A CAD rendition of the proposed new kitchen design.

World-Herald reporter Roger Buddenberg and his wife are embarking on a major home remodeling project. He'll blog about the ups and downs, delays and accomplishments at omaha.com/living

* * *

---------------------------------------------The Plan

March 20

A lot has happened fast. At least it seems like a lot, and yet not a hammer has swung.

We started out thinking we might keep this simple OK, I started out thinking that.

Our kitchen and family room form an "L," each room taking up one leg. Between them is a wall. Its very 1960s: Mom is supposed to cook by herself in the kitchen, unseen, while hubby and kids sit in the family room.

I thought: Just remove that 8 feet of wall and the job could be mostly done. Or maybe cut the wall down to form a peninsula. Keep all the plumbing where it is, replace the cabinets and presto. An "open" kitchen.

What a fool.

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Home remodeling blog: Planning the kitchen of the future

Daves Remodeling, serving Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, Transforms Kitchen into Modern, Open, and Stylish Space.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) March 20, 2012

Like many homeowners, Loretta and John Iacono, loved the idea of having an open kitchen for entertaining and family gatherings, but cringed every time they looked at their old fashioned, dated kitchen. When the couple couldnt stand it anymore, they called Daves Remodeling.

My kitchen was very old and all the cabinets were falling apart, Loretta says, adding that their 2800 square foot, four bedroom, three bath San Bernardino home was built in the 1940s. The entrance into the kitchen was very small. We wanted to extend the dining area into the kitchen to create a more spacious feeling.

By removing a wall, Daves Remodeling reconfigured the room so the kitchen was sandwiched between a dining room on one side and a breakfast area on the other. The remodel transformed the kitchen into an airy and open space and allowed traffic to flow easily between the three rooms. However, the work wasnt without challenges.

The job required replacing a load bearing wall with a structural beam to support the second story, explains Dave Telem, a general contractor and owner of Daves Remodeling. In addition, the floors were uneven and needed to be leveled before the remodeling began.

The renovation included custom granite countertops, a glass tile back splash, and new custom cabinetry, lighting, flooring, and appliances. In addition, a kitchen island on wheels added style, prep space, versatility, and storage. The final results were stunning.

We enjoy educating our customers, assisting them with the design, and helping them choose colors, adds Dave, who is on-site and hands-on for all their projects. We keep in constant communication so customers know exactly whats going on and can keep track of the progress of their project.

Dave gave us a lot of good ideas and his workers were really easy to work with and on time, Loretta says. The kitchen is so much roomier and its beautiful. We plan to do more remodeling in the future and will use Dave again. Id definitely recommend him to others.

To learn more about this business that is family owned and operated with an A rating from the Better Business Bureau, please visit their website http://www.daveremodeling.com.

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Top San Bernardino Kitchen Remodeling Contractor Dave's Remodeling Announces Completion of Residential Project

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Homeowners are looking for the right professionals to help with projects ranging from gutting a kitchen to redecorating a living room, updating a bathroom, or designing a backyard landscape. Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design, today announces the community's picks for Best Of Remodeling, a homeowner to homeowner guide to the top architects, interior designers, contractors and other residential remodeling professionals in more than 50 North American cities.

"With 3.5 million monthly unique users and 80 million monthly page views, Houzz has rapidly become the definitive resource for all things home remodeling, providing homeowners and design enthusiasts with first-hand advice from those in the Houzz community who have been through the remodeling and decorating process." said Liza Hausman, vice president of marketing for Houzz. "Chosen by the largest community of active remodelers, the winners are comprised of professionals who have exceeded homeowner expectations and those who have designed the most creative, beautiful and intelligent residential spaces."

The Best of Remodeling award is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from landscape architects to design-build firms. Design award winners' work was the most popular among the 1.2 million members, also known as "Houzzers," who saved more than 16.5 million professional images to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site and iPad/iPhone app. With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated vendors, but also those whose work visually aligns with their own design goals. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.

In addition to identifying the top-rated remodeling professionals across North America, the Best Of Remodeling 2012 serves as a qualified consumer panel, identifying decorating and remodeling trends across the country:

About Houzz

Houzz (www.houzz.com) is the leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.3 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality. @houzz_inc

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Houzz Unveils 2012 'Best Of Remodeling' Winners

Watchers of this video seminar on Udemy.com will walk away understanding what it will take to complete their projects on time, on budget and according to plan.

Vero Beach, FL (PRWEB) March 14, 2012

The series includes four parts:

The videos serve as a crash course for homeowners tackling their outdated, cramped kitchen or bathroom.

Watchers will walk away understanding what it will take to complete their projects on time, on budget and according to plan.

Far too often, I see homeowners making costly mistakes in their kitchen and bath remodeling plans, says Brown, With this video I hope to help them recognize the importance of planning and choosing the right professionals to guide them through to a truly completed room that meets their expectations.

