1. To Enhance Your Home’s Beauty (while Providing for Your Increased Comfort and Enjoyment)
At the end of the day, no one wants to come home to a house they don’t find beautiful, comfortable or enjoyable. Beauty, comfort and enjoyment are essential to happy home ownership!
When you first purchased your home, you likely purchased it (and fell completely in love with it) because you could see yourself in that home feeling happy, relaxed and comfortable raising your family and/or entertaining your friends. However, after some time has passed, typically 5-10 years, those initial good feelings may come to change to something less “warm and fuzzy.”
One day you may come home to find yourself wishing that you had painted your exterior a different color, that you had different window trim, a more modern set of garage doors or that your front door was more dramatic, featuring glass in a more updated design. You may enter your home and think, “Why didn’t we ever redo the entry way tile, install crown molding throughout the house, or take the time to remove the aging carpet in the family room, perhaps replacing it with that rich looking hardwood flooring we had admired at our friend’s home?” Why, indeed?
Based on my experience, these are very common questions for many homeowners. Why not start answering these all-so-familiar ponderings now, by putting together all those thoughts and ideas that have been bouncing around in your head onto paper? Have you been dreaming of a spa-like master bath sanctuary? Why not make that dream a reality! Many remodels begin with just such a fond dream that turns into the actual check list for your real-life remodel.
Remember that when you’re replacing your old windows, that you keep the look of the original window consistent with the style of your home. Given that original wood windows are an important architectural feature, don’t attempt to replace them with something that isn’t comparable. Whenever you attempt to downgrade your windows, you inadvertently downgrade your home.
This means that if your original windows were wood, it’s not likely to be appropriate to replace them with vinyl, despite vinyl being more cost effective. Rather, replace existing wood with new wood windows, and make sure to match the divided light pattern (the number of panes in each window) with the original windows to keep your home’s architectural beauty and flow intact. Notice the dramatic difference in the photograph of the windows below - from the dark, dull and frumpy "before" to an airy, elegant and engaging "after!"

Some of my clients have taken a cue from their living room when they set out to redesign their eating area. The new banquettes maximize seating space, while also being inviting, comfortable and just plain fun. A banquette bench, such as in the image below, refers to the built-in benches often found in restaurant seating that are being added to many modern-day kitchen remodels. Because you don't need room to walk behind the seating on one or more sides of the table, it has enabled homeowners to fit a dining table into a space that may be too crowded with a stand-alone set of table and chairs.

In the bathroom, homeowners are moving from standard, shallow steel tubs to deep soaker tubs that come in fiberglass, acrylic or composite materials, turning time in the bath to a relaxing, spa-like experience. Below, you can view a modern soaker bathtub I happily installed in the home of a Bay Area bachelor.
And with a wide variety of hardware options, such as a waterfall feature (as seen below to the right), there is little doubt that your master bath will soon become your favorite room in your house!
And while you’re thinking about your home’s overall beautification, added comfort and enjoyment, why not also consider “excellent reason to remodel” number two - to improve your home's value. I'll be posting this upcoming blog next week. Please be sure to come back for more!
In the meantime, if you have a question about this blog or are interested in a free estimate for your home remodeling or repair project, please feel free to text or call me at 408-368-7162 or email me at [email protected]! I truly love what I do, and I’d love to help you make your remodeling dreams (or those of your friends and family members) come true!
Warmest Regards,
Ed
Ed Neir Construction
License # 928715