By Bob Okon bokon@stemedianetwork.com March 19, 2012 10:12PM

Updated: March 19, 2012 10:12PM

JOLIET The city will use a 35-cent a month cable fee that will be added later this year to remodel the council chambers and redesign it to be more video friendly.

City Manager Thomas Thanas presented the plan Monday to the Joliet City Council, which approved it unanimously.

The council chambers would be more versatile and better equipped to present information to people who watch city proceedings from home on TV once it is remodeled, Thanas said.

When it (the room) was designed it was long before PowerPoint was thought of and long before interactive was considered, he said. The chambers would be better equipped to deliver visual presentations to viewers in their homes, he said.

The plan also would put portable seating into the council chambers, which then could be rearranged for different proceedings such as bankruptcy court. Thanas said other users also could help pay for the remodeling.

I think its a great idea to work with multiple users, said Councilman Don Fisher. This large space in city hall remains dormant 90 percent of the time.

The fee was put into the 10-year franchise agreement negotiated with Comcast in 2011. The 35-cent per customer fee is expected to generate about $100,000 a year over 10 years.

The money is to be used for technology upgrades in the council chambers and at the studio of Joliet Community Television.

Read more from the original source:
New cable fee will fund remodeling of council chambers

By Andrew Barksdale Staff writer

The new owner of the former Fayetteville Museum of Art has begun revamping the property to build a weddings and events center.

Justin Pearson, a Leland wedding photographer, bought the property in December for $250,000 and announced plans to open the center by May.

But after he began studying the property more closely, meeting with city inspectors and talking with several local wedding professionals, he said he realized he would need more time to complete everything.

The center will be called Vizcaya Villa, after an Italian Renaissance-style estate and mansion in South Florida.

Pearson, who is managing the project, said architectural drawings, landscape plans and building permits will be filed with the city soon. He hopes to announce next month a revised opening date.

"We will feel confident that we'll be open before the end of the year," Pearson said.

The privately managed Art Museum at 839 Stamper Road closed permanently in 2010 because of funding problems. The museum was founded in 1971, and its home behind Eutaw Village Shopping Center was dedicated in 1978.

The museum board put the building up for sale for $1.2 million in 2008 to help settle debts and prepare for building a larger home at Festival Park. Those plans never materialized. The museum board settled its debts, liquidated its assets and dissolved at the end of last year.

Although the 7.5-acre property has been deeded to Pearson, he said he has several private investors who believe Fayetteville needs another venue to hold and photograph weddings and special events. The property has a pond and gazebo.

Read the rest here:
Remodeling of former art museum building into events center is under way

Empty shelves at the Safeway on Shattuck which closed for remodeling on Saturday March 17. Photo: Joe Parks

Theres something almost post-apocalyptic about these photographs of Safeway on Shattuck Avenue taken just before it closed its doors on Saturday in order to undergo an expansion and complete renovation.

The bare shelves and exposed shabbiness caught the imagination of two of Berkeleysides regular contributing photographers: Joe Parks and Michael Moore.

The Safeway will be expanded as well as renovated. Photo: TheRealMichaelMoore

Corn Flakes anyone? Empty shelves and an eerie emptiness at Safeway on Shattuck Avenue. Photo: TheRealMichaelMoore

The store is scheduled to reopen in mid-September. Photo: TheRealMichaelMoore

The store is scheduled to reopen in mid-September. We just know it will look a lot more appealing then. Go toSafeway Shattuckfor full details.

Berkeleyside publishes many articles every day. To see all our stories in chronological order, and read ones you may have missed, check out ourAll the Newsgrid.

View post:
Bleak images as Berkeley store closes for remodeling

When Jerry and Sarah Stempel remodeled the living room in their Buffalo Grove home, they aimed at what you might call a vintage look.

Enter their two-story house tucked away on a cul-de-sac in the Old Farm Village subdivision and you will likely be greeted by the couples two dogs, Bailey and Cooper. You will also be struck by the distinctive look of the living room.

Amid the comfortable furnishings, which include a couch, a piano and a big-screen television, are walls lined with shelves, each filled with dozens of bottles of wine tipped on their sides.

