking, consider a grill with a burner or two for pots, a pizza oven, a refrigerator and an ice maker. Don’t forget about some storage space for tools and other necessities for your outdoor space. There are many natural stone products that are well-suited for being outside year-round, so adding a countertop with a bar area is a great way to have both prep space and space for entertaining.  Build a Deck or a Farmers Porch With today’s wide range of beautiful low or no maintenance decking materials, its more practical than ever to create amazing entertaining spaces outside of the home, without committing to a maintenance nightmare.  New technology enables you to create two outdoor spaces with a second story deck by using the deck frame to create a roof above the space below it, giving you a new space to use for rainy days. Screen in Your Porch If you have a porch you enjoy until the bugs come out, consider screening in the space. A screened-in porch allows for a more enjoyable dining experience. Because a screened-in porch requires a roof, you can add lighting and a ceiling fan to make the space more useable than ever before.  The first step of the process is to make sure the frame and foundation of the porch or deck is suitable to carry a roof load.  If you don’t get the frame designed properly before getting started you could end up having to tear it all down and start over again.  A qualified design build company could handle this for you. Build a Fire-pit During our cool early summer and fall nights, a firepit can make your backyard the place to be. You’ll enjoy gathering with neighbors and family around the warmth and beauty of your fire-pit. There are a wide variety of different types of fire-pits, ranging from a stone unit integrated with a patio to metal ones that can be designed to work safely on a deck with the proper clearances to combustibles. Be sure to have your fire-pit designed correctly...

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Three Reasons to Add a Mudroom

Three Reasons to Add a Mudroom

Posted by on Mar 26, 2018 in room addition |

No matter the season, having a landing spot for footwear and coats saves a lot of time cleaning your house.  Weather its mud in the spring, grass in the summer time, leaves in the fall or worst of all, snow in the winter, it helps to limit it to the immediate area around your main entry point.  The definition of the mudroom has evolved over the years. It generally is a place to remove coats, boots and other outerwear before entering the home, at the very least, but can include storage, a laundry area and a sink. If you’re looking for a good reason to complete this room addition, we’ve got three.         1. Mudrooms Are Great for Organization If your kids come in and leave their coats, backpacks and sports equipment strewn throughout your home, a mudroom will solve this problem. You can tailor the space to your needs. When you plan a mudroom addition, think about what you need for accessible storage. Do your kids have cleats, bats, balls, sticks and other sports accessories that need a place just inside your home? Include bins or lockers for each child or each sport. Perhaps you’re a family of hikers and need a place to rinse muddy hiking shoes; consider a large sink or dog wash in your mudroom to rinse shoes, pets and people after a fun day outside. Hooks for every family member allow one or two coats to be kept within easy reach. If backpacks need a home, add a hook for each child at an accessible height. One popular solution is to add a locker-style bench with storage beneath and hooks and storage above. This gives every family member a place for coats, backpacks, shoes and accessories. 2. Keep the Mud Out When your family becomes accustomed to coming in through the room addition and removing dirty shoes, wet coats and sports accessories, the rest of your home remains cleaner. They track less mud and dirt on your floors and carpet.  In addition to eliminating clutter in the main part of the house, a side benefit is eliminating the last minute rushing around to gather things together for an event, its already together in the right place. If you’re doing a complete home remodeling project and a mudroom is on your list of must-haves, consider a door between the mudroom and the house. This will help keep the cold (or hot) air from rushing into the rest of the house as people come and go. Older homes often have this setup in the main entrance for this very reason. In our colder winter climate, this makes good sense. 3. Bonus Storage Space Obviously you’re creating a storage space for coats, boots and other seasonal gear, but if your ceiling height allows, you may also want to consider storage above the locker, closet or...

