CHELSEA OUTDOOR SPACE

Great inspiration for renovating tiny baths

The creamy beige colored tiles bring warmth while the large vanity mirror & frameless shower enclosure makes the space look bigger. Love the use of dark colored wood for the cabinet; makes the bath look it's in a high-end hotel. Interesting choice of lighting next to the vanity mirror.

Keep this in mind during bathroom renovation

- I always see designers recommending double vanity if there is space, but according to ConsumerReports.org, having one vanity maybe preferable. This is because removing the extra vanity frees up much needed counter space and provides storage space underneath.

- They recommend installing showers instead of bathtubs. This is a trend I'm noticing more and more. Also baby boomers prefer over bathtubs.

- Separate the toilet from the rest of the bathroom with a partial wall. It "provides privacy and also makes for a more attractive bathroom".

- Include overhead fixtures as well as lighting over the vanity. It can be lighting placed over the vanity mirror or on each side.

Love this Kitchen & Bath Makeover in a Dallas Home!

I took the images from the Redbook mag about two realtors who fixed up this house for resale. They had purchased it for $190,000, spent another $110,000 for renovation and resold for $384,000. They made a 

$84,000 profit - an inspiration to all the home renovators out there. Kudos to 'em for successfully flipping three other houses in the last three years.

Before Image

After Image: It's amazing how the addition of the huge mirror, marbled countertop & shower wall and frameless shower encasing makes it look high-end. And the wooden floor adds a cozy feel. Cost: $11,630.  Can this be done in NYC for the same price??

Before Image: Range hood over the kitchen island is blocking light from the window. Not a good idea. Also, who puts the stove in the island?

After: Getting rid of the range hood over the island allows light to flood in making the entire space look brighter. White marble countertop and the mix-n-match of see through & closed door white cabinets certainly make it interesting in a good way. Also like the herringbone tiles on the wall. Wicker chairs add the cozy factor. Cost: $17,830

Home Renovation to-dos

Renovating your basement, attic or garage into an additional room? That man cave or spare bedroom may fit your lifestyle, but buyers may lament the lack of storage space and place to park their car.

External additions can be problematic if your bigger and better house is out of character with the surrounding neighborhood in size and style.

Seven of the top 10 most cost-effective projects — nationally, in terms of value recouped — are exterior replacement projects.

•    Vinyl siding projects were expected to return more than 69 percent of costs.
•    Steel entry door replacement was the least expensive project in the report, costing little more than $1,200 on average, and was expected to recoup 73 percent of costs.
•    Garage door replacements have seen prices fall more than 15 percent nationally and can be expected to return more than 71 percent of the cost.
•    A "midrange attic bedroom" is expected to return 72.5 percent of costs upon resale, in part because it is "the least expensive way to add a bedroom and bathroom within a home's existing footprint."
•    A minor kitchen remodel (budgeted at roughly $20,000) is expected to recoup 72.1 percent of costs.
•    A wood deck addition is expected to make back 70.1 percent of its price tag.
•    Among the least cost-returning projects are a sunroom addition and home office remodeling, both estimated to recoup less than 46 percent of what they cost.

National Association of Home Builders ranked fireplaces as No. 1 on a list of what NAR called "Home Fads That Are Falling Out of Style."

Also sliding from favor are carpeted floors and vinyl and ceramic flooring (hardwood has become more desirable) and "upscale kitchen finishes" as granite countertops gradually give way to low-maintenance, more durable laminate countertops.

Read full article here

Appeal of stainless steel appliances

Majority of home owners are still going for stainless steel appliances. So keep that in mind during the next home renovation. Here's an excerpt from the article that appeared on YAHOO!Shopping:

At the high end, Viking Range Corp., whose iconic open-burner stainless-steel range was one of the first to bring pro-kitchen styling into homes, offers 23 color alternatives to stainless steel, including Cinnamon, Wasabi, Kettle Black and Dijon, launched this spring. Still, stainless steel dominates. "I'd say 80% of our sales are still stainless steel," says Brent Bailey, design director at Viking Range. "I could add another 100 colors and the percentage wouldn't change much."

German maker Bosch, meanwhile, stands by stainless steel in the U.S. "We've seen in the last 10 or 15 years alternative finishes on the market, but they're not enduring," says Graham Sadtler, industrial design manager for the German company. "Similar to fashion, fads come and go."

"Stainless steel at the high end will be strong and stay strong for a long time."

"Other finishes haven't achieved the same level of sophistication in terms of aesthetic," says Stefano Marzano, chief design officer for Electrolux. 

LG isn't offering alternatives, he says. "We don't see the trend of stainless steel appliances diminishing."

Read the full article here