The handsome makeover is the work of interior designer Lori Abrams, who fulfilled the need expressed by the Stempels to not only have a central location to display their wine collection, but also one where their family which includes three children as well as the two dogs could entertain.

They love wine. They love to entertain and really wanted to showcase their wine, Abrams said.

Before Abrams was brought in to lead the remodeling project, the couples wine was stored everywhere in the four-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot home.

Wine bottles were in any kind of cabinets they could find, all over the house, Abrams said.

What she devised was a system that would allow people the most room to use the space, as well as attractively showcase the collection. For the project, which also involved rebuilding an adjacent staircase, Abrams and the Stempels utilized salvaged wood on beams and countertops.

Sarah Stempel said Abrams found a great craftsman, cabinetmaker Craig Stancy, who really took all of our suggestions and worked with us.

The wood used for the majority of the room, including the shelving and cabinetry, is knotty alder. The countertops are made of rustic pine timbers, and the room is wrapped in knotty alder wainscoting.

Go here to see the original:
Buffalo Grove living room given a ‘vintage’ update

A Winslow Dining Hall student employee works where Paula Amols, director of Dining Services and Racer Hospitality, hopes to install a Mongolian grill this summer. || Melissa Ruhlman/The News

Chris WilcoxStaff writer

Winslow Dining Hall and the Thoroughbred Room are slated to undergo several changes during the summer of 2012.

Changes include equipment renovation, new utilities and newly offered services.

Winslow will gain two combination ovens and one cook-and-hold oven. The T-Room will also be gaining a pair of each.

Combination ovens are programmable, standardizing the cooking process. The machines combine the abilities of convection and steam cooking ovens.

Paula Amols, director of Dining Services and Racer Hospitality, said the additions will provide quality fried food in a healthier way and will create less food waste. She said these ovens cook much quicker than the ovens used now. Adding these ovens will require the venue to have gas lines.

The addition of cook-and-hold ovens will allow for venues to produce food overnight.

These additions will ensure consistency no matter who is working, she said. It will really improve the quality and efficiency of service.

Original post:
Winslow, T-Room to undergo renovations

12-03-2012 09:56 DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen of Bakersfield, CA shares the details of a bathroom, kitchen and living room remodel. Meet the designer and the client in this video interview.

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DreamMaker Bath

12-03-2012 13:34 Straightforward ad about your skills at helping customers remodel or refurbish their home, whether for a single room or several. New housing costs have you overwhelmed? Why not spruce up your existing home with help from the experts? With the proper skills, tools and experience, we specialize in a wide range of remodeling and renovation services. We work with you to create an exciting design, then our experienced and knowledgeable crews work quickly to complete the job to your satisfaction, while maintaining a high standard of excellence. Whether you want to remodel a single room or your entire home, call us today.

See the article here:
Atlanta Home Completion - Video

CALDWELL - As the Noble County Health Department's clerical supervisor walked through the facility Monday pointing out all the changes that have been made there in recent months, she noted how completely different it looks.

"It's the same programs, but it seems like we're in a new place because of the fresh look," said Chris Wise.

Both the employees and patients of the health department in Caldwell are reacting positively to the end results of a renovation project that was in progress there from May to December.

Health commissioner Shawn Ray said the project was made possible with a $389,000 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Grant, earmarked by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

"What prompted the whole project is we had been repairing the roof for four years prior to that and trying to come up with the money to fix it. It was the driving force to begin everything else," Ray said.

The building got a painted metal standing seam roof with new gutters and downspouts, and R-21 insulation was added under the roof.

"While we were up there, we have two heating and air conditioning units, and we replaced one of them," Ray said.

Also on the outside of the facility, a brick stairway was repaired and part of the driveway was widened to two lanes.

"When we came inside, we replaced 100 percent of the flooring," Ray added. "We still had some of the original carpet from 1978 and the vinyl flooring had some rips."

There were also several other changes made inside the building, he said.

Read more here:
Remodeling project finished

Donald J. Clark Home Improvements, with 33 years experience specializing in room additions and kitchen remodels, sees rise in demand for in-law apartments.

