Five Steps to a Beautifully Remodeled Home
1. Motivation
With the array of homes for sale, priced much lower than their actual value, moving to a new home seems ideal at this time.
Maybe you just had a baby, and you know in a couple months she’ll grow out of her crib and need her own room. Perhaps your aging parents need to move in with you, and they deserve — emphasis on the word deserve — a separate suite for all the years they paid for your clothes, your car and your education. Or you just can’t get over the orange shag carpet. You need out.
While buying cheap homes seems like a wonderful idea in our economy, what about the hardships of selling your existing home?
Instead of getting out, consider staying in. Consider the remodel. Even if you eventually sell your house, upgrading will make it more appealing to future buyers.
Take, for example, a case study: Don and Jenny Hood, of Longmont.
They built their house from the bottom up. They live on an acre of land, an acre of the closest thing to open, country space in Boulder County. The backdrop of the mountains is just a peek away. They live 10 minutes from Longmont, 10 minutes from Boulder — the perks of city life completely at their disposal. But they needed more room.
While they looked around for houses, the Hoods opted for the remodeling route in order to get, as Jenny Hood, 49 says, exactly what they wanted.
Exactly what they wanted included walking up the footpath from their sidewalk to face a custom-made, wooden display of artwork: their front door. Exactly what they wanted included a new master bedroom suite on a formerly non-existent second floor. Exactly what they wanted was exactly what a good number of us in Boulder want right now.
Motivation may be as simple as noticing the need for replacing a nasty bathroom tub or the lack of counter space in the kitchen. The Hoods said their motivation came from their kids growing older.
Maybe you can relate to the Hoods — after years of parenting and working hard, you’d like to reward your spouse and yourself with a new master bedroom and bathroom suite.
2. Simplification
Know what you want. If you desperately want to greenify your kitchen, do your research on appliances and reclaimed wood. If you need a wider closet, work with an architect to lay out your plans. At every point of the design stage, find cost estimates. Know what you want, but know your budget.
To make things easier on yourself, store away extra money for unplanned costs and upgrades, says Don Hood, 53. They appreciated this cushion room when switching to more expensive granite they preferred.
3. Administration
With TV shows like “Extreme Home Makeover” and “Trading Places” magically designing, constructing and decorating homes in less than an hour, the process of remodeling seems like a simple Cinderella-to-royal-princess quick-fix.
Be wary! Do-it-yourself projects can lead never-finished bathrooms, half-peeled-off wallpaper and gaping holes in the drywall.
Dilsha Happel and her husband, Don Happel, run and operate H&H Builders, of Broomfield, which is the company the Hoods hired to build their remodel.
“We like to say we don’t believe in do-it-yourself dentistry, do-it-yourself surgery,” says Dilsha Happel, 59, of Thornton. “That’s what professionals are for. And we’re professionals.”
The Hoods selected a compatible team with whom to work, including an architect who could draw up their schemes and ideas, a flexible building contractor, a custom-cabinet maker and an interior designer.
The Hoods offer advice for Boulderites scouring through building contractor companies.
“The two things we thought were most important were experience and relationship,” says Don Hood.
Another huge factor: time. Consider whether the builder is juggling nine other jobs or three. Also, ask for cost estimates, even at the fledgling states of the projects. Know what you’re spending before you start, to prevent unwanted financial surprises.
4. Accommodation
When remodeling, adjustments affect not only the home, but also the family.
“It is a strain on the relationship,” says Don Hood. “Emotional, psychological strain. If you don’t have a good relationship, it will come out during the process.”
The Hoods moved out for nine months and lived in a rental home. With the change of a new environment and pressure to make decisions on deadline, and with the looming expenses of the procedures, new stress undoubtedly arises. The Hoods handled this by compromising with each other and by constantly praying — even, and especially, for the little things.
“We are Christians, so we did a lot of praying,” says Jenny Hood. “We had friends and family do a lot of praying. I mean that sounds so shallow, ‘we prayed for granite,’ but we did. You get to the point where you’re doing this. It’s a lot of money, and your family is displaced.”
Communication: key.
The death of a project is that selections take too long, and people get frustrated and just give up, says Kristen Soleto, 28, of Denver, who works for H&H Builders by managing its DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen franchise.
“That happens when they have four granite slab yards to go to and six tile stores and three cabinet companies to go look at,” Sotelo says. “They’re not the Energizer Bunny. They just run out of juice and throw their hands up in the air and say ‘I quit!’”
And, let’s face it, remodeling may fuel its share of emotional costs, but it’s the monetary costs that send the shivers. Quality bathroom and kitchen projects start at $10,000 and $25,000, respectively. Quadruple those estimates for larger add-ons or structural, remodeling changes.
Give your budget some wiggle room. Prepare for the unexpected.
5. Adoration
Before their remodel, a mini staircase in the Hoods’ living room led to a tiny landing space with room enough only for a computer desk. Now, a beautifully designed staircase winds up to the second story where a large master suite and office sit.
The Hoods wake up in the mornings to a two-sided fireplace facing their bed. A reading area with two plush chairs occupies the other side of the fireplace, which acts as room divider. The view of the mountains and the acres of nature surround this sitting room.
Their bathroom could easily be featured in any design magazine. A steam shower (heavenly!) divides their bathroom, which is flooded with deep cuts of granite swirled with a tortoise-shell, calico-like design.
On Jenny Hood’s side a granite bathtub, vanity station — her favorite part of the remodel — and spacious walk-in closet conjure images of luxury and relaxation. Her husband’s side of the bathroom similarly leads to a large closet, but it also opens to his new study, built with custom-cabinets. Windows dot the circumference of the office, simulating a surround-sound effect, using inpouring light rather than sound.
Downstairs, the Hoods updated their bathrooms, created another study from an existing bedroom, and expanded their living room, which they now call the great room.
“I think I love it because it feels like home,” says Jenny Hood. “It’s not a house. It’s our home. It’s our sanctuary, where our kids can come home, where we can come home and know you are always going to be loved, you are always going to be accepted.”
– By Caroline Seib
What a beautiful home! What a successful project – oh the power of prayer, family, and motivation, simplification, administration, accommodation and adoration!
This house is so warm and inviting. It is elegant but at the same time is so comfortable. Love this house. Love the family that own's it too