5 Mistakes to Avoid with Your D.C. Kitchen Renovation

If you live in Washington, D.C., and you are seeking a kitchen renovation, then here are five (5) mistakes you want to avoid with your remodel.

Improper Kitchen Functionality

A common mistake among homeowners is not considering the overall functionality of their newly designed kitchen. Will your kitchen help you save time in the mornings as you prepare breakfast or lunch for you or your kids? Will you be able to entertain a group of friends in the space? At the end of a busy day, will your kitchen have room for you and your family to congregate and share the events of the day?

These are just a few questions to ask yourself while in the design phase. After-all, it doesn’t make sense to have a new kitchen if it doesn’t function the way you want it to. If your kitchen doesn’t serve your needs, you may not enjoy it as you should, which means that you will spend a lot of money on a renovation that keeps you and the family away. Also, a poorly designed kitchen will negatively impact the resale value of your home.

Opening up Your Kitchen

It is not uncommon to have a small and closed off kitchen space, especially if you own a home in Washington, D.C. Having a closed off kitchen area makes it tough to entertain family and friends. It is also a challenge while cooking if you need to keep an eye on your children.

One solution you may want to consider is to open your space by removing a wall that closes off the kitchen to an adjacent room.  You may even need to consider removing a load bearing wall and re-supporting the structure in a different way.

In a residential situation, a load bearing wall is a wall that supports the structure above. Getting advice from a professional design-build firm in Washington, D.C. and their recommended engineer will help determine what structural members are needed to support the span that is being opened.

There are several ways in which a load bearing wall can be removed while the opening is re-supported and it can be a lot less expensive than you realize!

Not Considering the Work Triangle

While planning for an upcoming kitchen renovation, it is very important to consider the work triangle of the space. This is a commonly used term by kitchen designers, which refers to the three primary work areas of the kitchen:

  • Your kitchen sink
  • Your cooking areas such as a range or cooktop
  • Your food storage, as in your refrigerator.

It is very important to make sure these three primary areas of your kitchen are properly placed within the space. You want to ensure that they are not shoved up next to each other or too far away, and you need to make sure that they are forming a triangle.

Also, you want to make sure that no one leg of this triangle is shorter than four feet if you can help it, and no leg of this triangle is longer than nine feet long, again if you can help it. This will make sure that you have an efficiently designed kitchen that will work for you.

Not Having the Right Lighting in Your Kitchen

Another important element to consider in your upcoming D.C. kitchen renovation is the lighting in your space. There are four main types of lighting your designer will be considering when planning your renovation:

  • Natural kitchen lighting. This is the light that comes in through the windows in your kitchen or through a skylight in the kitchen.
  • General kitchen lighting. This is the artificial light that you will need in the kitchen when it is night time or for those cloudy days outside. You can still get the proper general lighting to walk safely through the kitchen, and be able to illuminate what you are doing. Types of general lighting will be recessed lighting on the ceiling, or other surface mount types of lights, such as track lighting or decorative fixtures mounted to the ceiling.
  • Task kitchen lighting. This is most common with your under cabinet lighting, and it is important because it illuminates your work area, so when you are prepping food, or you’re cooking, you can clearly see the countertop area.
  • Accent kitchen lighting. This type of lighting is used to illuminate certain features in the kitchen, such as lighting that is placed above the crown molding over the wall cabinets to bring to life the ceiling. This type of lighting adds a little extra dimension to your kitchen space.

Not Getting Professional Help

There are three paths you can take when designing your kitchen:

  • Research online and DIY. This is not the recommended approach if you are trying to implement a beautifully designed kitchen that will fulfill your functional needs. If you are not a general contractor, and you are seeking to go this route because you think of yourself as a quick learner who can watch several YouTube videos and know how to design and build a D.C. kitchen in your spare time, then you will be sorely disappointed. A project of this scope requires expertise.
  • Hiring multiple contractors. One approach some homeowners consider is to hire many contractors to implement a kitchen remodel. While you may be able to save money in the short-term, in the long-run the quality of the craftsmanship may not live up to the potential. Also, by hiring multiple contractors (e.g. a plumber, an electrician, a tile company, cabinetry, ) you run many risks with projects taking longer than expected, going over budget, and worse – not being the final product you originally wanted. Each contractor is working on different schedules, which you or the general contractor will need to coordinate, and not all contractors work well together.
  • Hiring a design-build firm. This is by far the recommended approach when designing and building the kitchen of your dreams. When you hire a reputable design-build firm in Washington, C., you will be working with people you like and trust. The right company can be with you each step of the way from design to implementation, and won’t pass you off to another department, or different project manager. Plus, you get the added reassurance that your design will come to life with professionals who have the knowledge and necessary experience, and make it all happen without you having to hire multiple contractors and dealing with that coordination headache. Working with a good General Contractor will give you peace of mind and you will ultimately enjoy the kitchen of your dreams with those you love most.

We hope you found these tips helpful. If you reside in Washington, D.C. and you are in the market for a kitchen renovation, then reach out to us for a free design quote.