The video is available online in the Udemy network:

http://www.udemy.com/how-to-survive-a-kitchen-and-bath-remodel/

The full, four-part series is $29, and includes downloadable worksheets to help homeowners take notes and keep track of details throughout their remodeling project.

ABOUT Patricia Davis Brown Designs, LLC

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Award-winning Interior Designer, Patricia Davis Brown Releases New Video Series "How To Survive a Kitchen or Bath ...

When remodeling, create a financial plan upfront and contractors can tailor proposals to fit what you can afford.

(MONEY Magazine) -- Budgeting for a large remodeling project presents a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: You won't have a feel for the cost until you get bids from contractors.

But unless you give pros a ballpark figure from the start, they'll have to guess at what to include in their bids -- and they'll come back to you with a huge range of prices for very different plans.

"A faucet can cost $200 to $900, a window can be $400 to $1,200," says Madison contractor Mike Gasch. "I need to know where to aim."

To solve this conundrum, do some calculations first.

1. Start with average costs |

When insurance companies need to pinpoint construction costs, they multiply the length by the width of the space and then multiply that by the project's typical cost per square foot.

Albert Paxton, an estimator who provides such data to claims adjusters and contractors, pegs average per-square-foot costs of remodeling jobs at this:

2. Tweak to fit the scope

These numbers are for gut remodels, meaning the room is demolished right down to the framing and rebuilt.

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Remodeling? How to get a better bid

Herrera Construction, Inc., Completely Remodels 1950s-era Home for New Owners

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 13, 2012

Herrera began by removing everything in the home doors, casings, baseboards, carpeting, kitchen cabinets. As the home was in its original state, he first needed to upgrade the electrical system to bring it up to current code.

Some restructuring was involved, especially in the kitchen. Herrera reconfigured the space to give a more open feeling to the area and added a window to the adjacent dining area to provide much-needed natural light to the space. Herrera replaced the existing cabinetry with custom-built units, installed granite countertops and also installed new appliances.

The existing fireplace was refaced with slate; a mantle was added for accent and then finished off with a new gas fireplace insert.

Herrera then set to work on the homes two bathrooms. Both bathrooms were also original and needed to be completely gutted and updated. He added a new tub, a complete shower enclosure, vanities, granite countertops and tile surrounds, with new fixtures to complete the makeover.

The homes floors were also given much attention. In the living spaces, they replaced old worn vinyl and hardwood floors with beautiful new hard wood flooring and refinished the existing oak floors.

Finally, the interior project was completed by installing raised panel doors, casing and baseboards, along with crown molding throughout the house. Of course, both the interior and exterior of the home were completely repainted. At this point the only work left to do was building a new deck in the backyard for all to enjoy.

In the end, a residence built in the fifties received a major facelift, and both the clients and contractor felt the extra effort and time spent on the project were well worth it.

To find out more about this exceptional company, please visit their website http://www.herrera-construction.com.

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San Bruno Remodeling Company Herrera Construction Announces Completion of Remodeling Project, a 1950s-era Home

Kansas City's leading remodeling contractor will now use Chief Architect Software for kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, basement finishing and whole house interior and exterior remodeling projects.

Kansas City, MO (PRWEB) March 12, 2012

Chief Architect Software is a full featured architectural design and drafting program. Among its primary features is the automatic creation of a 3D model as the design is drafted. This will not only allow Paragon to produce the plans for construction, but also detailed renderings of what the finished results will look like.

The primary benefit of having this software in-house is the ability to show our clients exactly what their remodeling project will look like once it is finished, said Paragon head, Steven Glaze, Having detailed construction plans and a 3-D rendering of the finished project, is the single most important element in eliminating problems, conflicts and miscommunication on a remodeling project. If we are doing an Overland Park remodeling job, or a Kansas City house addition, having this resource in house will be a great benefit to our company, and most importantly, to our clients. The company hopes that by producing full mock ups of the planned remodeling designs, they will be able to eliminate confusion and more accurately deliver what their clients are looking for.

Paragon Design and Remodel is a licensed and insured contracting firm and has been serving the greater Kansas City area since 1996. This contractor specializes in Kansas City roofing, custom interior and exterior remodels as well as roofing and decking throughout the KC metro area.

Steven Glaze

816 695-8458 Email Information

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Leading Kansas City Remodeling Contractor, Paragon Design & Remodel, Announces Move to in House Design Using Chief ...

BY JENNIFER V. HUGHES

Tired of a clunky kitchen layout, the Burstein family had long yearned to renovate.

CARMINE GALASSO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

John Wohlberg, left, and his crew working on a remodeling job in Leonia. 'Anyone doing home improvements now is doing it because they are staying,' says Wohlberg, whose contracting business is based in Ridgewood.