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) March 13, 2012

Builders and remodelers are seeing an increasing number of requests for in-law suites, granny flats, or accessory dwellings, says Donald J. Clark, a remodeler based in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania and owner of Donald J. Clark Home Improvements. Many grown children with elderly parents are coming to the same conclusion their home is the best place for an elderly parent. Some add an entry-level bedroom. Others have self-sufficient parents who want to remain independent and build an apartment with a kitchen and a bathroom with wheelchair-accessible features.

According to the National Association of Home builders, 62 percent of builders surveyed were working on a home modification related to aging in 2010. Donald and his wife, Trina, are certainly familiar with this growing trend. They have been caring for Trinas 92-year-old mother in their home, which was modified to accommodate her, for over two decades. Although it isnt for everyone, for some families, this is ultimately a lower-cost option than assisted-living, nursing home care, or retirement communities. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when building an addition for an aging parent.

Choose a contractor carefully, Donald cautions. Make certain they have experience in designing and modifying buildings for the elderly and are aware of local municipal codes regarding accessory dwellings, he says. Be especially wary of out-of-town contractors who come knocking on a door unsolicited.

Donald J. Clark Home Improvements has 33 years of experience that has included many in-law suites over the years, including the one pictured here. Completed in 2009, an in-law suite was added to a 21-year-old house adjoining the garage for more privacy and independence. The beauty of our work is that youll never know the room addition is an add-on to the house, Donald says. Im a perfectionist. If the home has 21-year-old siding, I will find siding to match it.

Licensed and insured, his business offers a wide range of services that includes kitchen and bath remodels, new construction, renovations, flooring, roofing, siding, porches, decks, painting, windows, doors, custom carpentry and much more. In addition, Donald J. Clark Home Improvements works with insurance companies specializing in wind, hail, fire and water damage and restoration.

For more information about this trustworthy, locally-owned and operated company, please call (610) 497-3429 or check them out on the Web.

About Donald J. Clark Home Improvements

With 33 years experience, Donald J. Clark Home Improvements has completed countless kitchen, bath, remodels and room additions that add value and function to everyday living spaces. With a passion for excellence, they have replaced windows and doors improving aesthetics and energy efficiency, built decks transforming an outdoor area to a relaxing oasis, and provided restoration services for homes damaged from wind, hail, fire, and water. Owner Donald Clark works with customers from the first visit to give an estimate to the completion of a project, assuring their vision, ideas, budget and timeline expectations are met. Donald J. Clark Home Improvements serves Delaware and New Castle Counties, including Chadds Ford, Marcus Hook, Trainer, Linwood, Boothwyn, Concordville, West Chester, Kennett Square, Wilmington, Ridley, Swarthmore, Media, and Aston.

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Top Boothwyn Remodeling Contractor Donald J. Clark Home Improvements Announces New Trends in Mother-in-Law Suites

The enclosed porch, above left, was removed and replaced with a library/music room on the main level, above right. This allowed for the installation of French doors in the library that lead to a new terrace, the focal point of the backyard. The terrace also connects to the kitchen/family room.

Annie Schwemmer,

Is it spring yet?

Well, the technical answer is no, but psychologically some of us need to push the issue a bit.

One way to endure the winter doldrums is to focus on spring gardening. We'll bet some of you are spending time with your Burpee catalog or wandering around your favorite garden center, watching workers set out the spring inventory.

So, what do architects know about gardening?

Just this: Houses and gardens together create the environment we call home, and they should "speak" with each other.

When we look at a remodeling project, our main concern in this regard is the connection between the indoor and outdoor space.

Traditional homes, especially those built before 1950, express little interest in this symbiotic relationship. Many of the modest tract homes built in the valley in the pre- and post-war boom period have the bedrooms and bathroom at the rear of the house; getting to the back yard involves using a side door and walking down the driveway to even find useable outdoor space.

Today's lifestyle embraces both inside and outside space. Especially with our favorable climate, outdoor areas can act as an additional living space from spring through fall.

Read more here:
Tips to designing seamless outdoor spaces