Interior Design Minimalist

If you are building a new home, there are countless options for countertops. Countertops are priced by the lineal or square foot, most often with the template, delivery, and installation included in the price. Prices vary significantly, too, depending on the material, texture, complexity of the edge, the number of holes, the type of sink you are using, and how many seams there will be. You will want to consider the countertop's longevity, durability, maintenance, and installed price.

If you are building a new home, there are countless options for countertops. Countertops are priced by the lineal or square foot, most often with the template, delivery, and installation included in the price. Prices vary significantly, too, depending on the material, texture, complexity of the edge, the number of holes, the type of sink you are using, and how many seams there will be. You will want to consider the countertop's longevity, durability, maintenance, and installed price.

With limited land available, especially lakefront properties, many people are purchasing old camps and cottages to tear the house down and rebuild a new, energy efficient home.

Traditionally, a bulldozer or other large piece of equipment levels the house in a matter of minutes and the debris is taken to a landfill. A green alternative would be to tear the house down in stages, carefully preserving the material and selling it at a demolition auction.

What can be salvaged and reused from a tear down?

• Building components such as doors, windows, plumbing fixtures, etc.
• Glass
• Metals
• Brick
• Wood
• Asphalt
• Concrete
• Gypsum
• Plastics
• Landscaping, including trees, stumps, and rocks

On the other hand, you might want to check out a demolition auction to find recycled materials if you are building a new home or remodeling your existing home. These types of auctions are held at the house to be torn down, and bidders are allowed to tour the home prior to the auction. You can get everything from fixtures, appliances, flooring, and walls.

Tip: Be prepared to be required to remove the items yourself.

With limited land available, especially lakefront properties, many people are purchasing old camps and cottages to tear the house down and rebuild a new, energy efficient home.

Traditionally, a bulldozer or other large piece of equipment levels the house in a matter of minutes and the debris is taken to a landfill. A green alternative would be to tear the house down in stages, carefully preserving the material and selling it at a demolition auction.

What can be salvaged and reused from a tear down?

• Building components such as doors, windows, plumbing fixtures, etc.
• Glass
• Metals
• Brick
• Wood
• Asphalt
• Concrete
• Gypsum
• Plastics
• Landscaping, including trees, stumps, and rocks

On the other hand, you might want to check out a demolition auction to find recycled materials if you are building a new home or remodeling your existing home. These types of auctions are held at the house to be torn down, and bidders are allowed to tour the home prior to the auction. You can get everything from fixtures, appliances, flooring, and walls.

Tip: Be prepared to be required to remove the items yourself.

Are you thinking about remodeling your home? There are many remodeling projects that can increase the resale value of your home: adding space, kitchen and bath remodeling, including upgrading counters, cabinets, fixtures and appliances, adding insulation and replacement windows and doors to increase the energy efficiency of the home, and even completely changing the floor plan of the home.

Home remodeling requires good planning and scheduling. After all, you’ll most likely be living in the home during the remodeling. The NH Home Builders Association gives these tips to help stay on schedule:

• Expect to set aside time for telephone calls and regular meetings with your contact person to review progress and discuss the schedule for remaining work.
  
• Ask your remodeler which product orders require the longest lead times. For custom-made items, it is especially important to make your selections as early in the process as possible.
  
• Realize that changes you make to the project after work has begun may affect the schedule and the budget. Change orders should include prices, full descriptions, and authorization in writing before any new work begins.

If your city or town requires an architect to stamp your remodeling plans, consider hiring the architect as the project manager. The architect is your advocate during the design and remodel, saving you money, solving problems that might arise, and most importantly, keeping your goals as the top priority as he or she manages your team of experts during the home’s design and construction.

Read about current remodeling trends

Are you thinking about remodeling your home? There are many remodeling projects that can increase the resale value of your home: adding space, kitchen and bath remodeling, including upgrading counters, cabinets, fixtures and appliances, adding insulation and replacement windows and doors to increase the energy efficiency of the home, and even completely changing the floor plan of the home.

Home remodeling requires good planning and scheduling. After all, you’ll most likely be living in the home during the remodeling. The NH Home Builders Association gives these tips to help stay on schedule:

• Expect to set aside time for telephone calls and regular meetings with your contact person to review progress and discuss the schedule for remaining work.
  
• Ask your remodeler which product orders require the longest lead times. For custom-made items, it is especially important to make your selections as early in the process as possible.
  
• Realize that changes you make to the project after work has begun may affect the schedule and the budget. Change orders should include prices, full descriptions, and authorization in writing before any new work begins.

If your city or town requires an architect to stamp your remodeling plans, consider hiring the architect as the project manager. The architect is your advocate during the design and remodel, saving you money, solving problems that might arise, and most importantly, keeping your goals as the top priority as he or she manages your team of experts during the home’s design and construction.

Read about current remodeling trends

A new (remodeled) kitchen is an opportunity to introduce a dramatic, hand-crafted aesthetic into the heart of your home. Effective work triangles and modern appliances are important, but the secret to a stand-out kitchen's success is achieving a space that reflects honest materials and well-crafted detailing at every turn. This is where Rob Sanders Designer can help you with your renovation dreams. Achieving a stand-out kitchen project may require sourcing diverse craftspeople to undertake every aspect of the job – but this can be costly in terms of time and money. A more effective approach may be to choose a designer that offers skilled experience to every aspect of the project!



