Posted on December 23rd,
2009
by Berit Griffin
Coming into a new year, you might be tempted to do some serious home renovation via a remodel. If you are satisfied with your current location, or don’t wish to sell, remodeling can make your house feel completely new.
But there is one important caution: Please do some serious thinking and planning before embarking on a remodeling project. Not only can it be an expensive proposition, but unless you have a breezy beach house or cozy cabin to escape to, you will be temporarily living in a construction zone. Even the best remodeling experiences can be fraught with frustration. So you will want to make sure that the end result is something that you love and that enhances your home’s livability and your enjoyment of it.
To find a good remodeler, we recommend visiting The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI). The website provides a remodeler locator as well as good information.
To prevent some common remodeling mistakes, our friends at Calfinder present five of the worst remodeling mistakes:
- A raised ceiling can give a sense of spaciousness, but take care: it’s often times not built on a human scale and full of wasted space. Don’t forget that very high ceilings means that noise isn’t muffled and the room can be harder to heat and cool.
- Who doesn’t want a big kitchen with plenty of room to prepare feasts and get the whole family involved? Plan carefully to ensure that your work triangle is compact and you aren’t walking across the room to grab milk for your cereal.
- Proportion your garage to the rest of your home (see photo). Although adding or expanding an attached garage is a convenient use of space, make sure it doesn’t overshadow your house.
- We talk a lot about the importance of light in a room. Don’t go overboard, though! With too many permanent light fixtures, you lose design flexibility for future lighting.
- Be careful where you put a porch. It shouldn’t be tacked on just anywhere. A common mistake is to end up with the porch blocking light from the original space.
Spend some time thinking about good design, and your remodel will be a success! For more information and images that illustrate these remodeling mistakes, visit Calfinder.
More from Marvin:
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