Tag Archives: Remodel

Designer's Corner: Design Vision Part II

The second half of this story takes place closer to our home, on the San Mateo Coastside in Moss Beach. Our client had a big mishmash of closets, hidey-holes, a small room with a toilet a shower, a sink sitting in the middle of her bedroom. She is only 72 years young, is a nurse, so […]

Designer’s Corner: Designer Vision

This is the first of a two part story. We begin in San Franicisco, the home of many first time buyers, living in tiny little cottages, or small two story attached houses in the Sunset the Richmond District. Cute, quaint, each full of rich, historical detail, may I add, kitchens baths as old as the […]

Aging In Place: Kitchen Function Improves Usability Part II

We enter the kitchen with new eyes when we think about Aging in Style. The first thing we looked at was cabinetry, even the height of our clients can influence the best height for the cabinetry. Should we add a section with a lower countertop? Multiple heights are not only comfortable for people in wheelchairs or […]

Aging In Place: Kitchen Function, Improved Usability Part 1

Usually, clients who update their bathrooms are the first to look at Design for Aging In Place, but in the next month or two, we’ll be renewing kitchens for two new clients. They both want to incorporate the latest ideas technologies for Aging In Place, while keeping costs down as we go. One will be […]

Home Safety Tip: G(FC)I Jane on Outlets

Jane Regan of HB Building Design shares the following tip: Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter Outlets (GFCIs) are designed to reduce the risk of electric shock. Building codes require GFCIs to be used in “wet” areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, outdoors. GFCIs damaged by lightning or electrical surges may fail to provide adequate protection. […]

Friends Don't Let Friends Build Under The Influence… Use A Professional!

Sixteen years ago we bought our dream house in the woods. As we moved in met the neighbors, many of them told us that they had hammered a lot of nails into our house.  The process the former owners followed was simple: Invite the neighbors over for a meal, enjoy some beer or wine with […]

Contractor's Corner: Permits are a Project

There are some things money can’t buy, that is a General Contractor who knows their way around a Building Department. It takes some doing, back forth, give take,  getting to know everybody in the place. Mostly, it takes time. In Northern California, we have lots of small municipalities, one overarching county. In all of San Francisco, […]

Aging At Home: Step Two

When it’s time to do a little more planning, we have done the simple adaptations to make our homes immediately safer for everyone to live in, then we can set some priorities for what comes next. It’s great to have nice, wide, walkways between rooms, within rooms. We can do that by rearranging furniture to open […]

Contractor’s Corner: Bathroom Remodeling – Do It Yourself?

Bathroom Remodeling Advice                  Most homeowners talk about renovating their bathroom, think it’s just “a small room, I can do it myself.”  The most common piece of bathroom remodeling advice they get is to hire an expert to do the job. It’s not that they are incapable of doing most of the work, but rather […]

HOME MAINTENANCE TIP: CHECK YOUR RAIN GUTTERS

After the winter we’ve had, your house raingutters have taken a beating. Now is the perfect time to check your gutters clean out any debris that may have accumulated since the last time that you checked. Clogged drains can cause water damage from overflow. A few minutes of maintenance can save you a lot of […]