They have lived in their Harrington Park home since 1998, and the kitchen was OK, but the finishes were dated and the layout was poorly planned.

"It's tiny, and everything is all in one corner," said Cindy Burstein. "If more than one person wants to cook, everyone is bumping into each other."

But like many, the family had put it off because of the volatile economy and some job uncertainties. After things calmed down, she said, they decided they could do the kitchen.

She's picked out cabinets (a country white) and chose quartz for the counter tops. There will be an island in the middle and a pass-through window into the dining room. Burstein says she, her 16-year-old, her 10-year-old and her husband, Steve, are thrilled with the plan.

Growth expected

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Fixing it up and staying put

Theres an old saying that the kitchen is the heart of the home. It serves not only as a place to cook and eat, but also as a place to gather. A place where homework gets done and mail is sorted. A desirable kitchen can raise the value of your home and make the time you spend in it more productive and enjoyable. Kitchen renovation can easily get out of hand, but there are ways to revamp your cooking space without emptying your wallet. Before you do anything related to finances, decide if you are going to do a small-scale or large-scale kitchen renovation. This will help you make smarter choices throughout the process.

Budgeting When you have a clear vision of how far you want to take your kitchen renovation, figure out exactly how much you can afford to spend and draw up a budget. DIYLife.com suggests building extra cash into your budget for the inevitable surprises that pop up as you go. The website also says you should write up a list of renovation priorities. This way, you know what to eliminate if your start running low on funds. If you are having trouble determining a ballpark estimate for how much your kitchen transformation will cost, CraftsmenNetwork.com has a handy kitchen remodeling calculator that factors in area and time constraints.

Where did the money you are planning to use for your kitchen remodeling come from? Is it from a stash you set aside for a rainy day, or did you get a loan specifically for the renovation? This will make a difference. Remember to include fees that come along with borrowing and how much you will have to pay in interest when drawing up your budget.

If you want a large-scale kitchen renovation, be aware that you may have to leave your house during the project. If you cant stay with a friend or relative, you will have to spend money renting a room or apartment. Even if you decide to stay, you will be going about your daily life without a kitchen for a period of time, which means more restaurant bills and take out tabs. Think about your options and factor these extra costs into your budget.

Keep track of your finances as you go. This will help you stay on budget and see how much wiggle room you have. If you wait until the project is almost complete to fill in your spreadsheet, you may discover you have strayed far away from your original budget. Small-scale remodeling Instead of gutting the whole kitchen and replacing everything but the kitchen sink (and maybe that too), you have the option of improving your kitchen and giving it a noticeable makeover by making small changes. You can reface your old cabinets and drawers with veneer instead of getting all new doors.

Selecting the right color paint can make all the difference in a room, and you can save money by doing the painting yourself. A word of caution: you might want to stay away from trendy kitchen colors, as these may make your kitchen undesirable when you go to sell your house. Getting new and improved light fixtures can help brighten up your kitchen, not to mention make it more ecofriendly.

Internal changes can also help transform your kitchen. Cut some of that cabinet clutter by investing in organizers. These can open up more storage place while saving you the time and frustration that goes along with rummaging through your cabinets. Something as simple as that can make you feel better about your kitchen and save you thousands of dollars.

Read more from the original source:
Kitchen Fixes on a Budget

By Matthew Strozier

The housing collapse cut short plenty of elaborate home renovation projects, but a new report says Americans might be slowly returning to a long-time favorite target for redesign: the kitchen.

The American Institute of Architects most recent design-trends survey found that Americans are emphasizing the kitchen in their home projects, eager to open-up the traditionally closed-off room. They are also frequently adding computer areas and recharging stations to their cooking spaces, another sign of our relentlessly plugged-in world.

There were hints that the size of these kitchen projects is growing. Some 89% of architects reported that kitchen projects were either stable or increasing in size in the last quarter of 2011, compared with 84% in the same quarter of 2010. (Of course, the bulk reported in both years that the size was stable.)

The AIA says that its notable to see that number move up after heading in the other direction for several years. Those numbers are not startling, but there is a little movement toward it turning around, said Kermit Baker, AIAs chief economist.

But renovation is the really the only game in town for architects looking for work, the AIA survey showed. Only two construction segments were reported to be growing: additions and alterations and kitchen and bath remodeling. Other categories like condos and second homes offer little promise these days, architects reported. Unable to move-up to a new home, it seems some people are opting to renovate.

The AIA Home Design Trends Survey is done quarterly with a panel of more than 500 architecture firms that focus on the residential sector. The fourth-quarter survey dealt with kitchens and bathrooms.

Architects say its not surprising to see homeowners with renewed interest in kitchen renovations. Its not one that people struggle over since there is so much pleasure to be gained from it, said Leonard Kady, an architect in New York City.

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Architects Find Work in the Kitchen