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Three Reasons to Add a Mudroom

Three Reasons to Add a Mudroom

Posted by on Mar 22, 2018 in room addition |

No matter the season, having a landing spot for footwear and coats saves a lot of time cleaning your house.  Weather its mud in the spring, grass in the summer time, leaves in the fall or worst of all, snow in the winter, it helps to limit it to the immediate area around your main entry point.  The definition of the mudroom has evolved over the years. It generally is a place to remove coats, boots and other outerwear before entering the home, at the very least, but can include storage, a laundry area and a sink. If you’re looking for a good reason to complete this room addition, we’ve got three.     1. Mudrooms Are Great for Organization If your kids come in and leave their coats, backpacks and sports equipment strewn throughout your home, a mudroom will solve this problem. You can tailor the space to your needs. When you plan a mudroom addition, think about what you need for accessible storage. Do your kids have cleats, bats, balls, sticks and other sports accessories that need a place just inside your home? Include bins or lockers for each child or each sport. Perhaps you’re a family of hikers and need a place to rinse muddy hiking shoes; consider a large sink or dog wash in your mudroom to rinse shoes, pets and people after a fun day outside. Hooks for every family member allow one or two coats to be kept within easy reach. If backpacks need a home, add a hook for each child at an accessible height. One popular solution is to add a locker-style bench with storage beneath and hooks and storage above. This gives every family member a place for coats, backpacks, shoes and accessories. 2. Keep the Mud Out When your family becomes accustomed to coming in through the room addition and removing dirty shoes, wet coats and sports accessories, the rest of your home remains cleaner. They track less mud and dirt on your floors and carpet.  In addition to eliminating clutter in the main part of the house, a side benefit is eliminating the last minute rushing around to gather things together for an event, its already together in the right place. If you’re doing a complete home remodeling project and a mudroom is on your list of must-haves, consider a door between the mudroom and the house. This will help keep the cold (or hot) air from rushing into the rest of the house as people come and go. Older homes often have this setup in the main entrance for this very reason. In our colder winter climate, this makes good sense. 3. Bonus Storage Space Obviously you’re creating a storage space for coats, boots and other seasonal gear, but if your ceiling height allows, you may also want to consider storage above the locker, closet or sink. This...

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Adding Closet Space During Your Home Renovation

Posted by on Jun 30, 2017 in Blog, Home Remodeling |

You may watch home renovation shows or house hunting shows where closet space has been added with a renovation, or designed as part of the original build. If you’re planning on home remodeling and want more closet space, but can’t figure out how to make it work without tearing down walls, consider adding built in cabinets. Armoires have been popular in Europe for decades and are becoming popular here. Rather than buying a piece of furniture that won’t exactly fit your space or suit your needs, consider having a cabinet designer come up with a solution that will fit the space perfectly and offer maximim space utilization. The Beauty of Built-Ins Built-in cabinets in the bedroom and bathroom, sometimes called armoires, can be configured to your needs and designed to fit your style. As you work with your designer on your home renovation, talk about the different spaces where you could add built-in cabinets. Some great options are between windows or in hallways. If you need to divide a room in two and add storage, consider a built-in cabinet accessible from both sides. Once you pick the location, you can begin designing how it’s going to work for you. Some of the many options for designing your space include shoe cabinets, shelves for sweaters, and hanging space. Your design will ensure the depth of the cabinet and the exterior design match your space and preferences. The Finished Look Once the space is chosen and the exterior layout is finalized, you can start designing how it’s going to look. Built-ins can be as plain and non-descript or as ornate as you desire. Our custom cabinet companies can make cabinet doors and drawers in difference species of wood and finishes so that they will coordinate with your bathroom. If you’re looking for something simple, consider hardwood painted or stained. Other options include laminate, beadboard and MDF, any of which you can have matched to coordinate with your decor. Once you’ve chosen a design and finish, don’t forget the hardware. Pulls and knobs for cabinets and drawers can be ornate or plain and really finish the piece, especially if you want it to look like furniture. If your home lacks the closet or storage space you need, consider working with G.M. Roth for all your home remodeling needs. Let’s talk about the possibilities of a built-in armoire. We service New Hampshire and Massachusetts, so call (603) 880-3761 to get started...

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