Finesse Design Remodeling is an award-winning full-service design-build firm specializing in fine renovations and restorations in the Washington DC Area.

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D.C. Home Remodeling: How to Save Time and Create a Retreat in Your Bathroom

You may want to rethink your interior spending dollars in 2017. According to home experts at Houzz, “the bathroom is the hangout spot of choice these days.” Survey results from “The 2016 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study reports that nearly two-thirds of the respondents spend 30-60 minutes a day in their home bathrooms.”

Whether you are in a rush in the mornings or need a sanctuary to unwind in the evenings, your bathroom needs to be designed to serve your functional and style needs. While it may sound odd, the greatest intellects throughout history specifically designed their bathrooms to serve their everyday needs, and help inspire creativity.

Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor Archimedes, for instance, discovered buoyancy in his bathtub. According to legend, “he was so excited that he jumped out of his bath and ran naked through the streets of Syracuse shouting, ‘Eureka!’ (I have found it).”

Then there is the bathroom of Dr. Yoshiko Nakamatsu, who patented more than 3,300 inventions including the floppy disk. Dr. Nakamatsu’s bathroom was his sanctuary, known as the “Calm Room” – a bathroom tiled in 24 karat gold that would block out radio waves and television signals in which he felt would disrupt his imagination.

Of course, you don’t need to have the most decked out bathroom(s) lavished with gold to help you save time and create an oasis to inspire creative thought. This is especially true if you are a D.C. homeowner as space is extremely limited.

Thankfully, however, there are several tips you can incorporate in your D.C. home bathrooms to help you save time and unwind. A few of these tips we have highlighted below:

Saving Time in Your Bathroom

Tip #1: Change Your Shower Head

Change your shower head - rain shower

If you want to get the enjoyable experience of standing outside in a summer rain shower, try considering a rain shower head for your D.C. Home Remodeling. A rain shower head functions like rain, thus the name, and “pours” water onto your entire body, unlike the traditional shower heads that can only be moved in limited angles and don’t create that experience. It’s also great to couple a hand-held shower with your rain can. This is a great way to supplement the rain can because you can rinse your hair, your dog, and the shower glass with a more forceful spray when needed. A great way to save time in the morning is to consider adding a second shower head so perhaps you and your significant other could use the shower at the same time.

Tip #2: Consider Your Sink

Consider your sink

If you live alone, then a single sink may be all you need. However, if you share your bathroom with your spouse, significant other, or roommate, your own sink with ample counter and storage area can be a time saver. Plus, if you like to keep up with your bathroom appearance, then having your own sink and separate space will help you control the clutter and cleanliness. Sharing a sink with someone who is untidy can bring about frustration. Who wants to share a sink with someone who doesn’t clean up their toothpaste stains?

Tip #3: Keep Everything in Place

Keep everythin in place

While fixtures are important inside the bathroom, make sure you also have a small storage cabinet where you can keep all the necessary toiletries and items for the bathroom. Incorporating an outlet into a storage cabinet during your D.C. Home Remodeling can allow for discrete charging of many bathroom appliances, such as electric toothbrushes and razors. Having these items in accessible places and in proper order will keep your bathing a breeze and save a little more of your time.

Creating Your Bathroom Retreat

Tip #1: Choose the Right Tones for Your Bathroom

Choose the right tones for your bathroom

Neutral colors and natural tones can give a subtle effect on your bathroom. White reflects more light and looks cleaner compared to some of your darker colors. Also, adding a hint of green, brown or tan can give your bathroom a reflection of nature’s natural beauty.

Tip #2: Soften the Lights, Add Windows

Soften the lights, add windows

You don’t have to place an excessive amount of lighting inside your bathroom, especially if you already use lighter tones for your D.C. Home Remodeling.  A few thoughtfully placed lights can be more than enough. Windows will let natural light illuminate your bathroom and all the solar gain will help to heat and give your bathroom a spa-like feel.

Tip #3: Add Furniture and Fixtures that Set the Spa Mood

Add furniture and fixtures that set the spa mood

If space permits for your D.C. Home Remodeling, then adding fixtures that are common in spas can put you in a great mood after your bath. Mirrors, candles and a little bit of greenery inside your bathroom can also enhance your mood and let you enjoy your private time. You can even play your favorite music in the shower or through the bathtub with a variety of products which sync to your phone’s playlist. Some other luxury options to aide in bathroom relaxation include chromotherapy lighting, steam showers, towel warmers, heated seats or backrests, and shower body jets or air jet tubs.

Don’t take your bathroom for granted. Applying these D.C. Home Remodeling tips can help you have a luxurious bathroom experience despite the limited space. Make the best out of your bathroom and experience the retreat you’ve always wanted.

Bonus: Your Free 5-Point Bathroom Remodeling Checklist

Untitled design (7)

Remodeling your bathroom can be an overwhelming experience, especially if you own a home in D.C. where space is extremely limited. We have put together a free 5-point checklist for your next bathroom remodeling project. This list is chock-full of tips, insights, and questions that you need to have answered when remodeling your bathroom.

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