BEFORE

From Llamas Remodel

AFTER

From Llamas Remodel

A new (remodeled) kitchen is an opportunity to introduce a dramatic, hand-crafted aesthetic into the heart of your home. Effective work triangles and modern appliances are important, but the secret to a stand-out kitchen's success is achieving a space that reflects honest materials and well-crafted detailing at every turn. This is where Rob Sanders Designer can help you with your renovation dreams. Achieving a stand-out kitchen project may require sourcing diverse craftspeople to undertake every aspect of the job – but this can be costly in terms of time and money. A more effective approach may be to choose a designer that offers skilled experience to every aspect of the project!



BEFORE

From Llamas Remodel

AFTER

From Llamas Remodel

From The Hollows at Northshore, Lake Travis, Austin, Texas

Current trends with new home buyers and builders center around building an environmentally sensitive home. This can be accomplished by taking advantage of a site's inherent ecological characteristics, carefully selecting building materials so energy is efficiently used during the lifetime of the home, and many other methods. This focus is also known as green building.

In this age of everything green, it is wise to analyze your building, design and selection process with a fresh approach and put together your own green team. I suggest we take a whole-house systems approach to building green. Commit to educating yourself on the many details and benefits of owning a green, durable and energy-efficient home and then we can communicate this understanding and belief to the team players. Together we can deliver a home design that is healthier to live in and more energy efficient.

The builder is the green team coach and quarterback. It is this person's job to assemble the most knowledgeable team players, to understand the cost benefits of each system feature and to help educate the owner as to which features are most beneficial while balancing the owner's budget and design criteria.
The green team's players are your suppliers and subcontractors.
Your green team is owned by the client (if you are building custom), or by the builder (if building a spec). The owner makes the main decisions that affect the budget which have a major impact on both project costs and long-term energy efficiency.

The Building Designer is the green team manager and assists with designing green in many areas. He may minimize the size and quantity of north-facing windows while maximizing the number of windows that face south, thereby increasing the passive solar efficiency of the home. He might explain the advantages of spraying sealant around all windows and doors as the most economical investment for saving fuel. The designer and builder should understand the energy benefits and cost implications of different insulation methods such as fiberglass batt, blown wet-spray cellulose, blown-in blanket-spray fiberglass and polyurethane foam insulation. He may also specify gravel or a brick paver driveways, then the site will have less impervious coverage and less impact on the surrounding areas for runoff and flooding.
One excellent resource for improving your knowledge of green building is the U.S. Green Building Council (usgbc.org) which runs the LEED for Homes program; LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Each green team member must do his part to build green. The knowledge of each team member will determine the extent to which your finished home is environmentally sensitive. Although it is the builder's responsibility to be ready and able to advise the client of the costs and benefits of each selection, it ultimately is the owner's decision to select green features.

Green building is here to stay and it will be the standard practice of designing and building in the near future. We are in the beginning stages of transitioning to green and it will take time, patience and commitment to do it right.

From The Hollows at Northshore, Lake Travis, Austin, Texas

Current trends with new home buyers and builders center around building an environmentally sensitive home. This can be accomplished by taking advantage of a site's inherent ecological characteristics, carefully selecting building materials so energy is efficiently used during the lifetime of the home, and many other methods. This focus is also known as green building.

In this age of everything green, it is wise to analyze your building, design and selection process with a fresh approach and put together your own green team. I suggest we take a whole-house systems approach to building green. Commit to educating yourself on the many details and benefits of owning a green, durable and energy-efficient home and then we can communicate this understanding and belief to the team players. Together we can deliver a home design that is healthier to live in and more energy efficient.

The builder is the green team coach and quarterback. It is this person's job to assemble the most knowledgeable team players, to understand the cost benefits of each system feature and to help educate the owner as to which features are most beneficial while balancing the owner's budget and design criteria.
The green team's players are your suppliers and subcontractors.
Your green team is owned by the client (if you are building custom), or by the builder (if building a spec). The owner makes the main decisions that affect the budget which have a major impact on both project costs and long-term energy efficiency.

The Building Designer is the green team manager and assists with designing green in many areas. He may minimize the size and quantity of north-facing windows while maximizing the number of windows that face south, thereby increasing the passive solar efficiency of the home. He might explain the advantages of spraying sealant around all windows and doors as the most economical investment for saving fuel. The designer and builder should understand the energy benefits and cost implications of different insulation methods such as fiberglass batt, blown wet-spray cellulose, blown-in blanket-spray fiberglass and polyurethane foam insulation. He may also specify gravel or a brick paver driveways, then the site will have less impervious coverage and less impact on the surrounding areas for runoff and flooding.
One excellent resource for improving your knowledge of green building is the U.S. Green Building Council (usgbc.org) which runs the LEED for Homes program; LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Each green team member must do his part to build green. The knowledge of each team member will determine the extent to which your finished home is environmentally sensitive. Although it is the builder's responsibility to be ready and able to advise the client of the costs and benefits of each selection, it ultimately is the owner's decision to select green features.

Green building is here to stay and it will be the standard practice of designing and building in the near future. We are in the beginning stages of transitioning to green and it will take time, patience and commitment to do it right.